I deliver medication all over the Dallas Ft Worth metroplex, I'd say I do 50/50 highway and city driving, and i do 150-300 miles per day, 5 days a week. I'm looking for a reliable vehicle that will maximize my MPG. I'm saving around $6000 or so, which could buy me a used Prius with around 90,000-130,000 miles on it. Realistically, how long can I expect the car to last with that kind of mileage? Can the Prius stand up to this kind of usage? Will repairs and maintenence eat my lunch? Would I be wiser buying a used Corolla or Echo? It will take me a couple of months to save, so I have time to do research, and actual owners will help shed the most light I feel. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks
I was worried about such issues before I purchased my Prius for use as a taxi. One of the things that put my mind at rest was the Prius taxi drivers in Canada who had put well over 250,000 hard miles onto their cars! I am saving a lot of money having my Prius, even compared to a fuel efficient European diesel sedan which I previously had. The Prius should be the ideal vehicle for your useage too. I would be careful purchasing a used Prius with the high mileage you refer to unless it has been carefully checked by a main dealer. You should be fine as they are a reliable car, but get a bad one and it could be expensive. I'm sure others will give you their personal opinions too.
I used to do the exact same thing as you for about 3 years before the company I worked for lost their contract with the Commercial Pharmacy I drove for. The Prius is the PERFECT vehicle for this. Besides the great gas mileage the hatch back design and folding down the rear seats made it easy to get at the different packages ect.
I would look for a good deal on a new 2010 base model Prius and use the $6,000 for a down payment; I think they even offer an extra 2k in rebates and you could trade in your current car if you want. You could even go and buy a 3 year 120k warranty if you wanted to make sure you had zero repair cost in the first few years. You are going to put 65,000 miles on the car the first year and this is a lot of money for a car that already has 100k plus miles. I also have a 10 cents a mile rule in buying a used car. I take the purchase price $6,000 and divide by 10 cents, 60,000. If I can look at the car and say it will go 60,000 miles without major problems than it is a good buy. I would wonder if a 100,000 miles used Prius would meet this rule. Good luck and let us know what you find. TED
Sounds like it would meet the 10 cents rule at 100k. I'm trying to avoid financing a car that I'll be using this much. I'd rather buy a car out right, and have $1,000 on standby in my savings in case something goes wrong. And new Prius' are too expensive, even with 6k down, the payments are too high. I could finance a used one with say around 20000-30000 miles for 10-14k, but I definitly do not want to finance a used car for this level of usage.
== Prius. I think of 200 K as being a reasonable life expectancy for a Toyota. References: 100K Club: 200K Club: 300K Club: In practice they are doing so. Probably not, but life doesn't really come with guarantees. I had an Echo. They suck. Sold it before it was a year old. It felt like one of Detroits pathetic blind attempts to make a "small" car. Consider renting one for a few days, a week maybe, go on your normal routine, and see if you like being in there. For the amount of time you spend on the road, you should get something you like being in, whether it's this car or not.
I would have the car you want to buy thoroughly checked out and make sure all maintenance is up to date. Then religiously keep up the maintenance and you should be fine.
Well the Prius is only as good as the previous owners have kept it. Make sure to have it checked by a mechanic (a Toyota dealer is probably best since they can also check the health of the battery and the rest of the hybrid system too). There are plenty of cities that use Priuses as taxis so I figured if they can withstand the rigors of taxi duties, they'll withstand normal usage. Granted, you said you'll be using it for delivery but if it's 50/50, the battery isn't used much on the highway anyway (in terms of charge/discharge cycles). One thing to note though.. a Prius of about that age may need a 12V battery replacement if the previous owner hasn't done so already.
That is an excellent idea! I test drove one, along with the Honda Civic and Insight hybrids, I was most impressed with the Prius over them, better power, and MPG. Still having a few days in one would be nice. Ok a car that age needing a 12v battery, how much do those cost? Dealer must have been blowing smoke claiming the batteries should last the life of the car.
No. He was talking about the HV battery which should last the life of the car. I don't know any car that has a 12V battery that lasted 10-15 years. Those run near $200 after taxes I think... depends on your state tax I suppose.
Oh oh gotchya, like a regular car battery, thats to be expected. I never knew anyone who bought a used car and didn't have to replace the battery in a month.
The 12v battery is the Prius's achilles heel. When it starts to fail after about 4-5 years it does all sorts of weird things to the computers which will display odd error messages etc. Better get it replaced straight away if you buy the car to avoid any problems. Also, because of the way the 12v is weaker than a normal cars 12v, you MUST be very very careful if jump starting the car - get it wrong and you zap the computers! As such it's better to make sure you just keep the 12v happy and don't let it run down by leaving the lights on by mistake.
I am a network analyst for an independent dealer of Xerox copiers in rural Mississippi. I put 30,000 miles a year on my Prius carrying networking parts, as there is only one computer store more elaborate than a Walmart in my service area of 150 by 75 miles. My Prius averages about 45 MPG fully loaded, higher in spring and fall, lower in summer and winter. Toyota recommends 5000 mile oil and filter change and tire rotations, so I spend $45 every two months at my local Toyota dealer. I might save $5 at spiffy lube, but I am happy at the Dealer. In theory I should pay for some air filters every 30,000 miles but the dealer swore they were clean until 45,000. In two more visits, (every 60,000 miles) they may do fluid changes, but I have never seen that bill. Tires lasted my over 45,000 but the Delta is really flat and straight. In short (too late) it just works and has never been a problem. It holds a 10 foot 2 by 4, or a 8 foot door inside the cabin, not hanging out a window. It holds my 17 foot extension ladder folded up behind the front seat plus four 8 gallon tubs, as you see, while still allowing 3 humans space. It is hard to imagine not having room for your deliveries.
