We haven't had Prius thread in a while
 

So, the Tweeze has decided on a Prius for her next car. We aren't buying new, so whats the sweet spot on age and miles on these? They seem to be all over the map. I see some 2012s with 115k on the clock going for 8k, and lower miles going for 14k. realistically how many miles can we get with minimal fuss? She commutes 22mi one way on a highway you don't want to have a breakdown on.

Educate me, I know some of you guys love the Prius!

Nick, while I generally agree, shes coming out of a Minivan, so its pretty much a net equal in my book.

So we own three now. My wife has a Lexus CT200h, my daughter has a 2008 Prius, and I just bought a 2013 Prius Plug-In adv tech (replacing the Cayenne). It's an appliance. I prefer a CPO, if you get older notice the battery warranty or figure on a replacement (3D party now available) - you live in a hot climate which might effect longevity. PPO is important for older ones to check out the battery. Frequent oil changes important I'm told. I'm not a Toyota fan, but they've made millions of them, lots of experience. Watching the fuel/hybrid monitors is like driving a Fitbit. The MPG is exceptional.

I have an 08 Camry Hybrid, same sort of set up. I have 120K on the clock, I've seen Prius and Camry Hybrid taxis in NYC with 300K on them and the driver's said they never had a problem with the hybrid battery. In CA the battery is warranted for 10 years or 150,000 miles. Other states are like 8/120

How's your mileage Hugh? I see some Camrys a bit cheaper than a similar Prius.

I've heard they're super reliable as well, and surviving taxi duty well. I'd suggest researching a new one as a benchmark as a purchase or a lease. There's more models to choose from, and factor in the tax credits or possible HOV stickers that might benefit your wife's type of driving. You could look at it from a cost/year perspective and perhaps (I'm just speculating here) that the cost/year might not be that much more for a new one, where you can pick and choose the color combo and options (and know the car wasn't f'd up). When gas prices are cheap, Prius' are too and I think there's good incentives on new ones that might apply to you, depending on if you're financing or not.

I did just read an article in one of the latest car magazines and the Volt was considered a much more entertaining drive and there are substantial comfort and handling issues as well.

35 mpg in city and freeway driving in Los Angeles.

I got the Plug-In only because of the HOV sticker. We'll get a Bolt for my wife in the next year or so, she has a more defined commute and I never know if I have to go somewhere.

I can't justify a plug-in only for that kind of money. I need a car that I can drive to San Diego or Bakersfield where I don't need to worry about plugging in. For that matter, I could drive my car to Pittsburgh if I wanted.

Hugh - that's the great part. It's just a Prius that routinely gets 50MPG. When the EV battery runs out after 11 miles - yes, that's all - it's just a standard hybrid. With a carpool sticker! For short trips I don't use any gas at all. It charges in a couple of hours on 110V.

The volt is another contender, but they seem to be more $$$.

Plug in only won't work for her. She usually only has a 40 mile round trip but there are times she ends up running all over town to different facilitates, and I doubt many, if any of those places have charge ports. AZ is only issuning new cloud plates(hov) for plug ins too. So that's not a factor.


Not too interested in financing. We are both working on being totally debt free, so plan is to pay cash.

Don, now that might interest her. And I think a Volt would qualify for that too. Plug in with Rex engine.

Hmmmm. This looks promising.


https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/5998406238.html

Case in point. 2016 Volts brand new were selling for about $18-20K after tax credits. I don't know if there's any around anymore, but I bet you could find some. Tell me how saving $5K is worth it for getting one 3 years older with 40K on it. The resale value alone is most of the difference, plus you get a fresh start on warranty, tires, brakes, everything.

I drove the gen 1 Volt thinking the same thing. The new one is pretty nice, the old one no so much. Very plastic, very small inside.

My brother loves hid Prius. He would have gotten a Volt except he regularly makes 100 mile round trip trips.
For a 22 mile commute you might consider a Volt. Used ones seem to be priced on par with Prius and you get 30 miles on an overnight charge. I know where you can get a 2014 with about 12k miles for $16k.

The volt doesn't have the cargo or passenger capacity the Prius does.

We have had ours since '05 and it has just about 120k miles on it.

That's irrelevant if you don't need it. I took the back seats out of my car. I don't need to carry more than one passenger.
Penn Jillette, who thinks he's some kind of genius, did a show on what a useless car the Prius is because you can only get 4 lesbians with a week's luggage in one, and for the same money you can get a mini van. He's right if you need to haul around five lesbians and their luggage, but who does that?
Anyone can pick a parameter and apply it to a car to make it look bad, but in reality, it's only bad if that's a function you need. In that case, get a different car.

But is there any truth in Jeff Dunhams statement regarding the sound when a Prius passes?