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")

 

As far as I can tell (based on an eyeball survey of the few I see in my neighborhood) the only people who own and drive Avalons are fairly well off, as in can afford to do regular maintenance, but don't drive much. Those cars are built like tanks. (They also have a backup/alarm that powers and sounds the horn if the battery is disconnected, which can be quite a surprise for somebody who tries to work on one without knowing about this ahead of time.) They only get 30ish MPG on the highway, but I'm about 99.9% confident that a long trip in an Avalon would be much quieter and more comfortable than in a Prius. Because the Prius is pretty loud inside at highway speeds and while the seats are OK, luxurious they aren't.

 

At 5,000 miles per year, fuel cost is literally the least of your worries. Every other element of ownership will cost you more than fuel.

 

Agreed - our car insurance is more than that fuel cost.

 

Bought an 05 prius last year & this is exactly right. Any cost saving on fuel for a Prius will be eaten up quickly if you don't DIY.

 

Cars are a lot more expensive than they used to be. With that said, a Gen 4 Prius is likely to last longer than any Hyundai or Kia around the same age. 2nd Gen Prii have also been reliable but are getting old. As an example, I bought my 2009 Prius at the end of 2016 and this year, I'm starting to hit the tail end of the bathtub curve for expenses: maintenance and repair costs have been higher this year than for any other year I've had the car, so I'm looking for a replacement before it gets even more expensive.

Depending on your budget, a Gen 2 Prius could be a very good deal, as they have been reliable. But even reliable cars can get more problems after they're over 15 years old. I don't think you're going to end up paying less for maintenance and repair of a similarly aged Corolla than you would for a Prius, but I'd set aside $3000 or more per year for overall car expenses. My yearly average has been roughly $3300 for repairs and maintenance, gasoline, insurance, and registration fees.

 

Many people have described ir as a computer on wheels. How is that a mechanically minded person's car compared to a Corolla of the same vintage?