I’m on the frantic hunt for my first car - with great fuel economy (no less than 35 mpg city/hwy), exceptional reliability (low maintenance, no need for repairs) and good safety features. I posted this in the parents forum because I’m expecting there would be more experience. Those are the must-haves, along with a preference for an auxiliary input jack. My budget is 3k - 5k, however, which I know limits my options drastically. A Prius would be ideal, and here’s the options I’ve found:
The 2004 Nissan I saw at a dealership. It is decent, but not the top pick. Also concerned about reliability for that model.
The 2005 is from a trusted mechanic who specializes in Priuses, has ensured that it’s mechanically sound, and won’t cheat me. There will be a 3 month warranty on the battery. After seeing the car, I’m impressed and would love to drive it. However, I’m very concerned about the battery being 11 years old (with 8 year, 100k mi warranty in Florida) even though the car is in excellent condition. I’ve heard of batteries randomly giving out, so even if it drives well now, how do I know when its final days are here?
I will be staying on campus at my college for this year, after that it is off-campus. My campus requires little driving and it would only be used for mainly errands and leisure during the school year.
So I’d like to ask anyone with experience with Priuses on here:
Is age or mileage more important when purchasing a used Prius?
How much longer is this car likely to last with the battery? I’d rather look into another car now than fork out $3k for a replacement battery.
For a college student with almost no money to spend on repairs, is this 2005 Prius overall a wise purchase? Or do you think I should look into a newer non-hybrid?
What other car models would you recommend, if the Prius I mentioned might not be the best idea?
I was considering the Hyundai Elantra or Kia Soul.
Please share ANY INFORMATION AT ALL you have! It all helps me make an informed decision.
My 2006 Prius is still going strong with 130,000 miles. A fantastic car in every way. I have heard that the batteries tend to fade around 170,000 miles or so, but I don’t know anyone to whom that’s happened.
I just bought a 2010 woth 50K miles, and gave my 2006 to hubby; he’s thrilled.
it is great for hauling stuff, is very safe in an accident, and has never given me a bit of trouble. I’d vote for the Prius.
We have 2 Priuses and bought a 3rd for my son last year when he graduated college. Mine is the oldest - 2010, so not as old as what you are looking at - but it is superb. I have not had anything to do other than scheduled maintenance. When my other child moves out of the city, she will get a Prius as well. Very reliable IMO.
Thanks for the feedback! I have heard some drivers say that their Prius has given them 300,000 miles + without problems, but those are usually newer models like yours. How long would you expect the car to last on the battery? Is 5 more years realistic? Also since I’m not gonna drive it much on campus would you suggest looking into a cheaper option like a corolla?
I don’t really know the expected battery life, to be honest. We drive our cars as long as they’ll have us. I probably have somewhere around 80,000 on my Prius? It’s the most driven of our three.
Here is an article from an auto mechanic about his method of checking to see if a Prius battery is close to failure: http://artsautomotive.com/publications/7-hybrid/140-predictive-battery-failure-analysis-for-the-prius-hybrid/ . However, it requires an OBD-II scanner with the Toyota-specific stuff to read the battery voltage stuff being measured. Note that he says that the second generation (2004-2009) Prius batteries seem to be more reliable.
Where will you get the $3000 when the battery suddenly dies? I vote neither. For a college student with limited budget get either a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic.
If you’re considering the Elantra, I’d also look at Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas. Prius is a great car (my sister has a couple and one is ten years old) but it commands a premium price. Go simple and basic for now.
You don’t have the extra money for a new battery. Have you looked at the rest of the car and the cost of maintenance?
I have a gen 2 2009 Prius with 170,000 + miles. I have had no major issues with the Prius. I love it. My 16yo D will start driving it when she gets her license and can get a parking space at school. I will then probably get a newer Prius for myself. I had read somewhere that the batteries were designed to last at least 185K miles.
Why do you need a car? Can’t you take the bus, ride a bike, walk like other college students? How much is the monthly parking rate on campus? How much is the monthly car insurance? Where will you get another couple thousand for these costs and any unexpected expenses?
I get things like oil and fluids serviced at Jiffy lube, or whatever fast oil change place is handy. Brakes I have done at dealer, because as best I can tell, the brakes are unique to the Prius. And I have the dealer do things like the 100K service.
Madison85, I’ve already factored in the costs of parking etc at UF. I need a car mainly for this current summer - I’m staying in Fort Lauderdale, taking classes and working every day and the public transportation system is not very efficient. Additionally, during the holidays, I have to find my way to stay with relatives. My parents do not live in the US so they can’t drive up to get me. That’s why I was drawn to the Prius - good for hauling all the dorm stuff at a reasonable, compact size. During this school year, as I said, it would be used less. The following year it will be more useful as I will be off campus. Also I’m getting this car now because I do not know when else in the next 5 years I will be able to.
About the Prius - has it had the timing belt replaced yet? That is at least $1000 and usually happens around 100,000 miles (for every car). Has it had any recall items fixed? Toyota was massively fined for lying about the accelerator problems while fixing them without informing customers during regular service checks. Make sure it was done.
I would still go with a cheaper car with lower mileage, say 50,000 - 80,000 that is a reliable model like a Civic, Corolla or Camry. There are so many of them out there that you should have many options.
Much of the benefit of a Prius is the fuel efficiency. I personally happen to value that a lot, for a multitude of reasons: my own wallet, conserving resources, and socio/geopolitical reasons. But that’s just me. How much do you value that?
I hear the points being made on the used Civic/Corolla/Camry - all of which would be reasonable choices as well - but the same kind of unexpected expensive repairs could happen on any of them, no?
We have a 2007 Prius. My husband just replaced the 12V starter battery, it was about $120. It kind of makes me wonder, the indications that we had that the starter battery was failing kind of led us to believe that the hybrid battery was failing (not starting, lighting everything up like a Christmas tree). I wonder how many people end up replacing the hybrid battery for 3-4K, when it was just the starter battery that was failing.
Love the Prius. Very roomy, quiet, great gas mileage. We have over 100K miles on it, and the only thing we do is change the oil and fluids on it. Never had anything go wrong with it, except that starter battery. We haven’t even done any tuneups or scheduled maintenance on it.
We have a 2005 Prius. Bought new, all oil changes and routine stuff done by DH. The big service stuff has been done professionally. 175,000 miles and going great.
We’ve had 2 Civic hybrids, 1 Camry hybrid, and one Corolla. The Corolla is still a baby so it’s too soon to tell but the only expensive repair we’ve had was to replace the Civic hybrid battery for about $3000. We had bought that car used and although the mileage was under 100K, it was already 11 or 12 years old and was from the earlier models (2003?). So I would be wary.
It sounds like the OP won’t be putting that much mileage on it either and most of it would be city driving.
If you need room in your car, Toyota makes a hatchback - Corolla Matrix. It has as much room for stuff as a small SUV if you fold the rear seats. Very reliable, and a 2008 with 50k on odo can be had for cheap. No, I am not selling mine yet.
I vote against the Prius. You are paying a premium for a car that WILL need very pricy work done - it is only a matter of time when. It it is not a water pump or even a tranny that your trusted mechanic can replace for you - this work will have to be done at a dealer, and they will milk you dearly with their labor fees.