In Search of a Prius ... (Three or Four)

I'm no Prius expert, but the 3rd generation all have the same engine that puts out 98 HP, then there's the electric motor that makes the total of 134 HP. No speed demon, but it is sufficient.

 

Heck I would be willing to sell my 2015 in 3 years for $17,000. No questions asked.

 

take one for a test drive before you go any farther,if you're concerned about hp. these cars are about mpg's.

 

must be a mistake somewhere, they are all the same. gen II 2004-2009 has one spec and gen III 2010-2015 has another.

 

2012 Toyota Prius Plug In Hybrid $17800 | PriusChat

Take a week vacation, Fly to mass, buy this pip, drive home... Case closed. Great deal.

Road trip!!!!!

 

17K?

Search around in this forum.
I just responded to TWO posts where people with 2-3 year old Priuses are despondent about only being able to get 14K for their cars in a private sale!
For 17K you're almost able to get an off-least Pip.

Important!!! Wranglers and Priuses are worlds apart to drive!!! You're going to love some aspects of Priusdom but some things about these cars might drive you crazy, especially in left coast traffic.

DRIVE ONE.
No....not some crappy 5-minute test-flight with a drooling salesperson in the co-pilot seat.
I mean DRIVE one.
See if you can rent one for a weekend.

Good Luck!

 

1. What battery issue? Yours should be new
2. Lack of moon roof, well you need to pay for that on a higher end model
3. Fabric seats look dirty - if you have the dark gray color, it shouldn't be an issue
4. Nav units are crap - yes I have to agree
5. Suspension isn't that great - it's really in line with how a car should drive
6. Steering feels like always misaligned - You should have to checked under warranty
7. Pizza cutter tires can be noisy - It's not the tire, it's the hybrid car with less sound proofing material
8. Used price points are all over the place - This happens with all cars.

 

In California, the warranty is 150k miles or 10 years on the hv battery. It's one of the most generous warranties on earth

One of the best deals you can get NOW, is on the Prius plug in lease. You can get $3000 rebate from CA clean air board. Along with $4000 lease cash and dealer discounts!

That will bring a 3 year lease to about $7500 with a residual of $16500.

The Prius plug in will give you navigation and heated seats......and you can plug in and use the carpool lanes.

 

There is a battery issue with Priuses!!!

But it's not the one you think.
The Aux (12v) battery is teeny-tiny for the car, and they're about $200 to replace.
If you live in a CARB state (the "C" stands for California) then your traction battery is covered for 10 years/150K as JC91006 pointed out.

OK....so let's pretend that you don't live on the left coast, or in a CARB state.
Re-manufactured batteries are selling for about $1200.
I really don't see why everybody is always flopping and twitching about the traction battery!!!
I've seen people on this forum with four figure repair bills for HVAC, brakes, etc.
I think I remember one time an $800 repair bill for a lost keyfob!!!
Believe me.....
If you live on the left coast, then the battery will be the least of your problems!

If you're not deep enough to shake off a four-figure repair bill, then you have 2 choices:
1. Buy a new car every 2-4 years and depend on your children or the government for your retirement.
2. Consider mass transit.

As far as the costsfor used Priuses being all over the place, that's a combination of people buying 2-3 years ago at the top of the market when gas was $5/gallon, and people up-optioning their cars.
I've seen a lot of $30,000 Priuses.
No....not the Pip, a G3.

Right now you can get a brand new G3-2 for about $20k.
Since there's about a $7-8K difference between the low end and the top end, this means that there is a lot of margin in the used Prius market for people who don't know what they're getting.
Or..............“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” ― Sun Tzu

If I were in the used Prius market, I'd be looking in this forum for people with 2-3 year old G3's who are crying about their car only being worth $15,000 and make them an offer.
For your budget ($17K) that would give you a very dependable car that you wouldn't have to worry about fixing for a while, since you can bank the $2K remaining.

Yup.....sounds like you have some stick time in Priuses alright!
Some of the twitchiness in the Electro-Lux steering will diminish as you get used to the car.
The handling in these cars SUCK!!!
There's just no getting around that, BUT you're coming out of a Wrangler, so you're going from a vehicle that turns like a toad, to a vehicle that turns like a toad for a different reason.
Priuses have more body sway than a pregnant Kardassian, but some of the kids out there have been getting them to handle a little more like a car by modding (braces, shocks, lowering.)
I think a lowered Prius is extra-redundant, and I'm thinking that a Jeep owner will miss the ride height and the visibility.
For a car with as much glass as they have, Priuses have a LOT of blind spots.
All of the other things---bifurcated rear glass, non-extendable visors, Helleen Keller radio, Alcoa Aluminum doors, felt-thin carpet, bizzarre scratch-magnet plastic, and a back-up beeper that's on the inside instead of the outside of the car---and others! You'll just have to experience those joys as you get used to the car.

Priuses are frugal, and they're reliable.
Period.


If I were living in SoCal?
I probably couldn't afford to drive anything else.

 

a 24 month lease would not work for uber/lyft operations. Your $2000 gas card wouldn't be enough to pay for the penalties for going over the allowed mileage on the lease

 

Get a 3yr/36k lease and trade it in after 24 months and roll into a new lease.... Case closed. A lot of dealers are quite happy to roll you into a new lease early without penalty.

This way your covered for the mileage..

 

but then he doesn't get a $2000 gas card. That's only on a 24 month lease

 

Oh gotcha. Didn't notice that stipulation.

Is it a 24mo/24k mile lease or can he pay a little more per month and up the mileage on the lease.

Or

Do the 24 month. Drive it till the mileage maxes out and with that 2k gas card that will pay for ALL your gas in that time frame, around 60-70 fill ups, then roll into another lease...

 

The only thing that's more stupid than borrowing money to buy a new car is borrowing money to lease new car......ESPECIALLY a Prius.

The reason why people in other parts of the forum are crying about "poor resale value" is that you have to keep a Prius for a while to leg out the initial depreciation when you buy it.
The OP initially said something like:
".....I'm trying to find a black prius with less than 30k miles with the grey interior for less than $17,000."

This seems to be really smart.
Well.....except for the Black part...

For $17K you can get a Pre-depreciated G3 that's in the prime of it's life, and have a good, dependable, frugal car for 1/3 off the regular price. You're dead-bang guaranteed to find a late model, non-modified, used G3 with about 30,000 miles on the clock that hasn't been wrecked, stolen, or neglected too badly.
As far as other insults like towing, chemical experiments, track use (don't laugh!!! I've seen it.) well............you're on your own.

 

A lease is not stupid under certain conditions and for certain peoples situations.

A lot of people can afford a lease but not a purchase, that coupled with the fact that you don't really have to worry about depreciation, etc.

Plus you can roll into a brand new car if that's your thing every 2-3 yrs and not really take that initial huge hit like buying would hit you for.

I've been leasing for my wife's cars the last few years and it has been working well. I have always purchases my cars though.

With a lease you can "get a lot more car" for the price / payments you make as opposed to buying.