hoping for some advice...

Welcome!

All Prius get similar mpg, so toss that out the window

Before purchasing, do the calculation over your 20 mpg to see how much you save a year

A 2007 Prius is likely to need a $3,000. Battery sooner than later.

There are a few other very expensive systems over a gasser that could go at any point, and hybrid mechanics are few and far between, so you often wind up at an expensive dealer, unless you can diy.

All the best!

 

That price tag seems a bit high.

Some questions:

• Are you the DIY type?
• While you say $16k is your limit, what is your true comfort limit?
• Gen2’s will begin to have repairs, how will you handle them?

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

It’s personal. For me, I would be looking for a 2012 or newer with low miles. I would start with 160,000 miles and subtract the amount of miles I intend to put on it before reselling.
But with a gen3 (2010-2015) you have to include $6-800. egr cleaning at some point

Again, I would weigh gas savings vs a non hybrid like corolla or similar. A reliable ride, easy to fix, decent mileage

 

The 2007 could be a decent buy if it has a brand new battery from Toyota. If it is priced as high as it is only because of the low mileage on the odometer, it would not necessarily be a good buy. The HV battery could fail soon, based only upon its age, but if the car is in good shape overall, it might still be worth paying more than the KBB price. The Gen 3 cars would be less likely have a failure of the HV battery in the near future, but some of them have now reached the end of their warranty period and the longevity of the battery is the wild card in any purchase of a used hybrid. With the ability to plug in at work, it seems like a First Gen Prius Plug In might be a good fit for you. You would be able to get say 10 miles of free all electric power per day, which would give you a much higher MPG than you could get with the 2007 car, but you would of course have to pay a much higher price to buy the Plug In, Model Years 2012 to 2015. I think most members of this forum would advise against buying a used Leaf, unless the battery has already been replaced.

 

2015 Prius is the one year of 3rd generation (and the last year) that rolled out of the factory with both the revised pistons and piston rings, both intended to mitigate earlier rings/pistons that supposedly are a factor in oil consumption. 2014 at least has the revised rings.

 

65 miles one way? You might not make it in a Leaf in hot weather.

 

Right, and he did not say whether he can charge at home. That would make the Leaf a non-starter.

 

I don’t know very much outside of gen 2 but isn’t the prime the best model to have if you can get free recharge?

 

The OP already ruled out buying a new car, and I would think a used Prime would also be outside of his price range.

 

This is actually pretty easy.
I'd get a late model Pip, or first gen Prius Plug-in.

Several reasons:
1. 34K per year in commuting mileage. This means that it would be financially unwise to trash a new car's value just driving back and forth to work.

2. Pip's (especially later models) are very reliable if you bother to lift the hood and check the oil level, and even though the EV range is pitiful you can still get about 10 miles free each way. After that? It's still a 45-50mpg car that you can easily buy for less than $15k.

3. Pips are relatively well equipped. They were $35-40,000 bucks new and....well......they were Priuses.
That means that they had to bling them up.

4. There are all kinds of people in the SoCal who buy "eco-chic" vehicles to thwart HOV lanes.
I can't keep track of all of the various colored stickers that allow HOV access, but then neither can the po-po......so you might be able to get a "me-too!" sticker so that you can be stuck in rush-hour traffic in the HOV lane rather than in one of the other lanes.
In some instances.....if you drive a PHEV and technically the pip is a sort of a PHEV, you can be excused from smog checks.


Fallback plan:
Left over G2 Volt (2015 - present)
I'm thinking that even in the SoCal you might score a Volt for less than 18K.
The G2's have a larger battery, will run on regular unleaded, probably qualify for HOV access without having to buy a fake sticker, and the regen paddle and adult performance make them orders of magnitude more fun to drive than a Prius.

If I had your budget and commute that would be MY go to, but I mentioned it as a fallback plan here since you came knocking at a Prius site, and so I presume that you're leaning away from domestics.

If you get a G2 Prius in the SoCal, I'd look into AAA.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Additional thoughts:

You "can" charge a Volt with a regular household outlet, but it takes 12 hours. L2 (220v) charging only takes about 2-1/2 hours.
The 2nd gen has been out since 2015 and their batteries are pretty much holding together without issues.
CARB warranties apply, which cover you for 10y, 150,000 miles for "hybrid" components (battery, inverter, etc....) IIRC and this applies to all of the vehicles that you're considering.

A Leaf would nearly be unusable for your commuting profile, although I can see where it would be kinda tempting to try to do most if not all of the round trip using the free charger at work.
The only thing is you would RELY on the at-work charger, and "hope" is not a plan.
The Leaf has no fallback if chargers break of you encounter power issues.
You CAN plug a Leaf into a regular household outlet, but it takes 20 hours more or less to get a full charge.


For your budget and commute, you'll probably have to chose between a 2nd or 3rd gen Prius 'hatch', a 1st gen Plug-in Prius, or a Prius C if you want to roll a Toyota.
The forth gen Priuses (2016-) and Prius Prime are nice cars, but they're a little too expensive IMHO to be used as a 30,000 mile a year beater.

The Prius C (Priussy) is a Yaris sized hatch, that gets surprisingly good mileage for a Yaris-sized hatch. Say....High 40s, real-world with your commute. They've been out since 2012 and they've proven to be the most reliable of Priuses according to industry wags.
Their down side is their down-size - and their initial expense...which is almost as much as the regular sized Prius, which gets about the same MPG.
53/46 versus 51/48
YMMV.
If I could get a Prius C for several thou less than a hatch, and old enough to leverage it's cheapiness to save money - that's the route I would take personally if I couldn't get into a 2015 Volt.
BUT(!!) it would have to be SEVERAL THOUSAND less than the regular Prius hatchback, otherwise you might as well get the regular Prius hatchback and enjoy the extra space and "performance."

The regular old G3 Prius hatch (2010-2015) is....The regular old G3 Prius hatch.
They're fairly ubiquitous in Caly and you can get into one now fairly cheap.
I'd concentrate on getting a late model G3 (2013-2015) and read up on all of the threads in this forum covering the EGR, transaxle fluid replacements, and other related topics..
You also have to religiously monitor your oil levels.
If your idea of "vehicle maintenance" involves a dealership, then you need to spend at least 8 full hours reading through this forum on any thread that contains the words "my dealer."

The 1st Gen Plug-in Prius is basically a G3 hatchback with a larger battery and the ability to drive 10 miles on battery alone (ish) depending on speeds and state of charge. They were wildly expensive when they came our in 2012, but their real-world value has tanked over the last 5 years because all of the early adopters are driving Primes (2nd generation Prius Plug-in) or Teslas.
They're a little bit more expensive than a regular Prius, but they have the ability to get much better overall efficiency.

Second generation Priuses (2004-2009) were extraordinarily reliable albeit slightly less efficient and powerful than the G3s, and it is possible to get into a G2 DIRT CHEAP (relatively speaking) but then you would have all of the disadvantages of a 10-15 year old car and you would necessarily be relying either on your own automotive acumen, a mechanic, or "internet knowledge" to assess and pursue maintenance and repairs.
ALL G2's will be out of CARB warranty coverage in 2019.

G2's, G3's (less the pip) and the Prius C are also "wireless" which means that they have no ability to charge batteries externally.


Hope this answers a few more questions than it raises....
Let us know what you decide.

This forum has several Volt owners, and I'd like to think we treat all members more or less equally!
Good Luck!

 

Since you're in San Diego I will ask since it should factor into a decision heavily. Is your commute going to be with or against the prevailing traffic? From where to where in the San Diego area? It can make a difference when selecting a power train.

If your commute is going to be at 65 mph outbound in the morning and 65 mph inbound in the evening I personally would get a Corolla or a Civic. Fuel mileage would be 35-40 mpg and those cars are very dependable too. No worries about batteries, electrical systems or range. They are at a price point where lower cost makes up for the little bit of gas difference between a Prius and them.

If the commute is going to be stop-and-go a Prius is definitely what you should be looking at. That's the type of driving the car excels at.

Either way you're going to be putting a lot of miles on the car in a hurry so I don't think you're looking at this car to be a really long term belonging unless you're a "do it yourself" mechanic. High mileage wear and tear maintained through dealers will simply get too expensive as the years and the miles mount up.

 

Apologies, the edit window for my post #8 has come-and-gone, don't want to bother the mods, the above text should read:

2015 Prius is the one year of 3rd generation (and the last year) that rolled out of the factory with both the revised pistons and piston rings, both intended to mitigate earlier rings/pistons that supposedly are a factor in oil consumption. 2014 at least has the revised pistons.

 

I would, for a long-distance commuter, go Corolla over Prius. Prii do not get their best mileage during long distance high speed trips, they are designed for city commuters. With a Corolla you get 90% of the FE and ZERO hybrid drama. Of course for those of us "car nutz", the Corolla also offers the option of a MT, further enhancing FE.

 

Trips similar to the commute KevinW is facing are fine in the Prius. Based on similar drives I've taken around the L.A. basin the past 2 1/2 years I would expect a Gen II Prius to deliver mid-40s mpg. A manual transmission on a Corolla could become a real irritant with the 10 mile stretch of bad traffic that will be part of that commute. As KevinW pointed out, it also adds having to purchase a monthly carpool lane pass to the financial equation.

It's nice to see someone seriously considering all of his options and all of the factors involved. Far too many people make decisions like this on impulse or with their emotions and not with clear heads. KevinW, for that!