New to me 2012 Prius V 245k miles // $4500

My gen 2 has turned into a junker with 290k miles. Cosmetic damage. Burns oil like crazy.

Looked at a "V" and they are so much better. Way more room. 2nd row slides forwards/backwards and reclines. Wanted to see if I could get lucky and get one fully loaded for reasonable.

Have less than $5000 into this decently clean Prius V and it is fully loaded. No warning lights on dash.

Major upgrade from my gen 2 prius, imo.

 

Good history on the toyota website but I have not looked at it closely and I have not seen carfax. No braking issues and no odd sounds. (But only driven less than 100 miles so far).

I need to get windows tinted...just ordered weather tech mats

 

At dealer all the time on website but didn't see anything major...lot of checks and tire rotations. Possibly had other work done at different shop. On Toyota website the only repairs I see are:

~153706 REPLACED INTAKE MANIFOLD
153706 REPLACED FRONT PADS AND ROTORS

149,937 replaced rear pads and rotors

 

The bar was very low because I am comparing it to my 2008 Prius with 290k on it with engine light last 100k miles, tire pressure light flashing, cosmetic damage, tires that were mismatched...probably needed a wheel alignment and a tie rod (subtle wobbliness at highway speed). Oh, and recently front humming (suspect front left wheel bearing shot). LOL.

The good news is I found a local professional company that buys catalytic converters. It is $1176 just for the converters. Although prices can fluctuate week to week. They are still on the car.

The Prius V --- I jinxed myself. Sat in a foot of snow for 2 days. Went to start....fires up but a little rattly / misfire for a brief second....engine light on....Smooths out to like-new running condition after a second, very smooth and quiet.

Drove on snow yesterday and it drives great....great in normal weather so far. Have scanner in my trunk but didn't scan it yet.

My mechanic has done 5-6 Gen 4 engine in gen 3 conversions. He charges $800 or $850 labor. Used to be able to get those 2016-2018 engines for $800 but now prices have went up and one with low mileage goes for about $1700 near me.

Long story short if the main component fails I will toss a 2018 engine in it. But will be over $2000 bill.

Other than that there are no other major issues (or minor as far as I can tell).

I didn't like that when I hit lock on the fob it shut both moon roofs maybe that is a setting that can be adjusted (closed them with headliner fabric instead of glass).

 

Very unlikely. It has misfire cyl 2 and 4....Going to my mechanic in about 2 hours. It's a misfire that smooths out in about 5 seconds. Then runs exactly like one brand new from factory.

From my experience with gen 3s the tell tale sign (have had at least 5 of them) is smoking out of the exhaust. They run ok/fine (never once was it the issue I am having) except smoking like a freight train.

The prior owner did religious maintenance. Why would a 5 second misfire be a head gasket? Heat is scolding hot, zero smoke from tailpipe.

Will know the second we look at the plugs (about 3 hours from now).

Oil was changed at 244,500 with a 5000 mile interval sticker so I am about 70% confident has minimal oil burning (will check in 2500 miles).

My 2008 after 1500 miles of being full it is already missing 2 of 4 quarts (and I've been driving that way from about 180k to 290k miles until I just switched)....So I am actually "a pro" with burning oil (not that big of a deal...just know when to add and know how much it burns).

My 2008 had the red oil light (from likely running off a few droplets...that engine is phenomenal you can literally run it on droplets of oil with no damage lol)......The red light came on maybe 3 times in the 110k miles I drove it with severe oil burning. Last time the oil change shop didn't put the oil cap on....It was flopping around by the coil packs. Had a gaseous smell for a week and for some reason I never popped the hood. Oh, hood latch is broke on the 2008 my mechanic rigged a zip tie to the hood hinge and it hangs off the hood and that is how I pop the hood....It turned into a real hoopty.

 

The more likely scenario (just a guess as it was dealer auction car....traded in to new car dealership):

1) Sat in a foot of snow for 30+ hours and strange things happen under extreme weather conditions

2) The 5 second misfire just recently occurred and guy who owned it didn't know anything about cars and immediately traded it in (unlikely because it arrived with zero warning lights and only did this "new thing" after sitting unstarted for 30 hours covered in ice and snow). It did not have a check engine light and doubt it was "recently deleted" because it would come right back. This to me is literally a brand new issue.

3) "head gasket" ---- most unlikely imo.

I am not a mechanic but I am in the auto business and extremely peculiar things happen when the weather changes suddenly...batteries go shot....starters go bad....etc. So I believe it is #1. The last spark plug change on carfax was at 122k miles so they are long overdue.

 

Kentucky on carfax through 120k and year 2017. Arrived to Ohio in January 2017.

I am not particular. What rots severely are trucks, vans, and SUVs. Priuses (and most cars) hold up very well (even underneath).

I actually have an F150 with a cracked frame in 2 places lol got for $900 at auction. I am well acquainted with rusty junk.

 

He said live data showed misfire on scanner before he changed plugs....And completely gone after the "shot plugs" were changed.

I'm not a mechanic but when I let it sit overnight today and it doesn't do this:

Then is it just a coincidence?

Again, not a mechanic, but a misfire is usually plugs/coils. Never heard of a misfire being exactly the symptom of a head gasket. Actually the opposite, the 100 or so cars/trucks I've had with head gaskets always run phenomenal hot/cold. It's just that annoying "no heat" / "no coolant" / "and smoke out exhaust" / "and car overheating" that gets in the way!

If those 4 things didn't happen you would think there was nothing wrong with the engine.