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Prius curious in Los Angeles

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by sleekgeek, Aug 25, 2019.

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  1. sleekgeek

    sleekgeek New Member

    Joined:
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    Hey all,

    I’m moving to L.A. in about a week and don’t have a car. Will be looking at cars the first day I get there and I’ve been doing tons of research. First I settled on finding a used Corolla for about $5k, but looked into Prius and became obsessed. It looks like there are some options in the LA area for around $6-7k, obviously high mileage and older. For reference I saw a 2009 Prius 113k miles for $7500 at a dealer.

    -Is a high mileage, older Prius worth it with all the possible expensive repairs that may come up?

    -For California specifically they have the CVRP and the federal $7500 tax credit (for now) which might make a new prius or other hybrid half as much, though I’ve never owed $7500 in taxes. Is this a better way to go, put the $5-6k as down payment and finance the rest on a new model? I do prefer not being in debt, but a car is kind of a necessity where I’ll be and I’m not an experienced car buyer. I would be the type to drive a car forever, but I’m not sure what’s a bigger risk, buying used and crossing fingers it doesn’t break or buying new and crossing fingers I can afford it.

    -Is an older (but cheaper and simpler) Corolla a better buy, even with the inferior gas mileage, because of the possible high Prius repair costs?

    -Are there any great dealers or people who sell Priuses or Corollas in the LA area you know of?

    Thanks for your input!
     
    #1 sleekgeek, Aug 25, 2019
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  2. mistermojorizin

    mistermojorizin Active Member

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    2019 Prius Prime
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    1) What I've gathered is it makes more sense if you are the DIY type.
    2) Only on new plugins. I'm getting about $8800 back. $4500 as a federal tax rebate, $1500 California rebate, $2000 Air District Rebate, $800 PG&E. There's no Prius with $7500 tax rebates.
    3) Probably.
    4) Dianne Whitmire <[email protected]> is a member on these forums.

    Lastly, LA is very expensive, I lived there some 20 years. Try to save as much money as you can.
     
    #2 mistermojorizin, Aug 26, 2019
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  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    This does not apply to hybrids, only battery powered vehicles with a minimum battery size. The Prime is eligible for $4502 in Federal tax credits, but you have to have a Federal tax bill that large to claim that amount.

    There are no tax credits on used cars.
     
    #3 jb in NE, Aug 26, 2019
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  4. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Stick with a Corolla. Less expensive repairs and no one will steal your catalytic converter. Yes that’s a thing in LA now.
     
    #4 Skibob, Aug 26, 2019
    sleekgeek likes this.
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Gen3 in Ca. gets 10-yr 150000 mile warranty on Battery. So if you could swing something like a 2015 under 150000 miles you would have coverage. And that incorporates some safety fixes. Also older 2012-2015 Plug-in PiP might be very interesting play, you could get free HOV if it has not been previously registered for stickers...which probably you'd have to get from out-of-state but might be interesting idea for you. In all cases you need to aware of Toyota CARB warranty which in order to qualify you need to purchase qualifying car by Toyota rules (CARB state car).

    New Prime Plug-in would get you quite a bit of federal and state credits as well as free HOV. n After tax credits the price might not be too bad.
     
    #5 wjtracy, Aug 26, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2019
    sleekgeek and mikey_t like this.
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
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    Two
    As long as you have some basic mechanical skills and the help of folks on PriusCat you'll love an older model high-mileage Prius. They're super reliable and rarely need repairs. When they do need repairs, it can be done inexpensively with used parts on your day off... When I bought my high mileage Prius I was a hardcore enthusiast who wanted to do repairs, but nothing ever went wrong with it going on 7 years now, so instead I just work on other people's Prius so I know what to do if I ever have a problem with my own. :)
     
    #6 PriusCamper, Aug 26, 2019
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