Hello everyone. I am a new member seeking some guidance from you all. We sold the only reason left to own a pickup, and now I am seeking to buy another prius for my commute (and to haul a dirtbike; 400 lb trailer weight, 60 llb tongue). My budget is about 7-9k and I am okay driving an ugly car, so bring on your side swipes. I really like using my wife's 2014 prius, and it is what I commute in now but I want to swap back and get my own. I'm a recent engineering graduate and as 'mechanically inclined' as it gets, BUT I hate working on cars. In the past I have built and tuned a VA generation WRX STI, a mid-travel tacoma, and a solid axle swapped old ford for offroad/street fun. After all these, I'm kind of burnt out on crawling around and emptying my wallet over automobiles. I also don't have time for it honestly. With the Prius, I am looking to avoid problematic years, but am also aware that much of that discussion is exacerbated. I am aware some burn oil, and this is my main concern. How do I avoid this? I do not want to be pulling an engine in 3 months after purchase! I am here to get real world recommendations from people who know about their cars. I'll leave it at that. Ask whatever you want. Also, I'm aware there are a handful of these threads, but I am looking to get the most current thought on this. Sorry for the redundancy. I posted this here because it seems the most active. Thanks everyone!
If you plan on towing, best to get a Rav4 hybrid. Similar gas mileage, just more room and more power.
Well, I tend to agree, but with the kind of things im looking to tow, it will be no different than having two people in the car.
ive a 10 and 13 that both pull a floe trailer pics all over net.. plastic aluminum thing .. in my world the 10 w solar and jbl has been twice the car of persona 13 both same engines similar mileages. both commercially driven 17 rims and 45 series do not do it..
a well maintained 2009 is not out of the question depending on mileage, no major issues, but you will need a battery eventually. gen 3 (2010-2015) are problematic. 2015 is the only one i'd feel comfortable with because they updated the pistons and rings. egr clogging, blown head gaskets and engines, brake actuator failure, just some expensive systems to keep an eye on. 2016 and newer, so far so good, and many major improvements, but probably not in your budget.
Thank you for the thoughtful response. We're trying to buy a house and I'm fresh out of school, so I am adamant about not adding any payments. I don't have to be stuck to 8k or so, but I have an 05 Ram 1500 in great shape I am going to sell and use whatever that brings. I am open to something older than 2010, I just favor these since we have one in the family already. I am also open to other fuel efficient things like a Civic, or a Honda Fit, but I favor the Prius.. I have to commute 60 miles a day at minimum so 16 MPG in the Ram is not working. I want to give my wife her car back too, she really likes it lol. I just need something that gets 30+ mpg, can pull my dirtbike on a trailer, and is big enough for me to sleep (camping) inside of once a month. Do you think I would be best going another route?
I am too new to post links, but, this is right up my alley. Thanks again for talking with me everyone.
Have you considered getting your wife a new/different car and driving her 2014 Prius? As I'm sure you're aware, used car prices are crazy and people tend to hang on to good-running Priuses (which skews the used market towards Priuses that are having problems or soon to have problems). Since you are past the point in your life where you enjoy (or tolerate) working on your cars, I would caution you against buying a used Prius unless you know you have a good hybrid repair shop nearby. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that may not be the case in Paducah (though you could probably find something in Nashville or St Louis). A used Prius is a very economical car to put a lot of miles on, but a lot of ~$2,000 repairs are still possible. New hybrid battery, new head gasket (or roll the dice with a used engine), power brake booster, etc. I had 2 of those $2,000 repairs in the last 60,000 miles, but my Prius still cost me less than $0.22/mile to operate including gas, insurance, registration, repairs, etc (see my breakdown here: durability of replaced headgasket? | PriusChat ). So only consider a used Prius if you have a good shop (or are willing to do the work yourself) AND can tolerate pouring $2,000+ at a time into your car without its value going up at all. Another thing to consider is what type of driving you will be doing. The Prius gets fantastic mpg in the city, but a bit more towards normal mpg at high speed highway driving. If you're driving 75-80mph everywhere, you'll probably be getting 40mpg, not the advertised 50. There are a number of non hybrid cars that'll get 30+ under those same conditions - and they generally don't run the same risk of large repair bills. Finally, strongly consider a new car. While I applaud your desire to avoid taking on debt and would ordinarily agree that a used car is the economical choice, covid has really screwed up the market. If you are willing to wait 1-3 months to order a new one, you can buy a new Prius Prime for the ~$30,000 MSRP. If you act now you should still be able to get the full $7,500 tax credit (which will be cut in half sometime this year). You'll then have a brand new car for less than 3 year-old cars are currently selling for - and you'll have one that can get 80+ mpg if you plug it in each night. You won't have to worry about repair bills or down time, and you can concentrate on other things for the next ~10 years.
if you hate working on cars, a civic, corolla, etc. would be a better choice. reason being, hybrid mechs are few and far between, and those few and dealerships charge a fortune to work on them. and there are some very expensive systems in a prius. yes, they are great and very reliable. but a 2,3, $4,000. repair isn't out of the question if you don't diy with salvage parts. i always advise people, before you buy an old prius, try finding a reasonable, reliable mech first. that may be enough to change your mind.
I dont like doing it, but I'd never pay for mechanical work. It always comes at the expense of my entire weekend or something usually though. I may actually be better off picking up a decent used gas car with 100k on it since I only really drive on the highway anyways. Plus I imagine it would respond better to pulling my dirtbike lol. Thanks again for the thoughts, I feel like I'll make a better choice. I MIGHT even be able to get it in a manual transmission!
