Help!!! Tough Decision:Prius vs. Sonata

[NAEByrd85]

I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata with 82k miles. It looks good and I haven't had any major problems. But it does have a minor electrical problem, fuses seem  to burn out regularly and the cruise control doesn't always work. I was told by a friend (and the internet) that Hyundais start having issues after 100k miles. I wonder if I should trade it in for a low maintenance Prius?

I'm currently paying off student loans and want to avoid having to dig into my emergency fund for random car expenses. Also the low gas mileage is sorta tempting.

My Hyundai is worth $8000 and I can get a 2010 Prius with 100k miles for $7000.

What do you think Mustachians?

[lbmustache]

Is the Sonata paid off?

[ixtap]

What the taxes and registration for the Prius?

[TrulyStashin]

I did exactly this -- in 2013, I bought a 2007 Prius w/ 100k miles on it for $7k.  I LOVED that car.  It's practically a pickup truck.  I hauled stuff.  Moved furniture.  Camped in it (Google "Prius Tent").  Drove halfway across country and back for something like $100.00. 

Absolutely one of the best, most useful cars I've ever owned.  I ran it up to 180k miles and then gave it to my son who is in college.  It's still going strong for him. 

I plan on picking up another one in the near future.  If this is a near-even swap for you, price-wise, then do it and don't look back.

[Reynolds531]

Swap out all the fluids in the sonata, and get a good mechanic check it for a bad electrical ground. Drive it five more years.

[FIREby35]

Every time I see a post like this I feel like such a schmuck bc I had an awesome 2004 Prius with a salvage title I bought for $3,700 but, somehow, I stupidly got it in my head that I needed something other people would approve of (always a bad idea) so I got rid of it. It was awesome.

TS - What a coincidence that we both had Prius'.

[memorytoast]

I've been researching cars on the forum and around the internet for the past few months, since I knew we would need one after our recent move. My research points to your getting the Prius. From what I've read, if you do regular maitenance, the Prius could last another 100k, while the Hyundai probably won't make more than 50k.

[NAEByrd85]

Is the Sonata paid off?

Yes it is paid off.

[NAEByrd85]

I've been researching cars on the forum and around the internet for the past few months, since I knew we would need one after our recent move. My research points to your getting the Prius. From what I've read, if you do regular maitenance, the Prius could last another 100k, while the Hyundai probably won't make more than 50k.

Yes, this was my instinct as well. Thanks for the input!

[NAEByrd85]

Every time I see a post like this I feel like such a schmuck bc I had an awesome 2004 Prius with a salvage title I bought for $3,700 but, somehow, I stupidly got it in my head that I needed something other people would approve of (always a bad idea) so I got rid of it. It was awesome.

TS - What a coincidence that we both had Prius'.

The Prius would definitely piss my sister off, she thinks they are lame. But then again the Sonata wasn't a cool car anyway. I just need something that gets me around without causing too much financial trouble.

[Optimiser]

If you had $8000 in cash and needed a car would you buy a 100,000 mile Prius for $7000 or an 82,000 mile Sonata for $8000? Personally I'd go for the Prius, and I suspect you'd do the same.

[NAEByrd85]

If you had $8000 in cash and needed a car would you buy a 100,000 mile Prius for $7000 or an 82,000 mile Sonata for $8000? Personally I'd go for the Prius, and I suspect you'd do the same.

Good question. I would definitely buy the Prius!!

[SuperSecretName]

sorry, but your sonata is not worth 8k.  no way someone will give you that much. 

i priced a standard one on KBB and its around 5k trade-in.

[NAEByrd85]

sorry, but your sonata is not worth 8k.  no way someone will give you that much. 

i priced a standard one on KBB and its around 5k trade-in.

The trade in price is slightly over 6k. But I was actually looking at the private party sell price which is 8.5k

[Peony]

I just bought a 2007 Prius with 180,000 miles (for $3,700) from its original owner and I am super excited about the car. But I will also say that my BF's 2009 Hyundai Accent has 160,000 miles and he's had no significant trouble with it.