Prospective Prius Owner

Toyota did a mid cycle refresh on the 2012 model year. They have LED DRLs, exterior styling enhancements, and other improvements.

 

While it's true that the Prius has an excellent repair record, the odds are probably negatively skewed among used Prii for sale. Just like you're planning on driving your Sentra until it's no longer reliable and constantly in the shop, there's probably a similar percentage of Prii on the used car market that were deemed no longer reliable, or the original owner anticipated a major repair coming up.

As far as your budget, I'd look for a gen 3 Prius that was lightly driven and well taken care of. The newer/lower miles, the longer of a warranty that you'll have with the traction (hybrid) battery. In your state, that would be 8 years/100k miles. Study up on the book value for the Prius in your city and allow yourself time to find a sweet deal. I would stay away from any with a salvage or rebuilt title for a variety of reasons, one of which is the traction battery warranty might be voided. Keep us posted.

 

The best part about the original message is how daily commute driving will be. You'll shocked by the FE if you drive in constant hilly areas or less than 3 mile trips with a prius non plug-in

 

I think it's relative. While these are challenging conditions for a Prius, it would also be challenging for other non electric vehicles out there.

This is the first winter for my Prius and I'm very pleasantly surprised with the FE. My mpg has been similar to my summer FE with the AC blasting. My other cars had lower mpg in the winter, compared to the summer. I keep the car in the garage and don't use the heat when driving, which helps.

 

Hmmmmm.

My concerns with buying any used Prius...

How many years/miles on it?
How well did prior owners maintain it?
Why did the prior owner(s) sell it?
Where was it driven?

For me, my 2013 has been reliable, and I do my own maintenance (so far). They do put down salt, but it’s fairly rare, and I wash it down (and spray wheel wells and underside) when it warms up. The biggest “cost concern” is needing a new hybrid battery, and I bought a reconditioning system to avoid/eliminate that factor...hopefully for as long as I own it.

If you live someplace that’s hard on cars, I’d buy something reliable and cheap(er) to fix. That’s just me, though.

 

A system you use to periodically deep discharge & recharge to recondition & rebalance the battery. The one most commonly used here was developed by our user @jeff652 at Hybrid Automotive.

Online Store - Hybrid Automotive

 

All four had a single previous owner?
Was the California Prius in that state the entire time and if so, which city? That could be the c that didn't see any snow ever.

With that mileage, I'm guessing only oil changes and air filters (engine and cabin) may have been changed. And they might have been DIY.

 

I like the low miles on this. You might be able to last through 2022 on traction battery warranty, depending on your miles. Check out the trip A or trip B and see what the fuel economy was for the previous driver. If you're lucky, you'll see a large size sample and around 50 mpg.

I've read here that the Prius has parts underneath that are prone to rusting. I'm not sure how this Prius ended up in Wisconsin- whether it was sold there via auction, or if the previous owner moved there and traded it in locally. If it's the latter, try to get more details on how long it was in Southern California.

 

The one from Washington state may not have seen snow/road salt either. If it's origin was from Western Washington, Seattle area the prospects are pretty good. FYI, I lived in the Seattle area for eight years. Three season climate. Snow was rare. Good luck with your car hunt.