New Member: Considering a Prius, have questions.

There are states (not Texas) where every Prius battery is warrantied to go 150,000 miles or 10 years. If even 5% of them failed Toyota would go under.

If you asked if 300,000 miles was realistic I would say yes but not guarantied.

Now in Texas there are things you can do to help the battery in the heat.
The A/C not only cools you, it cools the battery. Do not try to tough it out and not run the A/C.
Coming down long downhills can heat up the battery, shifting to B (for engine Braking) puts less energy into the battery, keeping it cooler.
Try to avoid full throttle freeway entrances in the first 5 minutes of driving.
Window shades won't hurt.

 

ck,

I just turned in my old daily ride, 2009 Camry Hybrid with
180K. No battery issues.
Other posters have gotten 200K, and higher.
I would buy a used 2010 with 90K miles, without any hesitation.
I think the battery would last the 2-3 years you plan to keep it, and more.
How is the mpg on the Viper? Must be fun to drive!
Good luck!

stt

 

Remember that HEAT is your enemy on the traction battery. And we both know how HOT it gets down here. With all that said, you might get lucky and get 150K before the battery craps out, or you might not. If you are going to purchase a Prius with 90K on the clock, make sure you have at least 3K set aside for any future repairs.

Be aware of the repair cost's on a Prius. A Prius can save you a LOT of money when it comes to gas. However a Prius can also cost you a LOT of money IF you have to make any major repairs.

Here in Texas the warranty on the battery runs out at 8 years and or 100,000 miles on the odometer whichever comes first.

Best of luck to you and "Welcome to Prius Chat"!

 

I have a 2010 with over 136 k on the clock. Put about 25 k on it a year. Same 12v battery and same HV battery pack. As both posters above referenced, if there were continuous problems with the HV batteries requiring replacement, Toyota would have a large financial issue. Excessive Heat is the enemy of batteries, but there are plenty of owners in desert climates and the problem rate still remains low.

When test driving the prospect, treat it like any other used car test drive in terms of what you would be critical of. Hopefully there are good records to aid in your decision. If you do end up with one, there are some good quick DIY jobs you should do, to ensure you get what you expect out.

In addition to a hatch, what else would attract you to the Prius rather than a Matrix, which could be picked up for less or more options at the same price?

Happy hunting!

 

you'r planning on buying a 90k car, putting 60k on it in 3 years and selling? all we can tell you is that the odds are in your favor. the great unknown is how the car was treated for the first 90k.
you likely won't have any problems, but have to be prepared for the possibility, no matter how improbable.

as mentioned above, the battery is the great unknown, especially if it has been parked everyday in the hot sun for the last 5 or 6 years. contact hometown hybrids in houston for some local advice, good people. all the best!

 

I just bought a 2010 Prius three months ago. It had 90K miles on it. One thing to keep in mind is that there are quite a few maintenance items due around the 100K mark: engine and inverter coolant, probably should change the transmission fluid if you have no maintenance records. The spark plugs are due at 120K.

Do you have a professional auto inspector in your area? I have one in my area and he's a Prius expert. His $169 fee was well worth it.

 

We do not have good data on battery life, we have had only a very few Gen3 batt fails to date. There are some good batt replacement businesses in TX and they are active here on PriusChat.

In TX you have standard 8-yr 100k mile warranty, so it would nice to get one below that to have some lagniappe, to use a good Louisiana word.

 

Houstonian here.... Just bought a used 2014 for the wife and in the interest of a cooler interior, I put the darkest legal window tint possible on the front driver/passenger windows and 5% "limo" tint on all of the back. The car is a virtual greenhouse without window tinting. Go dark!

 

If you can bump your budget to $12,200, there is a 2014 Prius c with 37k at Hertz car sales in Houston.
I bought my Prius through Hertz car sales in PA.

 

That's a great deal. Good news for used Prius buyers is that the resale value on them right now is crap. Gas is like $1.85/gallon over here.

 

If it has leather it is at least a IV. Easy way to tell if it is a V is if it has the 17" wheels.

Do you have the auto-dimming rear view mirror with Homelink built in? That also comes with the IV.

Don't feel bad about not having the navigation. I have it and use my phone most the time anyways so I can get real time traffic info.

See this for great info on each package:

2010 Prius Models and Option Packages | PriusChat

 

Yes, sunroof is standalone, as is the technology package and navigation. Sounds like you have package IV then.

 

Sounds like a nice Model IV, best of luck to you neighbor!

 

Just be aware of the repair costs - parts are very expensive. I barely tapped the car in front of me, and wound up having to total my 2010 V. It had the tech package, so the radar and emblem were damaged, along with one of the LED headlights - plus the usual bumper and hood damage. I was told that the cost for just the radar module was $2500 and the headlight was $800. Under New York State law, if the the cost to repair exceeds 75% of the value of the car, it must be totalled.