My wife and I are looking to buy a used car. Right now we're pretty much focused on the Prius. We have a friend who has one, cab drivers have them, Chicago has a billion of them. We also like that it's environmentally friendly even after you consider how damaging to the planet is making the battery. We are a little worried that it won't handle the snow in Chicago very well. The Pontiac Vibe we have now is a real champion. I only remember having to dig it out 2-3 times in the five winters I spent here. Generally speaking, why shouldn't we buy a Prius?Also, any tips for buying a used car from a dealership? For instance, some cars were sold before at an auction - what does that mean and should we be alarmed? What about cars that were corporate vehicles or leased? Are those treated badly? Then what about mileage. All the cars we're looking at have ~20k miles or less. One did 5k in a month, another did 12k in 7 months. Should we be worried about that or who gives a shit?(We also thought about the Subaru Crosstrek, but those get the same gas mileage as the Vibe, not a lot of used ones, and are expensive)

You guys are all so helpful!

eliya wrote:Generally speaking, why shouldn't we buy a Prius?Fuck you, Prius drivers. Move with traffic or fuck off; fuck your stupid little fucking arrows. Yeah, that's why, generally speaking, you shouldn't buy a Prius.

eliya wrote:You guys are all so helpful!

Yngwie Einstein wrote:Not a fan of the Prius. I don't know if they ever fixed the design, but when I tested one years ago, I could not see out the rear window. Other than that, it was a solid car, albeit a bit pricey. But I can't justify paying the premium for a hybrid when I can get a Civic that will get 40 MPG or a Mazda3 hatchback that will get about 36 MPG.The back-up camera makes visibility out the back window mostly irrelevant. You adjust to the way the car was meant to be driven. It is not a problem for me.Sure, you can get a gas guzzler and top out at 36 or 40 miles per gallon. Buy a Prius get double that on the highway. An older Prius will average 55 in summer, 40-something in winter. Mine is 8 years old that is about what I get. This is after driving for weeks and it is an average. On the highway I can easily get 60-80 MPG when using the proper technique.

eliya wrote:My wife and I are looking to buy a used car. Right now we're pretty much focused on the Prius. We have a friend who has one, cab drivers have them, Chicago has a billion of them. We also like that it's environmentally friendly even after you consider how damaging to the planet is making the battery. We are a little worried that it won't handle the snow in Chicago very well. The Pontiac Vibe we have now is a real champion. I only remember having to dig it out 2-3 times in the five winters I spent here. Generally speaking, why shouldn't we buy a Prius?The only reason being, you can't immediately afford the extra thousand or two when bought used. This extra money will pay itself back in a year or two, depending on how often you drive, and keep giving back for the life of the car. You have to think about these cars differently when bought used (batteries degrade with age, high mileage/recent year is not so bad). Feel free to PM if you want some guidance. I researched the fuck out of these cars.The Prius is an excellent car. The best I have ever owned. We have all three generations in my family. My mother-in-law still drives a 2001 1st Gen every day. I won't ever go back to a full petrol car. I can't do it. I can't give up 50 MPG in the summer. I can't give up never having to worry about brake pads or trans fluid changes, stopping at a gas station more than once every two weeks. I won't go back to that old life.My 2008 Gen 2 is excellent in the Chicago weather. I test drove my Prius in a blizzard and couldn't make the thing skid. Excellent traction control. Prius are also not slow. The continuously variable transmission takes some getting used to, but they can accelerate as any average petrol car would. Brakes tend to last 200k miles plus, due to the friction reclamation to power. Some may great design perks about these cars. They are tanks. One more note: people tend to hang in the 40 MPH speed range, because the gasoline engine will kick on at 41. 40 MPH is kind of the sweet spot for these cars. The car can run on its battery only.

We ended up buying a 2013 Prius. We wanted something newer, but it's a damn car that will probably be replaced in ten years. Also, no way we were spending another day driving around between car dealerships and dealing with car salespersons.So far it's a great car. Haven't figured out how to get 60-80 MPG on the highway (50 is more like it for me), though. The rear windshield is split, and that took some getting used to, but it doesn't actually affect visibility. It's just a bit odd at first, that's all. We have a backup camera, but it only works in reverse. Having a backup camera is pretty awesome.We love this car so far. Absolutely no regrets.

Just wanted to pipe in and say how much I love buying a car with Fighting Chance.We totaled our Subaru a couple weeks ago (or more precisely, someone decided to be a dipshit and turn left in front of us at a light on an icy as fuck day. Seriously, wtf...). No one hurt thankfully, but now we're going for a Mazda 3. FC all the way. I wish there was a way to adapt it to buying a house.

I didn't think the backup camera worked with the car in drive. So if I am checking my rearview mirror, will I still see through that dumb split in the rear window? Plus the slope of the glass obscured my vision. Maybe they redesigned that. Either way, I sure have come across a lot of Prius drivers that have nearly killed me while riding my motorcycle because “ I assume “ they can't see or don't look out their rear windows. It's true that 50 mpg beats 40 mpg, but there are environmental and geopolitical issues with obtaining the materials that make the batteries that may offset some of the benefits.That said, I did find the car to be a solid ride, if not for the aforementioned design issue.