I want buy a Prius but need some help/suggestions

Oh, just ask if you don't understand, I was in your spot a year ago.

Long version:
CARB warranty is the warranty on your traction battery, aka hybrid battery. It's the expensive part which enables you to get great mpg. That battery can last 10 years or longer. A new battery out of warranty will cost around $2,500 dealer installed, although the prices seem to be dropping and there are some lower cost alternatives. Sometimes an owner will quickly put his Prius on the market when he feels the battery is weakening- so buyer beware.

For most of the country, including where I live, we have traction battery warranties of 8 years/100k miles. California is considered a CARB state, which means you're lucky to have your traction battery warranty covered for 10 years/150k miles. If the car was imported from another non CARB state, you don't get the longer warranty- so the car's history is very important.

Short version:
If the car is a salvage, then Toyota will often void the entire traction battery warranty. And a California Prius c might have a warranty of 8 years/100k.

 

1. Dealer is wrong. Try this number for customer service.

2. 6'6"? The c will be too small for you. I'm surprised your not checking out the v, too.

3. There are a lot of owners here that believe that the traction battery's lifespan is more related to years over miles. That's why you can have cabs getting 350k miles in a short period of time. Plan on 10 years as a conservative estimate with a lot of variables involved.

 

This isn't a sure thing, but just do some simple investigation. Pull the oil dipstick and check the level. If it's on the low side or below the minimum, you just found out it probably burns oil. If it's on the high line, it's most likely good. There's a small chance that its an oil burner, and the owner is keeping it topped off, but that would show more initiative that probably would have avoided a more serious found-out-it's-burning-oil-because-it-had-nothing-showing-on-the-dipstick-at-the-last-oil-change scenario (or oil pressure warning light came on). Also, ask the owner straight up if it burns oil, and watch how they answer. See if there are window stickers or paperwork showing the last oil change, so estimate how long it's been. Like any car, see how it's been taken care of.

I bought my 2010 Prius IV with the solar roof with 150K miles on it two years ago. It uses barely any oil at 172K. Mine was a bit of a fixer upper, but with good service records. I thought it was a decent buy, and I expect it will last a very long time.

I'm one of the people that buy high mileage vehicles for the better buy. To make that work, you have to be informed (thus on Priuschat), be willing to do work to bring all scheduled maintenance up to current, and do additional preventive work (mainly: oil catch can, entire EGR circuit cleaning).

I am also aware that there might be large expenses like battery replacement if I keep it for 10+ years, but that would be a one time expense, not yearly, and really no big deal. It's easy to do, so I'd save on labor. I think of it this way: just the depreciation on my car for the original owner was close to $4K per year, so I can afford a $2K battery once in 10-15 years. The car is basically no longer depreciating for me if I keep it relatively long. He got to drive a new car, and I'm driving a used car, but it's basically the same experience once I cleaned it up.

I wouldn't have been a good candidate for something like a Corolla that is often recommended because I was looking for a hatchback or wagon. No sedans for me ever. Plus Prius camping with full climate control is a thing for me and my dog.

 

well said.

 

Ive never heard about that... We have had a 2010 since 2014 and my 2011 since 2015 and thats never been an issue... My prius has even gone over 200K miles with no issues like that. From what i know, abselutely nothing is different engine wise from the pre-face-lift and face-lift model that came in 2012 either. Ive never had any battery problems either, never been changed. Only cleaned the hybrid fan and done regular hybrid system checks.

 

I suspect that once a car is salvaged, the answer will be no. But ask.

 

FT, read this thread, which discusses the Prius c warranty in California. I'm not sure if the thread discusses all Prius c cars or just the 2012 model year.

 

I'm 6'4" once I put shoes on, and I fit fine in our C. I don't need to have the seat all the way back. Height adjuster on the driver's seat cushion keeps the peace in our garage!

 

in the USA the 2004 to 2009 has a 1.5 liter motor and the 2010 and up has a 1.8 liter motor and if you google "oil burning prius" you see most of the complaints are for early gen 3's some burning a Qt every 600 miles... something to do with bad rings if I remember right, requiring the motor to be rebuilt. the same motor is used in other models and they have the same problems. again a simple google search for toyotas burning oil will show you everything you need to know.. just because you didnt hear of an issue doesnt mean its not a problem...

 

I know that gen 2 got a 1.5L and gen 3 got a 1.8L, that was not what i was saying, what i was saying was that the 2010 and 2011 got the same engine as the 2012 to 2015, so its weird that 2010 and 2011 models got more of that oil burning problem then the face lift version. I havent seen it as a problem because its literally only one prius with an oil burning problem in our toyota dealership every 3rd year. That must be a bigger problem in the US it looks like. EU and US priuses got different results after test cycles in emissions to for example, so it must be something different between them thats not released to the public. Also depends on what kind of fuel u running, from what i know u in US got different petrol standard than EU also. Soo thats why i said it hasent been a problem here for what i know.

 

Oil weight is what is causing the difference. USA is strictly 0W-20 while other parts of the world are using thicker oil.

 

OP you need to call your insurance company and check on their policy for salvage vehicles. Many will only cover liability on a salvage vehicle.

 

clearly toyota figured out what the problem was and corrected it during the 2012 model year... not hard to understand..

 

There are many who are seeing issues with oil consumption on 2012 plus....they just have less miles and are starting to show up now. Pretty easy to fix before you have issues, use thicker oil.

 

heres a video addressing the issue, of course some people will say it doesnt mention prius by name but all the parts are sourced by the same suppliers.. I dont know why this comment has taken on a life of it own but there will always be people who think the prius is magic and runs forever on unicorn farts and never ever dies... sorry its just a machine..