Due to Toyota's holding their value so strongly and the prius only starting with 3 year bumper to bumper, I have been searching the internet for NEW 2016s to get the full warranty.
I would argue that the fact that Toyota's hold their value strongly is the reason why you shouldn't be focusing on warranties. Seems like you're inventing a silly reason (warranty) to give yourself an excuse to buy a fancy new car.
My goal is to use this car for 15 years, with a hope that I can keep it running safely for 20 total.
There is nothing magical about using the same car for 15 years. That seems a silly way to justify what might be a suspect financial decision. What if I told you that you could use 3 very cheap used cars over the next 15 years and save a ton of money?
Those are good points. I especially like what you mention about not being focused on the warranty since they are such high quality cars. The reason I have been focused on 2016 and 2017 was the model update that occurred. They changed the body and added more safety features, but at the Two and two-eco trims you avoid a bunch of the bells and whistles.
Part of my attraction to the Hybrid over a cheaper car is partially because of discovering MMM and seeing a hybrid purchase a means to promote the alternative fuels industry while realistically still being able to drive across the country if I need to without searching for charging stations. If the kids were not an issue I would probably continue driving my 2001 Grand am (Great Uncle bought new, my mom inherited, I've had it personally since 2009) for at least 5 more years before getting maybe a Volt or something else similar but low cost.
While I was originally not attempting to chase the warranty the used 2016s I found online were at the most $2000 less than the New 2016s that are still on some lots. My thought was 2016 version launched in Sept 2015 so for around 2k more I get 3 years of warranty over 1.5. But I agree with your statement that with Toyota's reliability perhaps that fact is not worth even 2k.
Concerning miles. I'm not sure. 2-3 years ago I drove so little I filled up my 12 gallon Grand am tank once a month. In the last six months we've moved and I'm still adjusting to my new drive, but a rough estimate would be around 16 thousand miles is my estimate.
@shoulder I did a lot of research mostly into the Hybrid scene concerning safety, maintenance, repairs, and cost and Toyota won out. I was sold on the Honda Accord Hybrid for a long time. I looked into the plug ins and I had a hard time finding ones with good seating the battery placement seemed to take up the leg room on the middle back seat. Did I miss a good model?
I really appreciate the commentary. Just for full disclosure. I've never personally bought a car before but I watched my dad buy a new car every year or two for years.
My 2005 starter car was a 1992 Grand am 2 door, lemon, bought by my dad.
In 2006 I got my dad's friends 4 door 1998 Grand am.
In 2007 I got a chevy Venture van 1998 (leaked gas and oil). My dad bought this.
In 2009 I was gifted my 2001 Grand am from my mother after starting a really career job.
I have no problem hunting for used, I just didn't see a significant price drop in the model I was looking at. Maybe I need to go back to comparing 2015s. I know in 2015 the EPA changed how they test MPG ratings so 2014s had scores that were higher than they should under the new test.
