Hello everyone. I ride mountain and road bikes fairly regularly. Currently my DD is a paid off, well maintained and reliable 2006 Toyota Tundra with relatively low mileage of 98,000 miles. I used to use it for work (property maintenance, towing equipment). Since then we've sold the business and the only reason I drive the truck is to get the bike trail or group ride. It is due for a couple new tires soon, along with a timing belt job and 100k maintenance. I am spending about $80 a month in gas (16/21 mpg city/hwy). If I decide to keep it, I'll need to have the maintenance performed, replace tires, and upgrade the stock radio (and add a reverse camera). ~2k of maintenance and upgrades. The local Toyota dealership has appraised my truck and offered me a more than fair valuation of $10,500 for the truck, compared to NADA, KBB, and local pricing (I know they have to make some money off of selling it, too). I am currently looking at a 2010 Prius IV with 150,000 miles on it. It is very well maintained. The CarFax shows regular maintenance performed at dealerships throughout its life. It has brand new tires, etc. It's quite a nice car as it has the upgraded trim. I only have a few reservations about it. It's missing the rear tonneau cover, ugly beige paint, and depreciation. They are willing to trade cars for $350 OTD. They are most likely making ~$1000 on this deal (less if I make them throw in the rear cargo tray or all weather floormats). Pros/Cons on the Tundra Pros: $10 a month cheaper car insurance ample Ground Clearance: curbs, high water (it's been flooding a lot here lately), potholes (worst roads in nation here, also) Reliability: Only thing we've had to do to the truck (aside from regular maintenance) is replace the belt tensioner. Cargo area: Bikes are loaded in the bed easily. Paid off Is still worth 12k (private sale) after ten years and 97k miles. Cons: Needs 2k of maintenance/upgrades soon 16mpg.... Drives like a boat Pros/Cons on the Prius IV Pros: Has JBL Sound and Bluetooth audio Brand new tires No upcoming major maintenance Fuel Savings (I can spend less on gas and more on bicycles) Cons: More depreciation loss VS the Tundra Have to borrow the wife's Forester if I need to tow the motorcycle or mower Have to add hitch bicycle rack for bike trips with passenger My main goal is to save money by purchasing a fuel efficient bicycle mule that the SO is willing to drive and be safe in. She has a hard time parking the truck. Options are: 1. Keep the Tundra, spend ~$2000 on upgrades/maintenance, more on gas 2. Trade for the Prius IV, spend ~$350 on dealer fees, another $150 for hitch 3. Sell the Tundra privately for cash, spend $5-6k on an older car with less fuel efficiency. Pocket/Invest the money Appreciate your thoughts and honest opinions. -Jim
Well you are looking at an off-warranty Prius that could have some repair needs. Why not get something a bit newer? You get 8-yr 100k miles warranty on the major hybrid parts in La. Otherwise maybe best to go with just a reliable car.
I'm looking for an older car that has already depreciated (that's still nice enough for the SO to drive). Do you think the battery pack isn't reliable enough to last another 60k miles/ten years? I'll be putting 6-7k miles a year on it. If it was up to me I would find an old manual hatchback and buy a bicycle that costs more than the car... But alas, twas hard enough to convince the boss that there was no logical reason for me to use a full sized truck to haul a single bicycle. Edit: After closer inspection of the 2010 Prius, it looks like I will have to pass on it. The PO started having issues with the ECU at 128k and reported poor gas mileage. Looks like the dealership flashed an updated but still recommended a new ECU. Doesn't look like the problem persisted, but the owner still traded it in a year later. After calculating the fuel savings... looks like I'll "only" save $500 a year. Will most likely lose more than that in depreciation and repairs. :-(
Your call... what jumped out to me in your post was: "Have to borrow the wife's Forester if I need to tow the motorcycle or mower Have to add hitch bicycle rack for bike trips with passenger" So...seems like you need a truck. A sedan seems to be the wrong vehicle for your life. That's my two cents. Good luck in your decision.
Hello again everyone. Just wanted to stop back in and update anyone who was reading this thread. I did end up selling the Tundra for 12k. However, instead of the Prius IV, I found a 2001 BMW 325i Sport Wagon, with a 5 speed manual transmission, for half the price of the Prius IV. The PO of the wagon had replaced every major system in the car (over 10k worth of parts) in the last 3 years out of love. Didn't hurt that he owns an exotic import repair shop. I'm OK with the fact that it will require slightly more maintenance over the next few years in lieu of depreciation. All I really need to do now is spend $200 to add a trailer hitch to the wagon for a bike rack (and perhaps light towing duty.) Perhaps in a few years I'll be back here again. Thanks for all the input.
