Hi all, Big car purchasing newbie here from Vermont looking to buy her first car, ideally a Prius Prime. I found a used 2017 premium trim with 19k miles on it for $16,600 at a local Toyota dealership (great condition, no accidents). I'm also reading other posts about some crazy discounts for new cars after rebates, incentives and tax returns. Do you think It's better to get used or new (2020 car for example) right now? I don't mind paying a little more if I can get a brand new prime. Any advice will be much much helpful! Thank you! Laura
It depends on several factors. I don't think 3 years old 19K miles PP Premium for $16600 is a bad deal. However, if you can use a full $4500 tax credit on a new PP, in your local which is in Toyota New England Region, buying a new is a better deal, IMHO. I don't know if VT has a state incentive but with negotiation, you can have a 2021 PP LE not too much more than the used 2017PP Premium you are considering. If some dealers still have a 2020 model on the lot, you may get an even better deal. For a used car purchase, you have to take into consideration that you are likely to have some extra expenses along the way. For example, most likely it has the original tires with 19K miles on them that will need to be changed sooner (+$400), you will not get any free Toyota Care maintenance (+$300), and the biggy is that you no longer have the Toyota backed 3-year bumper to bumper warranty. Unless the car is Toyota Certified Pre-owned, it usually comes with only a 30 days goodwill dealer warranty. You could still buy Toyota issued extended warranty which is really mechanical repair insurance, but that will cost you $$$. Also, three years old car driven on NE salted winters is likely to have some rust developing under the body already. It will not be an issue for a while, but if you plan to keep the car for a long time then it will have 3 years shorter rust-related life span than a new 2020 or 2021 car, which could be a huge cost difference always in favor of newer cars. OTOH, there are some new car associated expenses as well, such as higher insurance and higher taxes. So, do your math and compare the costs. BTW, I sold my 2017 Prius Prime Premium with 40K miles for the trade-in deal to get 2020 PP LE back in March this year. The KBB number was $18500, but the dealer offer was $17000. I could have gotten a better price if I tried some other places, but to reduce the sales tax on my new purchase, I took the offer. So, $16600 on a 2017 premium trim with 19k miles is a great price.
Wow..I didn't realize used prices for Primes are this low. I'll admit, I haven't really been keeping up on it though. Still trying to hang on to our 2010 and 2012 until the 'next Prius' arrives....whatever that means. I just might have to start poking around the used market more!
Be warned that it is highly regional. You are not likely to find as good of a deal as OP or I have found in your or near your state. North East (both New England and Greater NY area) and CA have been the hot spots for PP deals.
I checked what my 2020 LE is worth on Carvana, w/ 14,600 miles in great shape they offered me $23,040 if I wanted to trade it in. All you do is go to Carvana.com and enter your license plate or VIN#, answer some questions and enter the mileage. The Nissan dealer offered me $18k even when I was interested in a 2019 Nissan SR Turbo, lol.
I recently was in a similar position as you and I ultimately decided to look for a new 2020 model and take advantage of some of the incentives and deals. Like Salamander_King mentioned, I wanted to avoid the expenses and potential surprises with a used vehicle and also wanted to use some of the 2020 updates (ie: 5th seat in the back and CarPlay). I'd recommend go new, but I'm new to these forums and in Canada so take this with a grain of salt.
If you can claim the $4500 tax credit, and score the $5k Toyota discount at nearby dealership at New England states, plus additional dealer discount (I think you should get at least $2K). That will be $11.5K off MSRP. I will go for a brand new 2020. I've just sold my 2018 Premium with 15k miles for $20.9K to a used car dealer and purchased a new 2020 XLE cost less than $19K after all taxes, fees and incentives. Here is some highlight about the 2020 vs 2017: 2017 Premium vs 2020 XLE 4 vs 5 seats 2020 has Apple Carplay (but no Android Auto) non-extendable sunvisors vs dual extendable 12v outlet for rear seat vs dual usb port for rear seat cargo cover vs flip cloth cargo cover vs retractable premium (on paper, it said XLE has cloth cover, but I found they are all retractable) front heated seat switch relocated from front bottom (a weird location) to center console (next to cup holder) 96 months/100k miles hybrid battery warranty vs 120 months/150k miles. 0 year vs 3 year free Safety Connect Service Hope it helps and looking forward to seeing you to join the PP family.
