I have a 2010 Prius and have enjoyed it for three years with few issues. My college son needs a car for his summer job. A trustworthy local high-mileage car sales place has a southern-based '09 with 225K for $5000. Son was looking for an older Corolla. Another place has an '04 Corolla with 175K for the same price. Which would you get? (My current Prius has almost 200K, and my former '05 Corolla finally rusted out at 275k, so I feel either is acceptable.)
For the kid I would opt for the Corolla all day long and '04 is a nice car that's a two z engine I do believe non Atkinson nice little setup reliable good cold air conditioning everything is pretty easy to fix No real expensive parts on the car for the most part It should be a win-win that or a Yaris either of the two for the kid so he doesn't have to deal with any battery stuff Not a lot of eccentric electronics multiple ECUs in the car etc The Corolla is a great choice hands down for this situation.
I second the Corolla because of the unique issues older Hybrids can have. Nevertheless, have a mechanic check it all out before buying, that's a lot of miles and a lot of years.
^^ Tom speaks the truth. I might try to find a slightly newer one but any 15 year or older car will need repairs in the future. Any shop and most handymen can fix a standard Corolla. Not so with a hybrid. Budget Oldies But Goodies (w Lower Miles) 2000-04 Avalons (no rust) 2004-06 Camry V6 2004-06 Lexus ES330 2005-08 Corolla (very good)
i like the 2009 hybrid, but you run the risk of a multi thousand dollar battery, brake actuator and engine
