.....2013 Prius IV with 80k miles? This is my first Prius though I’ve wanted one for a long time. The price is $13k which according to KBB is a little high so we’re working on that. If I can get them down, buy a car with 80k miles on it? That’s foreign to me but if it’s going to 250k doesn’t seem all that bad. I’m just trying not to be a sucker here. Thanks for your help!
Welcome! Assuming it's in good condition, that's a nice car. 80k miles is nothing. I would try to get the price down about a thousand dollars, though. You can look at the prices here -- Listings - Tampa Hybrids Inc. -- to get an idea of what retail is down here in FL.
There are over 1.5 million generation 3 Prius out there and most don't have significant problems. Some owners have driven their cars in excess of 300k miles with no major problems but if you read the articles on this site, you can see that there are a number of people who have encountered problems specific to generation 3 Prius. To be fair, most people that have problems are going to take the time comment about them while the problem free cars don't get much notice. Most people have come to expect 200k miles or more with a minimum of problems from a Toyota product. The 3rd generation, 2011 - 2015 Prius are good cars but a percentage of them have a couple of specific problems that Toyota products in general do not have. These issues begin to appear at about 100k miles. Years 2011-2014 may develop an oil burning problem at around 100k miles. Toyota must have recognized the problem because they changed the piston and piston ring material or design for 2015 which seems to have resolved the oil burning problem. These cars also have a new system on the engine called an EGR cooler. On some and not all cars, it clogs and requires cleaning or replacement at about 100k miles. Many contributors on this site do their own maintenance. They have removed and inspected the cooler. Some found them clear and some found them clogged. Maybe the difference is whether they drove mostly highway miles vs city miles, they live in warmer climates or they have vehicles that are starting to burn oil. We don't know for sure. It costs about $700 at the dealer for this service. Ignoring this service on the ones that are clogged results in higher engine temperatures which may contribute to a blown head gasket. A blown head gasket generally results in a loss of engine coolant and overheating of the engine. If it is not caught in time, the overheating could damage the engine and require an engine replacement. I don't want to scare you off but you should be aware of the issues.
Thank y’all’s much! Here’s another question. I test drove a 2013 Prius V trim level. 85k miles. Would you get the extended warranty to 150,000 from CarMax?
How much does it cost? What equipment does it cover? These are great cars and you probably won't have problems with it but: The big ticket repair items on a Prius would be the traction battery, the inverter, the engine and the ABS brake actuator. Prius has two batteries, a small 12 volt battery in the trunk and a 200 volt traction battery under the back seat. The traction battery is covered by Toyota for 8 years or 100,000 miles so if you drive 15k miles a year, you are still covered for a year. The traction battery typically last at least 200k miles before requiring replacement. GreenBean offers to come to your location and replace it at a cost of about $1500 and that includes a lifetime warranty. The inverter is covered for 15 years and no mileage limit. Unless you keep your cars for a very long time, you probably don't have to worry about that item. The engine. You are going to probably be at the 100k miles mark within a year where oil burning or head gasket failures on a small percentage of these vehicles may occur. The head gasket repair or engine replacement might cost about $3500. The ABS brake actuator unit is a pump, reservoir and electronics. They develop an internal leak and the pump starts running more and more. Replacement is about $2800 at the dealer. You might want to see how many of these four items are covered by that warranty. Don't take a salesman's word for it, have him/her show you where in the warranty those items are covered. Here is a video that might be helpful. If you decide to buy one, I am sure you will be amazed at the mileage and reliability of these amazing cars.
Rather than try to guess based on mileage and model year, why not get it inspected? Try finding a mechanic in the area willing to a do a used car inspection (preferably one with hybrid experience).
Most people are telling me no. It costs about $50/mo over the life of the loan so $3k. Here’s what the website says it covers. how will I know it has an oil burning issue that I can have fixed before there is a head gasket issue?
I'd say they all clog. It's a fact of life with 3rd gen. I wouldn't leave it past 100K miles, then maybe every 50K* thereafter: clean both the full EGR system and the intake manifold. * At least one 50K follow up, just to get a feel for how quickly it reclogs.
No car is perfect in design or execution. My family has had 4 Toyota hybrid cars, two of them Prius v wagons models of the same era. One was sold at about 55k miles to buy another Toyota hybrid. Mostly boredom and wanting more electronic nannies as its owner aged past 75. The other continues to accumulate miles at well over 80k. One 200k++ fastback is used daily to commute 50 miles to work.
Unfortunately, we are talking about a mechanical piece of machinery, and one that is 6 almost 7 model years old. There is no guarantees. That being said, I think there can be a lot of life left in a Prius with 80K. Then it just becomes pretty comparable to any used vehicle purchase. As much as you can find out and know about it's condition the better. This could include independent inspection, car fax, personal evaluation, visual inspection, test drive, and ultimately gut feeling. Beyond that all I can offer is that my opinion is that a 2013 Prius with 80K could be a perfectly viable used car purchase.
