Hi All--i've decided to move on from my 2004 BMW X3 --which has become a big money trap. I travel a decent amount for work --mostly highway but a lot of stop and go traffic and looking for something more economical--hence my interest in a Prius. I have two small children --2 and 4 and so need a decent amount of room. I'd like to offload my BMW and get myself into a used Prius--so looking to spend in total about $10K. I've seen a few local 2009 to 2011 models with roughly 90K miles for between $8K to $10K but just a bit overwhelmed with all of the different options. Plus i noticed that one year has a plug in model? Not sure exactly what the difference is but hence i'm a bit overwhelmed. Is there a particular model or year specifically that would be a good option for me? Anything else i need to watch out for in regards to the battery? Thanks so much.
cdog, I would go with a Gen. 3(2010 or newer), one owner, under 100k miles. Do your normal CarFax research, and you'll find a good Prius. I do not know enough on the plug ins, and what a used one would cost. My 2009 Camry Hybrid had 180 K, and no battery issues. Not sure on battery warranties on the Gen. 3 models. Of course, some owners had battery issues with less mileage. Good luck! stt
Search for and download the sales brochures for 2010-2015 so you can see what was available for each year and to use as a checklist for the car that you are looking at. The Plug in Prius has a larger battery that can be recharged from an electrical outlet. Most of the PiP were sold in California so you won't find many on the East Coast. Happy hunting.
No matter which one you decide to buy, when it comes to the Prius: You have less moving parts that wear out MPG goes up in stop and go traffic, even with the AC on Your brakes will last much longer Gen 2's actually have more interior passenger room Changing the oil and tranny oil on these cars is a breeze! If you buy a used one and the mileage is still under warranty for a new battery, I would see if you could make that a part of your purchase. That way you know you have close to 15 years of no battery issues. Just my suggestion.
The 2008 gen twos I have found prices are in the 5k range. A great deal for near 100k miles. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
At my rate now between 12k to 14k miles a year. I'd like to have it for a while so at least 5+ years.
Thanks for the reply! Is the battery issue more of an age thing or a mileage thing? I'm not following your second point. I live in MA--So the warranty is 100k or 15 years right? Seems like most I've been looking at are close to 100k so not much warranty left likely. How exactly would this help? Sorry if this is a really dumb question
hybrid warranty is 10 years, 150,000 miles. so, if your looking at 5 years and 65,000 miles more, you're covered for most of that. after that, it's a crapshoot, mostly in your favor. but if the battery does go out after warranty, it's around $2,500. to $3,000. other issues that may crop up are a/c compressor, inverter, brake actuator. they only get a 3 or 5 year warranty. all expensive, but fairly rare.
Most definitely not a mileage thing. You can have a much newer car with high miles racked up very quickly in a short amount of time if you are driving far beyond 15k miles per year. My 7 year old Prius already has 163k miles on it going strong. Many Taxi Prius's have 300k-600k miles on them with the original Hybrid battery, again they are driving more miles annually than the average person as you can easily rack up in 300k miles in 8 years or less. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Don't know if you can find one in your price range, but a used PriusV, the station wagon might be a better fit for you, think the 1st year was 2012. It has a lot more room, and with 2 small children more room is always good.
Since 2004, MA has been a CARB state, with a 10 year/150,000 warranty on the hybrid battery. The car has to be originally purchased in a CARB state and currently registered in a CARB State. The 2014 list of CARB States in the US | PriusChat This should give you more piece of mind over the Federal warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles. In reality the Battery is not even the most expensive repair. A new Transaxle is $5000 installed, you can minimize failure by draining and refilling the ATF WS periodically. Many suggest every 60,000 miles, I prefer 30,000, then 90,000, then every 90,000. A new Inverter is $4000. Do not jump start any other vehicle, and try to never jump start your Prius. Attaching the cables wrong even for an instant can do thousands of damage. The Hybrid Battery is often $3500 installed, minimize this by never letting it overheat. Clean the fan, avoid long steep downhills in D, and run the A/C if it seems hot to you.
Gen 3 (08-15?) will be a good starting place, better mpg than it's predecessor. The main thing is to make sure it has been taken care of, regular maintenance and has not been in an accident. They're great cars so there do not seem to be very many issues. One thing to remember is that the hybrid powertrain warranty is 08 years/100,000 miles. Or if you wouldn't mind a smaller Prius, the C would also be a good option. Quite a few low mileage ones out there. Good luck!
