Hello Prius Chat! I'm reaching out to people who are more well-versed in the Prius world for some advice. I've been searching for a Prius over the last month and I think I have my search narrowed down to two vehicles. Both are 2012 Prii, one is black with 77k miles and the other is White with 66K miles. Both drove nicely, but I have some reservations. Black Prius: This car is at a Ford dealership and has been in their inventory almost two months. It has higher miles than the white vehicle, but overall is in excellent cosmetic condition. I entered the VIN into the Toyota owners website and it was serviced every 5k miles at a local Toyota dealership. My concern is that I'm taking a 36 month loan to pay it off quickly, but by the time I pay it off, it'll have over 100k miles - should I be worried? Also, it's a Prius 2, so it doesn't have the back-up camera or HD radio. White Prius: This car is at an affordable auto lot but is newer to their inventory, has been there about a month. The vehicle is in very good condition overall and has fewer miles than the black Prius. I noticed some very tiny rust spots on the wheel wells, but that's to be expected for a vehicle in Minnesota. When I looked at the Car Fax, I noticed that it was first a rental vehicle, then leased, then a personal vehicle - so effectively it's a three-owner vehicle. What my concern is, however, that it's been sold at auction three times during it's life span, and wasn't driven for quite a while as it bounced around. Overall, I like that this one has a back-up camera, HD radio, and lower miles - but I'm concerned about it's history. I couldn't find much of anything in terms of service records, but the dealer assured me they thoroughly inspected the vehicle and added new tires and brakes. My gut leads me to the black Prius, given the service history and the positive experience I've had at the dealership, but I like the white color better. What are your thoughts regarding the miles vs service/auction history? Any help would be appreciated.
I forgot to add, the white Prius is listed at $12,999 and the black Prius is listed at $12,144 (offered $11,500 and walked, but the salesman mentioned he'd work with his manager to get it down to my price). There is also a 2010 Prius 3 with a Solar Roof that just came on the market, 41,000 miles for $12,995 - with issues I've read about 2010 vehicles, however, I'm a bit concerned even though I like the nicer features.
Just my personal prefs: 1. Never had a black vehicle, hear they're a pain to clean, polish, heat magnets, and so on. My pref would be lighter exterior, and darker interior. Light interior upholstery and carpet are a bugger to keep clean. 2. A level 2 might only have one door touch unlock? The ability to be able to unlock either front door or the hatch is very nice. 3. We've only had one car with a sunroof, don't miss them. And for sure with the Prius sunroof, sit in the car, maybe in the front passenger seat, check the fit. They do reduce headroom. Our 2010's had no issues, btw.
Keep looking for now. Black Prius doesn't have features you want but great service records. White is certainly a great color but ownership and service records are sketchy. 2010 with good mileage and solar sunroof is great but somewhat overpriced. Those are just my humble opinions..... Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
welcome! i'd go with the black, if the features are acceptable to you. the white on concerns me due to auctions and lack of service, and mom and pop dealer screwing up the brakes, and not really capable of surveying the condition of a hybrid vehicle. the only concerns on the 2010 is rattles and oil burning around 100k, but if you maintain it correctly, it should be fine. hybrid battery with only 6,000 miles per year might become an issue after the 8 year warranty, it's hard to say. that is a lot of money for a 7 year old car though, these batteries prefer to be driven, and it seems miles aren't as bad as years. as far as payments go, there is no relevance to the mileage of the vehicle. if you pay cash, it will still have the same miles after 3 years. you can generally count on 150,000 miles of decent service with prius, but of course, a few get burned badly sometime short of that. all the best!
Good point regarding the life of the battery on the 2010 - I've read that the cars prefer to be used, but couldn't get a clear picture whether or not miles or age were tougher on the vehicle. Thank you!
I'd wait, if at all possible. There are a lot of Prii on the market and one will eventually come up that gives you the background and appearance that you'd like. While I know that some would disagree with me, I would never buy a preowned Prius that was a rental or used as a cab. Those cars usually have tough lives.
I agree with that, I feel fishy about the white Prius and this has confirmed that. The black vehicle has only had two owners, but was sold as certified used before recently being traded-in.
So do I. You want to be confident that a Pri has been loved and cared for and leased/rental cars don't customarily fall into that category. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I've decided that I'm no longer interested in the white vehicle, but I'm keeping the black as a possible option based on its history of good maintenance.
