Shopping for my 1st Prius

If you want the power seat a 2012 is a must, as far as I know it didn't exist before 2012 on any trim level. I have a 2012 four and it has been a great car. May have to go to $12-13K to get one with lower mileage (maybe 60K miles or so) depending on location.

 

I like the 2012 over previous years because it has floor mat recall already taken care of and a few other minor things.
I think there are some complaints about the 2010 that are not provable (oil maybe being one?), as I said, not provable and not a deal breaker, but enough that I'd go for a 2011 if i had to, but prefer the 2012 of course (or later).

As to the 2012: At this point, the difference in depreciation loss between 2013 and 2012 should be similar, but the 2012 should be a bit more favorable, so you're doing a smart thing by looking for a 2012, all other things being equal. OTOH, if you see a 2013 you like better than the 2012's your seeing, for any reason (price, care of vehicle, styling, etc), and the price is fair or a bargain, you should be dealing with a very modest depreciation hit getting a 3 year old car vs 4 years old, so a 2013 could be a great choice too.

Whereas, a 2014 is a poor depreciation choice, so I'd not look at those unless there was some very compelling reason.

Otherwise, you're making a good choice imo.

Do read around once you get your car. There are some things you Definitely want to know. Such as: you may want to replace the 12v battery if your car is 4 years old (or at least monitor the voltage on it while cold). that's only about $200 to replace. Also, gas savings are so immense on this car, you won't save much by hypermiling, so imo that's only for fun and very modest savings. Drive with your Daytime running lights on, they're very well designed. Stuff like that. Don't let the gas run out, and ignore all the pretty lights on the dash..no scratch that, they're fun and make us feel good. !l lol. Don't jump anyone else's car, ever; and if you run the 12v battery down, follow charging instructions to the T or risk expensive damage. Use PWR mode if you like it, I think it's best, and shouldn't cost anything in gas.

*** Since you are getting leather: if you can get a Prius with the roof section that charges the a/c from the sun, get that. Then, keep the funny little button depressed year round that turns the a/c on when you're NOT in the car to keep inside modestly cool.

Summer's coming up - get the windshield shade from the Prius shop. it's really well made, only about $55, and it even covers the little triangular windows between windshield and door-windows. It looks awesome.

I THINK there's a similar thing for the side and even back? I thought I saw mention of that somewhere in some thread but I've never really looked for those.

While you're at it, get a leather steering wheel cover from the Prius Shop. Reason: the Prius steering wheel is pretty hard and kind of annoying (hard) on the hands, imo. Look up precise instructions on how to install - apparently you have to pull the threading pretty firmly when installing it. (my understanding is that it's totally fine to do yourself - just read a few posts here on priuschat.com and maybe watch a youtube video is my suggestion).

There are newbie threads out there, I hosted one for a while and there are stickies as well. Read those!

Put your jumper cables under the front passenger seat. check my thread for explanation if you doubt this. lol

Welcome,
- PNB

 

yep

>>do you think it's still a good idea to have a mechanic inspect it or not really necessary?

I always do
Prius is the first car I thought I could skip it.
But then, think:
It's $50-150 to get the car looked at.
What is the chance of something being wrong?
Prius' are so well built, so reliable...so maybe one car out of 50 has a problem? I can't asses that.
And that problem would cost...help..unknowable!
2 cars out of a hundred have a $500 problem? That's....02x$500=a $10 average problem (if you bought 100 cars... lol).
Or maybe it's 10 cars out of 100 have a $40 problem ($4), and 1 car out of 300 has a $3000 problem ($10)...
Or maybe it's 1 car out of 1000 has a $6000 problem ($6)
Cumulatively, that's only $20... i guess.... .... we don't know the actual risks...

Ok the p values are low...

but then risk aversion comes in...

Is $50 much to spend for peace of mind?

I actually went with a gold plated $150 assessment on a 2013.
That may have been overkill. I'll never know, since I only bought one car.

I would have been happier with $50 assessment, would have been an easy decision.
My choices were non-prius mechanic (no thanks!), dealership (fine), or private prius mechanic I wanted an ongoing relationship with ($150).

Good luck! I feel there are no terribly wrong answers on this one for a car of that age. (well, except for the decision in which you don't get it checked out and it has a problem that costs more than $150 to fix of course).

Risk assessment is of course by nature unknowable. I'm kind of interested in the concept...but can't give any definitive of course.

So...final answer:
the wild-guess numbers say maybe it's ok to skip it on a a recent prius
my personal suggestion is to get ALL cars checked out. All of them.

btw I have nearly been burned on two terrible cars from 'trusted sellers' (cheaper older cars, granted, so not what you're in the middle of), so you're smart to have your antenna up on this!!
My overall recommendation is to get ALL cars checked out. All of them.

 

Welcome, the other thing I would add is if you are planning on buying it from an individual on Craigslist I would definitely get an inspection done. Not everything is reported on the carfax or on the Toyota ownership page.

rp

 

That is correct!
I forgot about that!!
ONLY repairs done at a Toyota dealership (and some/most but NOT ALL shops) is reported to carfax..!!

In fact, one of the shit cars that looked fine that I almost bought was from a dealership. No kidding. So glad I got that one checked out. !!