need some opinions especially if you drive a Prius

[sully06]

So I have my 99 Camry with 105k miles overall I avg 40mpg I have an opportunity to trade for a 05 Prius with 180k for a grand or less. Will the savings outweigh the cost. Is it too close to needing batteries? Any input would be greatly appreciated

[redpoint5]

Very impressive mpg in your Camry! I'm only managing 32 mpg in my 1998.

There is so much more to consider when purchasing a car than the information you have provided. How many miles do you drive in a year? How much of that is highway vs city? What tasks do you need a vehicle to perform?

Based on the little information provided, your Camry has averaged 7,000 miles per year. At 40 mpg, you consume 175 gallons per year. At $3.50/gal, your total yearly fuel bill is $613.

Assuming you get 50 mpg in the Prius, you would consume 140 gallons and spend $490 in fuel in a year.

The total saved on fuel by driving the Prius would be $123 / year.

I'd be inclined to keep your lower mileage Camry. It's impossible to know what condition the Prius battery pack is in before purchasing, so that is a valid concern.

That said, I am driving a 1998 Camry (240,000 miles) and in the hunt for a 2010-2012 Prius due to the utility of having a hatchback. Plus I like all the wiz-bang gadgetry. It's also nice that the Prius has a timing chain instead of a belt (gen 3 is completely beltless).

[sully06]

Thanks. I put about 15k a year. 80% highway. I've gotten as high as 50 mpg. Yeah I'm leaning towards keeping mine since I've had it for 2 years I know the condition and maintenance. Not to mention the low miles for the year

[vskid3]

How fast on the highway? My '05 Prius will average about 48MPG doing 75MPH on cruise. Not sure how it does at lower speeds as most of my highway miles are on road trips where doing 75 saves me several hours of driving time. If you're getting 40-50MPG now, I would say 50MPG would be the minimum you could get from a Gen2 Prius with 55-60MPG being very possible.

Like redpoint said, you're at about the point where more mileage doesn't save you a whole lot. A Prius with 180k miles can be a ticking time bomb for repairs (mainly the HV battery and the transaxle). Its really not much worse than most automatic transmission cars, but people seem to think that Prii are bulletproof so something going wrong is a big deal. You could get lucky and go to 300k miles without anything major problems, but I would recommend having at least $1000 sitting around just in case.

I love my Prius, I think its a great car, but it sounds like you might be better off staying with what you have. If the Prius didn't have so many miles, I would be more inclined to tell you to go for it.

[MetroMPG]

If you're getting 40 from a Camry, you're going to get much better than 50 from the Prius. (However, diminishing returns at the high end of the MPG scale.)

Generally, I wouldn't worry about Prius reliability, including the battery. It's Toyota's most reliable model, if I'm not mistaken. Caveat emptor still applies, and having a repair reserve fund makes sense (for any vehicle).

Have you driven it yet?

[sully06]

I have not driven it yet. Its my friends dad's so I think I could take it for a few days and see what kind of mpg I can get. But I am leaning towards keeping the Camry and doing more mods. I drive 55mph 99% of the time

[vskid3]

I would try the Prius and see how you do with it/like it. At 55MPH, you should be able to get at least 60MPG tanks. However, it sounds like you could get pretty close to that in your Camry with a few more mods.
Any idea what the difference in insurance costs would be? With most cars that get 40+MPG, insurance can be more expensive than gas (depending on provider, coverage, record, age, etc). Something to be mindful of if you're looking at which is the lowest cost of ownership.

[sully06]

I think you are right about the insurance as well as a few more mods and I'll be up in the 50s

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Generally, I wouldn't worry about Prius reliability, including the battery. It's Toyota's most reliable model, if I'm not mistaken. Caveat emptor still applies, and having a repair reserve fund makes sense (for any vehicle).

Have you driven it yet?

When I raised my insurance deductible, I set up an automatic transfer of the difference into my savings. Saving money does not do any good if I blow it on fruit roll-ups.