Considering High Mileage Prius

If you have a tight budget, you should avoid any Prius that has over 180000 miles. Anything can go wrong with that car after that point, and it's usually not cheap to fix at a dealer (unless you have DIY time, it might be less expensive)

 

welcome! it all depends on your objectives. if you need a reliable car, and would have a problem with a serious malfunction, move on. if you like rolling the dice when the odds are in your favor, and can handle a few thousand in repairs should they come up snake eyes, go for it.

i seriously doubt the 2010 is going to take the 'dismal' out of acceleration. all the best!

 

I have bought and sold over 70 cars in my lifetime ( part time side gig). If it was me, 241k is pushing the envelope a little. I understand you are on a budget but in my opinion there are a few other reliable cars that get good MPG in your price range without the risk of so many miles. First I am not knocking the prius at all, I recently purchased a 2013 and its the best car I have owned so far. That's why I chose the prius as our family car. But as a real world example a Nissan Versa, there is a 2009 with only 54k miles in my area for 6k, I know its not a hybrid but with a small 4 cylinder it would still achieve good mpg while not adding in the cost of maintaining a high mileage hybrid battery. Cheap and easy to maintain and in my opinion would be a safer bet than a super high mileage prius .Just some food for thought.

 

It's not what someone may want to hear, but my opinion is with a budget as tight as yours, I wouldn't even consider Prius. Especially the high mileage Prius you are looking at.

I have to agree with the idea that perhaps a Non-Hybrid option would be your best "first car". Or if you can continue saving?

IMO, if you are buying a Prius with that much mileage on it? At the very least you need to have either the automotive DIY skills to do a lot of repair OR the financial resources to pay for the rather inevitable maintenance issues that might arise.

If just purchasing the car in the first place, max's out your budget, it leaves you in a very precarious position.

 

Just a note, the power mode just changes the throttle mapping so that it kicks in sooner, which feels more powerful to most people. Flooring it in any of the modes results in the same amount of acceleration. The Gen3 is a little more powerful than the Gen2 because of the bigger engine, not because of an extra button.

 

i don't think there was a particular bad year. anecdotally, i think they overbuilt the '04 so it wouldn't have many problems. '05 -'07 seem a little weak, but no major issues, and '08 and '09 seem strong. but i could be way off.

 

I've read on this forum about Prii which have done over a million miles (so could be 2 million by now) with just the regular servicing and minor repair (one had a pipe replaced from memory and that's it). So based on that (and from the earlier models) I think he should get the higher mileage and more recent Prius, as they have just been getting better and better. We all know the engine lasts a lot longer than non-hybrid's because the electric motors are helping out the engine so nothing get's too much of a workout = lasts longer.

So, I'd pay for a knowledgeable inspection service to go over the Prius and buy it if the report is good. I'm sure there are also some members in the OP's area who could also give it a look/test for a carton of beer or something.

 

I thought they would all be the same ('04 - '09) as they are exactly the same model/tech. But I hope you're right as I have an '08 and the only issue's have been needing to replace the 12v battery (doing another tomorrow actually as the car has gone all Christine on us... not turning on, then turning on when you are just sitting there, all the dash lights coming on for no reason.... weirdness).

 

i suspect, when they tested the '04's after high mileage, they found area's they could cut back and save money. and ager '07 beefed up the ones that weren't working. it's just a theory, i have no idea really.