Looking To Buy A Used Prius--Help Me Decide

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.

 

welcome! how many miles a year, and how many years would you like to keep it?

 

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.

 

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.

 

Thx for list of carb states. Very helpful to know before making Prius purchase.

 

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!