Prius vs other hybrids under $10,000

[oilboy123]

My brother thinks he wants a used Prius. I'm wondering about batteries being closer to end of life. Seeing as a lot seem to be for sale at higher miles/older years. The Hyandai has the 2018 Hyundai ioniq hybrid Blue Hatchback 4D for fairly low prices. I assume that there are other hybrids that are decent and worth condsidering.

Part of me wonders if him getting a smaller car with a smaller engine would get a newer/lower mile vehicle without the hybrid battery albatross hanging around his neck....

He has a beater 2004 Honda Accord 4 cy automatic now. He says he would drive a manual, but would prefer an automatic. Talk me further into the rabbit hole, or grab me by the tail and yank me out

Any thoughts are appreciated.....even smart aleck ones.

 

[The Critic]

My former 2011 Prius just needed a battery last month at 262,000 miles.

The hybrid battery outlasted the head gasket.

 

[oilboy123]

My former 2011 Prius just needed a battery last month at 262,000 miles.

The hybrid battery outlasted the head gasket.

So the other owner paid for the battery. Good timing......

 

[supton]

Does he just want a hybrid for the experience, or is this to save on money? cost/mile is something that can be guessed at, looking at purchase price and fuel economy, and guessing at expected repairs. But if he just wants the hybrid experience then it might not be about cost.

Thing is, if he has a $10k budget perhaps he can find a Prius with a known bad battery and get it for a song, swap in a battery and be under that $10k limit. Or, let's say he gets a "good" Prius for $8k. He goes a couple years into the future and finds out that he now needs a $4k battery (making up numbers here). Having to spend $1k/yr on a car for repairs isn't unheard of, so would this be an acceptable scenario?

Of course, if he only drives 5k/yr then perhaps a cheap conventional is best.

 

[ecotourist]

And unless that 2004 beater Accord is really shabby, there may be the potential for a quick and dirty restoration there (says the guy who drives a 2007 Accord).

These things will go forever - though they can rust too.

 

[The Critic]

So the other owner paid for the battery. Good timing......

The new owner put 16k on the car before it happened. I’ll be getting him a new one at wholesale cost.

 

[dogememe]

The great thing about the Prius is that the ones you find for that price will have a small ni-mh battery that can be easily disassembled, rebuilt, etc.

You can also get a Volt in that price range. I had a 2015 with no noticeable degradation after 10 years (even with my, um, we'll say spirited driving style I managed to get the EPA range or better and on a full charge the kwh used display was about the same as new), and last year someone I know got a 2017 that they also loved although I don't know what they're up to since I don't talk to them anymore.

The Volt is a better looking, better driving car that gives you 30-60 miles of pure EV range depending on the year. And they're generally reliable. First gens do have some issues with valve covers and second gens have a few issues (BECM, shifter, etc) but for the most part if those issues were going to happen they already would have by now.

But on a Volt while generally reliable if the battery goes... the car is basically junk. The batteries are still expensive used and from my understanding no replacement cells are available so companies that "rebuild" them are simply taking apart packs that had one or a few bad cells and combining them into working units - which means you're mixing cells of various degradation in one pack which may not be a great long term approach.

I'm not trying to scare you out of a Volt, like I said it's an awesome vehicle and I think gives you more for your money and a better driving experience than a Prius.

Also a Ford Escape Hybrid is basically the Toyota hybrid system without the Toyota tax. Yes it will get worse MPG since it's a larger, boxier vehicle, but it's more spacious and practical.