Considering purchasing a 400K mile Prius C

life is short, go for it!

 

All of the Prius models have a pretty good reputation for battery longevity, but 400K miles implies an awful lot of use. If that's really the original battery then I'd advise you to wrap the battery replacement cost into your budget. If you're comfortable paying for both the car and a battery replacement, then it might be for you. And if it turns out that you don't need to replace the battery then you come out ahead.

 

I'd drive it and keep a close eye on the battery meter. It can't have a ton of battery capacity left. Check to see if the battery level swings up and down quickly on the meter.

I personally would be worried about high rate of oil consumption at that amount of miles. The 1.5 engine is good. And you don't have to worry about head gasket issues like the 1.8 engine. I would say absolutely don't buy it if it was a liftback with the 1.8 engine. They have a rough time making 250,000k sadly

 

there's another member who bought a lift back with 400k, and drove it another 100k without issue until a tree fell on it. but he doesn't want to fix it because somehow, 500k is a magical number where the car is going to turn into a money pit.

 

Don't buy it!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

4 grand for a 400k mi. car? Get real! It could go a lot more miles, or fail on the way home. 4 grand's a whole pile of money for an old, probably unreliable car.

I'd let this one pass and look for something else. I've got a real nice 03 for $3000, 148,000 mi., if you want to jump on a plane and come get it.

 

Don't waste your cash

 

If it was under $1500 it would make a good beater car

 

If it's something that has been well maintained it could last forever. However the 400,000 miles would give me pause but I'd say Priuses are very reliable and you can always buy used parts off of wrecked c'S. I'd rather have a C as a Gen 2 any day

 

Damn tree. (Not mine but the ending is sad)
Buy the car, prepare for maintenance and battery, and know that a true classic never dies.
I once knew a 1967 Camaro in its third engine and 600k miles back in the eighties. It probably is still running. The one owner took it to shops that gave lifetime guarantees. Paid for brakes once with Midas for example.
Synthetic fuel is what the Prius C takes and if it leaks which doubtful it would significantly, just keep monitoring it. Also use fuel system cleaners.

 

Good luck with your decision. I would think that you should offer a low bid, say $2900. How many other people would gamble on the car with that many miles? (My 2012 Prius C has barely 60,000 miles on it.)

 

Nice! My 2012 C only have 27,000 miles on it

 

Yeah that's a heavy amount of miles. Consider: what are seller's other options? I don't think they will get any other takers, at the price, with those miles. Offer 2K, with room to go up a bit? Also, go for an extended test drive, before even making the offer.

 

Hey offer the dealer $1000, take it or leave it. At that price I imagine he still would make a nice profit. And 1k is all that thing is worth!

 

I drive a little more than average and I only have ~79k miles. 400k miles on a 2012 is a whole lot of miles. 80k miles/year. If the dealer has proof of maintenance, that's not too bad of a deal, but if he can't document every single oil change... all 40 of them, along with the major parts and fluid like the inverter and coolant fluid, I would walk.

 

Well....
Since it's not my 4 grand...my instinct is to go YEAH! GO FOR IT!....then wait for the posts about battery replacement, engine replacement and transmission replacement. But.....

You'd have to work pretty hard to put that many miles on a Prius c that quickly.

Really? How are you about gambling? Because it would be a roll of the dice. You could buy it and be talking about an economical 100,000 mile stint, or you could be talking about what a mistake the whole thing became.

There is no magic, and 400,000 miles on any vehicle is a lot. Hard to believe at least some expensive repairs might not be on the horizon.
And finding a comparative track record? Also probably pretty hard to do. I'm thinking running 2012 Prius c's with 400,000 miles or more on them are nearly non-existent. If you buy it...you might be the only one.

Crazy?
Well...gamble only if you can afford the loss.
If battery failure, engine failure or transmission problems, or other high end repairs would become instantly a huge problem?
I'd pass.
And know of course, it becomes $4000 plus whatever the cost of future repairs become.

 

I'd buy it for fun, like buying an old VW bus. If I was really into a Prius.

 

I will definitely not buy it even under $1K. I bought two Prius from private owners, $3.8K for a 08 Prius with 96,000 mile and $7.1K for a 12 Prius C2 with 20,432 mile.

 

too much money for too many miles, but a low ball offer as advised above makes some sense. The dealer almost certainly has $1k or less in it, don't you think? A friend just turned 300,000 on a gen one. It is on second engine and first battery pack...for what that is worth.