used prius

Did you check kbb.com or nada.com for pricing? It sounds like a decent deal at 12K to me but, honestly, 98k on a Prius is just a baby. lol

 

Ok, lets have some basic car buying school. lol

First check NADA nada.com and check to see how much this car is worth. Then check kbb.com and do the same. Both sites ask for a zip but, I don't know yours so I can't input it. Dealers use NADA when they take in a trade (which is typically lower than kbb but not always).

 

kbb.com = $12,454
nada.com = $15,575
So, $12,900 is at the lower end of the range. Sounds like a good deal to me but, I'd try to get it for $12,000 and see what they say. How does the car look? How does it drive? Buying a Prius from a dealer is usually a safe bet.

 

if you're worried that something expensive might break, i would look at corolla/camry/yaris/matrix/etc.

 

IMO, the mileage is fine. I have owned 3 Prius with over 100,000 miles no problems. I have an 01 with 129k miles, an 05 with 154k miles and I had an 06 with 119k miles. I do take good care of my vehicles but, the Prius has been the least maintenance intensive vehicle I've ever owned.

You do have to remember that the engine doesn't run all the time in the Prius so the equivalent mileage on another car would be something like 80-85K miles.

 

I don't believe the Prius is suitable for anyone that's on a "lower budget". Although the Prius doesn't break down much, it does cost more to service. The prices for repairs can also be higher than regular cars.

However if you are pretty good around cars and can often do basic repairs yourself, then the Prius would be a good choice even on a "lower budget". Avoiding services at the dealer will save you a great deal of money.

 

Consider this: If you were to purchase this car you would've put 100k miles on it after 5 years. Sell it as a 10 year old used car with 200k miles and it would've cost you $13000 - $5000 = $8000 to own the car not counting gas cost and maintenance. A 2004 model Prius goes for roughly that much on Craigslist, not with that many miles though.

Now, purchase a brand new Prius C2 for $19000. Put 100k miles on it after 5 years and you know the dealer sells a regular 2 for $13000 so say you can sell a 5 year old C2 for $10000. $18000 - $10000 = $8000. I obviously rounded the numbers a bit to come out that way but the cost are nearly equal +/- $500

The chances of a Prius C lasting 100k miles problem free is pretty good. The chances of a Prius lasting 200k miles problem free? Not as much. And as others has stated, it's super reliable but when thing go wrong, they can be expensive.


iPhone ?

 

You must've not read the "lower budget" part of the thread. How can the OP consider a NEW C? Also the C is a completely different class car.

 

I agree with this. It sounds like you're at a point in life where you need to keep costs as low as possible.

You want a basic, cheap, but mostly reliable car that will get decent mileage.

Once you can afford to spend more money, then consider other vehicles.

Good luck.

 

...or even go for the extended warranty, as I did (see my story about "ChuggyPig, 83k miles circa $13k before trade-ins & bargaining). 98k is a baby as far as Toyotas are concerned (I had a Toyota Corolla for 21 years and put on almost 300k miles on it before it failed its DMV inspection and I bought ChuggyPig! Good luck with your Prius, I think you'll love it! I love ChuggyPig!

 

If you have at least $1000 saved for repairs, I don't see any problem buying a Prius with that many miles. High dollar repairs are pretty much a given with any car if you keep it long enough. The Prius is less likely to break, but it also has more parts that can break, and they generally have higher price tags (especially if you go to the dealer). Unless your other option is a manual transmission economy car (Yaris, Civic, Corolla), I would say the Prius would be more reliable.

 

I like how you say I must've not read the OP and then failed to read mine. Unfortunately, that is also how people look at purchasing cars. They look at initial price instead of total ownership costs.

 

I did read yours and it makes perfect sense, if you can afford the new car upfront. Not easy to do with a lower budget

SM-N900P ?