Hi guys long time lurker here. I've had a 2001 Prius for about 7 years, got 275k miles on it before it died pretty bad last week. So now I'm looking for a newer model, 2010 or newer. And with that comes a lot of confusion especially regarding the trim levels and packages. I'm looking for the best deal for the money (under 14k), and need some advice. I found a few good deals (I think) but not sure what sort of things should have more or less weight when making a decision. Here's the ones I'm currently looking at: 2013 Prius III 103k miles $13995 2010 Prius V 98k miles $12650 2011 Prius V 115k miles $13950 2010 Prius III 86k miles $13800 2012 Prius III 80k miles $13900 All of these are in excellent condition and most if not all have the title and/or carfax ready. Also all of them have nav/bluetooth/back up camera. Not sure how much more valuable the Prius V is compared to the III. I know that Entune is only available for 2012 and higher. Is it worth it? Is there any other compelling features or improvements between 2010-2013 that make it worth the price difference or no? Is the JBL sound system worth any extra cost? And lastly, if you had to choose between any of these, which one(s) would be the best, if any? Sorry for all of the questions! Figured I'd ask the experts before making a decision on this, want to keep the car as long as possible.
The 2010 V is the best value, with the lower mileage, lower price, and all the great features the level V offers. It's the best of the best features available.
Good to know, and thanks for your input! So one thing I'm still trying to figure out is what kind of standard features are in the V by default that aren't in the III. It seems that things like that solar roof/advanced technology packages are only available in the V, but so far I haven't seen any V with those packages. One site I was looking at said that the "advanced smart key system" is only available in IV or higher but I've seen it in several IIIs...so you can imagine the confusion!
solar roof and advanced tech package cannot be purchased together. The solar roof is not available on the V either. The number of safety and convenience features the V has (with advanced tech package), it's crazy to buy any other version. It's got all these little nice features that are a standout from the other Prius cars. You can google the package equipment from the V, it really is a large array of features that you will not find on any car under $50,000
