Help with buying a new Prius

[lucigo]

My DD would like to buy a new or almost new Prius. Because she lives 800 miles away, I want to make sure she is well taken care of, so hoping to get some advice.

Background...She has had the same car since college, has a successful career and its time to upgrade. She would like a sea glass pearl prius, maybe a two or a three. She lives in central FL.

How does a warranty differ from a new car vs an almost new car? Will the warranty package differ from dealer to dealer?

If we see one advertised an hour away at a better price is it worth the drive or will she be stuck having it serviced an hour away for the next 10 years?

Should she trade in the old car (2003 Chevy Tracker) or should we keep it for her younger sister.

How do we know how much we should offer to pay for this car?

If we go with used, how do we know what is a good deal and what is a lemon?

We drive our cars until they fall apart, so this would be a long term investment.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We drove 1.5 hours to save money on our last car. We get it serviced locally.

We looked at a Prius C as it had a pretty healthy discount (few weeks ago), but it had almost no cargo room. Didn't care for the standard Prius, but assume it's got more space.

 

[richmo]

If the Prius is almost new, it should still be under warranty from Toyota. If you get it from a dealer, there should be some kind of warranty for at least the first 30 days, where you should be able to get anything repaired. Of course, getting it from a dealer will likely cost more than if you get it privately.

As far as price, a lot of negotiation is reduced these days because buyers do their homework. There are websites that give you an idea of what the car is worth and what similar cars in your area sold for. She absolutely should do some research and not go into a dealer "cold". Among these are truecar, edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, NADA, etc.

On the question of your Tracker, its likely that it has very little trade-in value. The only case where it may is if some dealer offers a minimum of $5000, which they seem to do around here on occasion. But don't even let that influence you too much...the only thing that matters is the difference between the Prius and the Tracker, no matter how the dealer wants to spin it. My guess is that if it is running well, and you don't anticipate any major repairs, you may want to keep it.

 

[lucigo]

If the Prius is almost new, it should still be under warranty from Toyota. If you get it from a dealer, there should be some kind of warranty for at least the first 30 days, where you should be able to get anything repaired. Of course, getting it from a dealer will likely cost more than if you get it privately.

As far as price, a lot of negotiation is reduced these days because buyers do their homework. There are websites that give you an idea of what the car is worth and what similar cars in your area sold for. She absolutely should do some research and not go into a dealer "cold". Among these are truecar, edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, NADA, etc.

On the question of your Tracker, its likely that it has very little trade-in value. The only case where it may is if some dealer offers a minimum of $5000, which they seem to do around here on occasion. But don't even let that influence you too much...the only thing that matters is the difference between the Prius and the Tracker, no matter how the dealer wants to spin it. My guess is that if it is running well, and you don't anticipate any major repairs, you may want to keep it.

Thank you, there seem to be so many ways to negotiate it makes your head spin.

I think we will keep the Tracker, at least I know where it has been for the last 10 years.

 

[scrapshappen]

We bought a brand new Camry Hybrid last August. For us, the brand new was a better buy than a slightly used because we were able to get 0% financing. Besides, we were only able to find one that was barely used. People don't tend to turn in their used one during the first couple of years. And they retain their value pretty well so for us, the used one we looked at was not that much cheaper than the brand new ones. And August is a great time to buy because they are generally clearing out this years models to get ready for next year. We bought ours Labor Day weekend and there were some great deals going on everywhere.

Brand new Toyotas also come with 2 years of service included, but it can be done at any Toyota dealership, not the one you purchased from.

For the first time, I did all the negotiating on this deal myself. It was scary but the internet makes it so much easier. I looked through the inventory online and found the same basic car (including color) at four different Toyota dealerships within 60 miles of where we live. Then I sent them an email telling them that I was interested in that car and was emailing all the dealerships in the area to find out the best price they could give me on it. If someone came in higher than the others, I would email them back and say, sorry, I found a lower price somewhere else. On one of those, I got a reply back that dropped the price lower than the previous lowest price so we went to that dealership instead. We even took that offer to the dealer closest to our house to see if they could match it. They told us there is no way that dealership is going to sell you that car for that price. Guess what, they sold it to us for about $200 cheaper than that.

The other thing I did was researched the cheapest sales tax rate in the area, (here it can vary city to city). When purchasing a car, this can make a difference. (A .25% difference on 20k is $500.)

Good luck!

 

[lucigo]

We bought a brand new Camry Hybrid last August. For us, the brand new was a better buy than a slightly used because we were able to get 0% financing. Besides, we were only able to find one that was barely used. People don't tend to turn in their used one during the first couple of years. And they retain their value pretty well so for us, the used one we looked at was not that much cheaper than the brand new ones. And August is a great time to buy because they are generally clearing out this years models to get ready for next year. We bought ours Labor Day weekend and there were some great deals going on everywhere.

Brand new Toyotas also come with 2 years of service included, but it can be done at any Toyota dealership, not the one you purchased from.

For the first time, I did all the negotiating on this deal myself. It was scary but the internet makes it so much easier. I looked through the inventory online and found the same basic car (including color) at four different Toyota dealerships within 60 miles of where we live. Then I sent them an email telling them that I was interested in that car and was emailing all the dealerships in the area to find out the best price they could give me on it. If someone came in higher than the others, I would email them back and say, sorry, I found a lower price somewhere else. On one of those, I got a reply back that dropped the price lower than the previous lowest price so we went to that dealership instead. We even took that offer to the dealer closest to our house to see if they could match it. They told us there is no way that dealership is going to sell you that car for that price. Guess what, they sold it to us for about $200 cheaper than that.

The other thing I did was researched the cheapest sales tax rate in the area, (here it can vary city to city). When purchasing a car, this can make a difference. (A .25% difference on 20k is $500.)

Good luck!

Great advice, thanks!

Does the 0% interest come with any catches? Can you still get the cheaper internet price and the low financing, or are we better to just go to our credit union and do the 1.9% interest and have more negotiating power?

 

[msmama]

It's been a few years since anyone I know has bought a Prius, but for awhile they pretty much were offering the price and that's it - no negotiations (because they could). That may have changed now.

If you have a credit union you could see if they offer any kind of car buying service (sometimes they'll do the leg work finding the best price). Costco has one also.

 

[scrapshappen]

Great advice, thanks!

Does the 0% interest come with any catches? Can you still get the cheaper internet price and the low financing, or are we better to just go to our credit union and do the 1.9% interest and have more negotiating power?

There were no catches for us. We also paid less than the internet advertised price. When we discussed the final low price, I made sure they would still give us the 0% and they did. We also didn't even go in with a trade in so we kept that out of the deal completely.

I will tell you that we have always had terrible experiences with Toyota dealerships in the past. It's the only reason we've never owned one before now. The one we ended up buying from pays their sales people a salary instead of a commission. They were so much easier to work with than the other ones we've been too in the past. They didn't try to upsell us at all. I don't know if you can find that part out before you visit a dealership, but it something to consider as well.

 

[auralia]

Has she looked at the corolla? I did the math and the difference in price was greater than the price of gas saved in our situation. Also the Prius looked plastic and cheep. We paid 14750 before taxes And fees after incentives for the 2nd trim level of the corolla. The Prius was over 5000$ more and the batteries are said to last 10 years and cost something close to 8000$ or more to replace. It was a no brainier for us. The corolla has built in blue tooth and cruise control very nice looking and handing car for the price. Just a thought

Also the Prius had no cargo room at all, not even enough for groceries. The corolla gets about 34mpg city and 45 highway

 

[tvguy]

My DD would like to buy a new or almost new Prius. Because she lives 800 miles away, I want to make sure she is well taken care of, so hoping to get some advice.

Background...She has had the same car since college, has a successful career and its time to upgrade. She would like a sea glass pearl prius, maybe a two or a three. She lives in central FL.

How does a warranty differ from a new car vs an almost new car? Will the warranty package differ from dealer to dealer?

If we see one advertised an hour away at a better price is it worth the drive or will she be stuck having it serviced an hour away for the next 10 years?

Should she trade in the old car (2003 Chevy Tracker) or should we keep it for her younger sister.

How do we know how much we should offer to pay for this car?

If we go with used, how do we know what is a good deal and what is a lemon?

We drive our cars until they fall apart, so this would be a long term investment.

Thanks for your input!

Used Warranties vary from dealer to dealer. I would go new, just because, at least here, sooooo many used Pirus' seem to have Salvage titles. Get the Consumer Reports wholesale price, negotiate up from that price, not down from sticker. Any Toyota dealer will be happy to do any warranty or other work, makes no difference where you buy it. Supply has caught up with demand, and dealers have Prius's sitting on the lot so they should be willing to negotiate.
If you have another use for the Tracker keep it. It has no monetary value as a trade in or even as a donated vehicle.

 

[tvguy]

Has she looked at the corolla? I did the math and the difference in price was greater than the price of gas saved in our situation. Also the Prius looked plastic and cheep. We paid 14750 before taxes And fees after incentives for the 2nd trim level of the corolla. The Prius was over 5000$ more and the batteries are said to last 10 years and cost something close to 8000$ or more to replace. It was a no brainier for us. The corolla has built in blue tooth and cruise control very nice looking and handing car for the price. Just a thought

Also the Prius had no cargo room at all, not even enough for groceries. The corolla gets about 34mpg city and 45 highway

Yeah, don't expect to save any money over the life of the car, the price difference over a conventional car is still to great. But if you LIKE the car,fine.
There was a $10,000 between my 30 mpg Focus and a 50 mpg Prius. I'd have to drive 200,000 mile before I saved enough gas to save $10,000

 

[Ariel484]

We bought a Prius 2 in March. My husband had a Corolla (2005 I think) that we traded in for the Prius.

My husband did tons of research and there were 3 things that really helped us...

1. Getting a car report from Consumer Reports. It cost $14 and had really detailed information about the car as well as what a "good" price to pay for it was. This proved to be really valuable because now we had a benchmark for what was a reasonable price to aim for and what was not. My husband had the report out on the desk when we were negotiating and the guy knew from the start that's what we were expecting to pay. https://ec.consumerreports.org/ec/aps/order.htm

2. Getting a Kelly Blue Book quote for the car we were trading in. Again, we printed this out and took it with us. http://www.kbb.com/

3. Using (1) and (2) above to decide what the final price was going to be and being prepared to walk if we didn't get it.


They came almost right to what the CR price for the car was, but the trade-in was the sticking point. Everyone had been sweet as pie until we questioned the trade-in amount. Then they sent the sales manager out and he basically talked to us like we were stupid little children (I'm 30 and my husband is 29) and said something like, "I've sold 5 cars today, so either commit or leave." That's not an exact quote but the sentiment is the same. It was infuriating.

Eventually they did come up on the trade-in price and the final number was maybe $200 more than what my husband and I had discussed. As much as we just wanted to leave to stick it to that awful sales manager, we also didn't want another weekend morning eaten up at a different dealer where we'd probably get the same result, so we took it. Suddenly Mr. Sales Manager was super nice again. Ugh.

So...I'm not sure how helpful this was.

I forget what they told us about the included warrantee, but they tried hard to get us to purchase an extra one (again, talking to us like we were dumb) and we refused. It did come with 2 years of free oil changes, the Prius does go back to the same dealer for that - I'm not sure how it would work if we wanted to go somewhere else.

Also not sure about the trade-in - I think that's more of a personal decision for her/your family, but maybe look it up on KBB before deciding.

The best advice I can give is to prepare ahead of time - research what price is reasonable to pay and what is reasonable for the trade-in, if she ends up going that route. Decide on a number ahead of time and what extras you want added, if any (in our case, we agreed ahead of time we'd say no to all extras). Having a plan and the physical research in our hands in the form of the Consumer Report and the Kelly Blue Book printout made the whole thing a lot less scary for us.

Good luck to you and your daughter!!

ETA: thought of a couple other things: We went with the Prius 2 because it and the Prius 3 had the best safety ratings out of all of the Prius models. The differences between the 2 and the 3 didn't really matter to us, except that the 3 has a back-up camera. We decided that it wasn't worth the extra $1000 or so and went with the 2, but now wish we'd gotten the 3 because we really would have liked having the camera.

Also, the sales guy we were working with had some 2013 models at a slight discount ($1000 or so) but we went with the 2014...so that's an option for your daughter as well, especially now when the 2015 models are coming in. She may be able to get a deal on a 2014 Prius.

I drive a Civic that I got in 2009 but we both love the Prius, and that's definitely what I plan on getting when my car kicks the bucket.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yeah, don't expect to save any money over the life of the car, the price difference over a conventional car is still to great. But if you LIKE the car,fine.
There was a $10,000 between my 30 mpg Focus and a 50 mpg Prius. I'd have to drive 200,000 mile before I saved enough gas to save $10,000

We went with a Focus as well. Getting 38 MPG at 70+ MPH, 42 at 60 MPH, and 34 "around town". It almost needs a 7th gear for interstate speeds, but still very respectable.

Edit: just put my first tank of E85 in today. Anxious to see how it impacts mileage. Saved 50 cents per gallon

 

[lucigo]

Thank you everyone for your input, I'm sending this thread to my DD and researching. Hopefully she can get through this without too much grief!~

 

[JenzyHP]

The Prius was worth it for us. We spent, I believe, $21,000 on a brand new prius 2 (under dealer invoice). I was surprised they'd give us that deal. We got the 0% financing and the available rebates. We could get a bigger car that would still fit the car seats but have a much better gas mileage for my husband who drives a lot. I also knew that used ones were selling for up to $19,000 so there was little risk in buying one.

 

[lucigo]

The Prius was worth it for us. We spent, I believe, $21,000 on a brand new prius 3 (under dealer invoice). I was surprised they'd give us that deal. We got the 0% financing and the available rebates. We could get a bigger car that would still fit the car seats but have a much better gas mileage for my husband who drives a lot. I also knew that used ones were selling for up to $19,000 so there was little risk in buying one.

Was that for a 2014?

 

[DPickering]

Yeah, don't expect to save any money over the life of the car, the price difference over a conventional car is still to great. But if you LIKE the car,fine. There was a $10,000 between my 30 mpg Focus and a 50 mpg Prius. I'd have to drive 200,000 mile before I saved enough gas to save $10,000

Makes sense except your investment at purchase doesn't just disappear.
You should also factor in that the average resale price for say a 2010 Focus is about $11k. Average resale price for a 2010 Prius is over $16k (Motortrend). Plus maintenance on the Prius will likely be less.
And the Focus is nice but small inside. Prius has way more room (especially headroom), better standard features.

 

[DPickering]

Has she looked at the corolla? I did the math and the difference in price was greater than the price of gas saved in our situation. Also the Prius looked plastic and cheep. We paid 14750 before taxes And fees after incentives for the 2nd trim level of the corolla. The Prius was over 5000$ more and the batteries are said to last 10 years and cost something close to 8000$ or more to replace. It was a no brainier for us. The corolla has built in blue tooth and cruise control very nice looking and handing car for the price. Just a thought Also the Prius had no cargo room at all, not even enough for groceries. The corolla gets about 34mpg city and 45 highway

$8000 to replace the batteries? What? Battery warranty is 8 years/100000 miles, in CA for 2004 to 2009 models it's 10 years/150000 miles. Covers complete replacement costs. Many people have gone over 200000 no problem. If you do need to replace you can buy used on eBay for less than $1000. New is about $2600 last time I checked. Frankly this is not something I would worry about.

 

[JenzyHP]

Was that for a 2014?

Yes, we bought it over Memorial Day weekend for $21,500. Oops sorry it is a prius 2! It was still quite the deal.

I am surprised by the lack of cargo space comment vs a focus. A focus is tiny compared!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yes, we bought it over Memorial Day weekend for $21,500. Oops sorry it is a prius 2! It was still quite the deal.

I am surprised by the lack of cargo space comment vs a focus. A focus is tiny compared!

It was a Prius C. The dealer had one of those & a Prius V, which I believe is the largest version. The C had cargo room comparable to a Fiesta or Sonic hatchback, but less than a Focus, Cruze, or Corolla. The V was larger, but not as big as a Camry, at least to my eye. Again, did not look at the standard Prius, thiugh it's my understanding it's in the same class as the Corolla space-wise. If so, comparable to a Focus.

Also as another reference, we found the Focus sedan to have more usable cargo space than the hatchback.