Is Buying a Gen 2 Still a Viable Option?

The qualm is not knowing how the car was treated during that time. If it had perfect maintenance then go for it, the car should be good for many more miles. (Although for some Corolla years expect the sides of the front bumper cover to pop loose - they used a crappy method and one side or the other of the clip mechanism is broken more often than not. The cover itself is fine.) If the car went 15k miles between oil changes, or severely overheated even once, then it is a disaster waiting to happen. Ideally you find a car with one owner who can give you the folder containing every single service record for the life of the car.

 

But you have to compare that to the possible cost of the Prius throwing a $1,500 fit on the way back from one, costing you towing and hotel time while you figure out what to do.

...and that's after you've spent the money to actually buy it.

Point is, you absolutely cannot look at the purchase price of the car as the last major money you'll spend on it unless it is a new or very young used car. You're getting on a treadmill.

The fundamental difference between an old Prius and and old Corolla is that every mechanic in every town (including the cheap ones) knows how to work on a Corolla. That alone makes the Corolla a much safer choice when looking at the oldsters. You'll never save enough gas with a Prius to make up for the extra costs associated with its technical sophistication.

 

Yeah that's right if you don't work on stuff and have a general like for how things work and so on and so forth yes stay away from a Prius buy your Corolla the to me the earlier the better the 2zz engine is in them it can have issues . Anything after 10 in Toyota is heading downhill for me . Compared to last 40 with Toyoda for me. My 93 to 02 Corollas will Outlast everything any of y'all drive . I've got 500K on a few of them and they're rt here driving bno body damages or rust just faded . Interiors are solid no rips . They will run forever the 7Afe and 1zz easily make 400K . No weird computer to fail no of it . But they hard to find clean and acceptable at least for y'all.

 

Agreed, an old Toyota can be fixed by just about anybody with a spanner, the later models, once they added computers and fuel injection and the likes, you need someone who knows what they are doing, and a wallet ready to be emptied.

A Gen 2 Prius is a great mechanically minded person's runaround car, there is a You Tube video to fix anything that can be fixed on them, but if you aren't handy with spanners and have a mechanical aptitude ...... the whole rental idea might be a better option ...... a motor vehicle is just a method of draining any finances you have available, much like having a child, but at least they don't slam doors or kick up a racket when they are ignored

T1 Terry

 

Any car you buy that may be past or near a ¼ Century old could have issues. It's apples to apples
.

 

Have you considered an older Avalon? I've seen some out there, 12-15 years old, going for reasonable rates.

And I agree with that older Corolla suggestion....my old 2008 Corolla is, still, chugging along, going on 200,000 miles (ex-son-in-law drives it now but I maintain it for him....he doesn't know the difference between a Philips-head and a flat-head!

Same goes for a Toyota Matrix...if you can find one for sale, definitely check it out! (I think the Car Care Nut said it's one of the hidden Toyota gems, "indestructible")