Daughter is graduating from college this spring and I have saved up the money to buy wife the Prius she has wanted for years (commutes into Charlotte traffic and every other weekend makes 400 mile roundtrip to care for elderly mother)
I have looked at cars.com and camax.com (where we bought daughter’s 99 Camry 6 years ago and son’s 05 Rav 3 years ago).
What should we be aware of other than warranties?
A Prius has many of the same components as any other automobile. When you have narrowed down your candidates, have a good mechanic inspect for accident damage, suspension problems, undercarriage rust out, and so on. The mechanic can check the gasoline engine just as he checks any other engine.
The electrical motor, battery and other components that control how the car is powered is the main difference. Ultimately, the main battery will have to be replaced. If the car doesn’t have a warranty, save back some money because these are expensive.
I have friends who own Prius automobiles and think that they are wonderful. I ride to a band rehearsal every other week in a 2005 Taurus that has over 90,000 miles and has had no major repairs.
If you could find one with records documenting its maintenance history . . .
Be aware that you can likely find it cheaper someplace other than carmax…
My 2010 Mazda6i Sport cost me $500 LESS brand-new than Carmax wanted for an identical 2009 with 34,000 miles on it.
Be aware that the battery in a 10 plus year old prius is probably bound to fail with estimates on this board being about $3000 for replacement.