Help me figure out which car to get? (older cheaper vs newer)

[Satori]

ok, I'm trying to figure out what to do here, I WANT a Prius, can get a 2007 with around 50k miles for around $15k and with payments of about $253 mo. If I watch the budget I can pay it off in 2 years by making extra payments. (1 year if I managed to get a job)

OR

I can get an older car at least made in this decade 2001-2003 for around $5-6k if I'm lucky and its probably going to have around 100k miles (basing this on what I've been seeing in ads and on craigslist).

Now I'd love to not have payments but the fact that its an older car means its going to start needing work/replacements and just making a gestimate I'm thinking after the cost of work on the car plus the cost of gas I'd be saving on the Prius. I estimate I'll save roughly $1k on gas costs per year with the Prius.

The raw numbers per year are:

Prius
gas:$1287 (assuming minimal driving for us, more driving would mean increased savings over the other car)
payments $3036

Total:$4323

older car:
gas $2220
maintenance/repair: ??? older car therefore quite possibly needing major work or $$ work.

Regular maintenance (oil changes ect) would be about the same and IF I had to replace the Prius battery I can get a used one from a wrecked car for $300-500 instead of $3k but the batteries seem to be lasting at least 100k+ miles

Insurance would also run pretty close to the same so it wouldn't be a major deciding factor.

What would you do? Keep in mind the idea of a used car scares me anyway since all 3 used cars I've had were lemons whereas the new ones never gave me trouble. I've thought about a new car for $15k or under but can't find one that gets awesome mpg (needs to get at least 34mpg at the very least if considering another car) like the Prius and it must have A/C which really drives up the cost. I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT a cute little Prius but I have a feeling that WANT is kinda getting in the way of what would really work for us and be a better option/cheaper long term.

I'm tiny so I need a smaller car because ummm, I can't reach the pedals in a bigger car and umm, I cant see over the steering wheel. I did test drive a Toyota Corolla a few years ago and I was to small for the thing and I just HATED it so that one is totally out. I did like my Saturn Ion but wouldn't get another one just because of the interior issue (even water stained BADLY). ugh, I have never been this indecisive before! A friend is supposed to take me into the city tomorrow, maybe I can get him to stop by the Toyota dealer to test drive a Prius, maybe I'll decide I hate the thing, might make things easier to choose. ugh.


ETA:90% of our driving is freeway miles

[Dar]

So, the Prius is 10K more than the older car? It will take you years and years and miles and miles to make up the difference financially... and actually, a lot of stuff I've read has said that the factory mileage estimates on the priuses from that time are way off... 35 mpg or so is what most people get in regular city driving... which is about what you can get with a Fit or a Yaris or even a Corolla.

You could get a 2007 Yaris for about half what you'd pay for a 2007 Prius...

[bobandjess99]

Civic hybrid? I'm at cars.com seeing tons of them from $7-12K, some are newer or have lower miles. it would meet your gas mileage req's, and be cheaper that the prius.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I would never invest in a new car. It's a waste of money. You could try to find a used prius if that's what you really want. They are rare, but I've seen a few over the last year or two.

We're big mazda people here. You can probably get a really nice protege or protege 5 relatively inexpensively. The protege 5 we had got close to 30 mpg in the city. Not too shabby. It is a small hatchback with surprising amounts of room. Mazdas are known to routinely run to 300K miles without any major problems. Especially if you drive stick.

[BathrobeGoddess]

So the thing to also consider is that the Prius is also out of warranty as a 2007 and fixing things on the Prius is really expensive and you have to go to the dealer to have it done...I had a Prius and while I loved it, I didn't love the repair costs when things did go bad. We ended up trading it in for a bigger car when the next baby came. It was around 65K where some engine stuff started to break (sensors and such since there are so many of them in the Prius) and I actually had my tran axel go around 110K..

Don't test drive a 2010 if you are looking at a 07, they will drive differently becasue Toyota redesigned the braking system for the G3...hence the brake issues with that model...try to test out an 07...

I will say, if you hated the Corrola, you may very likely hate the Prius...plus the Prius has the added bonus of not being able to see out the back window at all if your short (i am as well)

Good luck!

[2cutiekitties]

Satori is this purely a financial decision? If it is, then you know the answer.... but if there is more to it, then the prius.

By more, I mean, some people can drive a car, any car and they are fine. Not me. I have to like the car. I have to like how I feel when I drive the car. I had an affordable accord and never went anywhere simply because I didnt like it. It made me feel yucky. I cannot describe it. But the car I have now, which we chose to pay off for 1 1/2 years, even though we had the cash, is so divine, that I want to drive all day, all night. I feel comfortable, secure, confident in it. It has improved my life. Sad that I am this way, but it is the same for housing as well. And I could go on and on and on with my reasoning, but I will stop here.

So if you need a little bit extra, something to feed your being, then get the prius. IMO, a car loan, while it sucks to owe, is not quite the same as charging purses on credit cards, KWIM?

[velochic]

Also, the efficiency of a Prius really comes into play when the bulk of your driving is city driving. For freeway driving, it is closer on par with, say, a Civic or Focus. It's the idling/braking/accelerating that eats up more fuel in gas engines, whereas in an electric hybrid, it uses the electricity in these situations to save gasoline.

When we did research a couple of years ago as we were buying a new car, we came to conclusion that, as dh mostly drives the interstates to work, we would never recoup our costs in gasoline savings buying a Prius. If the bulk of your driving is on the freeway, it's not worth it, purely from a financial perspective.

Now, on principle, we would have LOVED to buy a Prius, but also needed room, so the ultimate decision was that if we ever wanted to use the car for anything but dh's commute, it would be useless to us. We'd like to replace MY vehicle (a minivan) with a larger hybrid when we replace it. It's 10 years old and we hope it will last another 5 at least. Most of my driving is in town.

[Dar]

Originally Posted by Satori

ETA:90% of our driving is freeway miles

Then yeah, what velochic said. A prius really won't save you much, if anything, if you're mostly driving freeways.

[Satori]

Thank you for pointing the freeway thing on the Prius, I didn't know that, usually its the opposite.

Any thoughts on a Toyota Yaris? Looks cute and people seem to like them.

2cutiekitties,
I agree, I have to like the car. I LOVED driving my 02 Ford Winstar, hated the thing for electrical problems but I loved driving it, it was sooooo comfy! (had a killer sound system too and was fully loaded) Its mostly a financial decision but I have to like the darn thing too or I'm not buying it. Things don't tend to grow on me and with the amount of driving I do I need to like the thing.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Satori

Thank you for pointing the freeway thing on the Prius, I didn't know that, usually its the opposite.

Any thoughts on a Toyota Yaris? Looks cute and people seem to like them.

I think that a car purchase, being a rather significant purchase, should be backed up with lots of research. I would do a lot more research until you have all of the details you need to make an informed decision. Things like how hybrids vs. gasoline cars compare on city/highway mileage is one among many other pieces of information that you can find in Consumer Reports and the like. I certainly wouldn't buy a car these days because they're cute or people like them. It would be better to get a safe, economical and reliable but ugly car than cute, popular one. It took us months of research before we bought our last car and shopped around for even longer. Good luck with your decision.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by velochic

I think that a car purchase, being a rather significant purchase, should be backed up with lots of research. I would do a lot more research until you have all of the details you need to make an informed decision. Things like how hybrids vs. gasoline cars compare on city/highway mileage is one among many other pieces of information that you can find in Consumer Reports and the like. I certainly wouldn't buy a car these days because they're cute or people like them. It would be better to get a safe, economical and reliable but ugly car than cute, popular one. It took us months of research before we bought our last car and shopped around for even longer. Good luck with your decision.

lol, I am doing the research. I just like to hear feedback from those using them. Were kinda in a crunch here since were now carless in a town where the nearest grocery store is 3 miles down the road and no public transportation, and Dr's and what not are even further. You can only hitch rides for so long before people start getting irritated.

[Tofu the Geek]

Originally Posted by Satori

Thank you for pointing the freeway thing on the Prius, I didn't know that, usually its the opposite.

For gas engines it's the opposite. For a hybrid, the electric engine only runs up to a specific speed (can't recall right now but 80 km/hr is coming to mind) and then the gas engine kicks in. So, stop and go and low speeds is where a electric/gas hybrid saves you money because the gas engine is used minimally. At speeds where only the gas engine is used, you're getting gas engine mileage. (Should I be using the term kilometerage instead of mileage? )

Originally Posted by Satori

Any thoughts on a Toyota Yaris? Looks cute and people seem to like them.

I know folks with an '07 Yaris sedan bought new. It's been very reliable and gets great gas mileage. Has been great in snow with a set of winter tires, is small and easy to park, easy to drive. I've driven it and it's peppy because it's so light!

The Yaris has the guages in the centre of the vehicle, not sure if Toyota did that with the Prius as well? I've got vision issues in my right eye so the guages in the centre gave me a serious headache. The Yaris owners I know haven't had any such problems with the guages in the centre so it was just me and my bum eye.

[Tofu the Geek]

Take a look at informedforlife.org for the models you are considering. Newer vehicles generally have newer safety features, and I am personally a big fan of safer vehicles.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by Tofu the Geek

The Yaris has the guages in the centre of the vehicle, not sure if Toyota did that with the Prius as well? I've got vision issues in my right eye so the guages in the centre gave me a serious headache. The Yaris owners I know haven't had any such problems with the guages in the centre so it was just me and my bum eye.

Doesn't bother me, drove me nuts at first but after 4 years of driving my Ion I got used to it Now it seems weird to have it in front of me.

[xmysticprincessx]

I vote for a newer car. My 2002 Saturn SL1 is paid off, and I have 72k on it right now. We had a $600 repair a couple weeks ago, plus I replaced a corroded oil pan a month ago. (Our winters up north are probably what caused that problem. Brakes up here rust out before they wear out, stuff like that.) Granted, I hadn't done anything to it except for oil changed and new tires in the past year, so it kinda evens out. 100k is where things start going wrong, and IIRC you do a lot of driving. (30k a year?) Finding a good reliable car that's about 10 years old is what makes me hesitant. You may be able to find a good one tomorrow, or it may take weeks.

Have you looked at the Chevy Cobalt? Its the cousin to the Saturn Ion. Not sure if it has the same interior issues as the Ion or not. (I saw a new Cobalt at the showroom of the dealership when I was getting my car inspected, and the interior looked nice, not all plasticy and cheap like the Ion's.)

[cschick]

Originally Posted by Satori

What would you do? Keep in mind the idea of a used car scares me anyway since all 3 used cars I've had were lemons whereas the new ones never gave me trouble. I've thought about a new car for $15k or under but can't find one that gets awesome mpg (needs to get at least 34mpg at the very least if considering another car) like the Prius and it must have A/C which really drives up the cost. I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT a cute little Prius but I have a feeling that WANT is kinda getting in the way of what would really work for us and be a better option/cheaper long term.

If you're mainly doing highway driving, most of the smaller and less expensive cars do about 35/mpg freeway and will probably be under 15K (US, we're talking US, right?). The Nissan Versa, the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris, the Aveo are the ones off the top of my head. And usually if you're a decent driver, you're going to get slightly better than the EPA ratings on those for both highway and city driving. (My old Saturn used to average about 38/miles a gallon with combined city and freeway, and my husband's old manual, non-hybrid Civic almost 40.)

[nataliachick7]

i like my nissan versa, i got it brand new for $9,000. good on gas.