Buying (very) high milage Gen 4?

Just remember the HV battery is out of warranty now and although it could possibly go on for another 100K miles, it would cost a good chunk of that $5,000 if it does fail. But not much else is likely to fail apart from wear and tear items like wheel bearings, suspension joints, shockers and the usual brakes and tyres etc.

 

Well.......FWIW......Me/Thinks, 125000 fewer miles for an extra $5000, is a bargain.......again, FWIW.......ymmv

 

Last fall, I did the same thing and around here I found more choices on used 2018 level II's since AFAICT they all come with TSP 2.0 starting in '18 than trying to find a higher level trim '16 or '17 with the right options to get full TSP. And yes, OP works great with it. I wanted the longest factory warranty possible for the lowest price.

GOOD LUCK with your search.

 

Advice: I own both 2018 Touring and Two. If you like a nervous ride, go for the Touring. The Two is much more sedate, and I'm at an age where I prefer it. I don't think the aesthetic trade-off is worth it (17"s vs. 15"s, combined with stiffer, very slightly lowered suspension)

I haven't been near San Diego in over 10 years, but if the roads aren't ribbon smooth, you might regret the 17"s. They're just too fussy (I drove rather aggressive Audis and VWs for 40 years), and slapping the 17"s on the Prius, with it's unrefined suspension, isn't for everyone.

...and yes...125000 FEWER miles? I'd pay the extra $5k for that...or...shop for the 2018 Prius Two.

 

I would wait for the Covid-19 mess to pass first. You have a job today, tomorrow you might get laid off. Just keep driving the parent's Gen 3 and save up them dollars.

 

I've bought quite a few older cars myself over the years, and helped my children buy "University cars" which inevitably were old and high mileage. Most worked out fine - but there were some inevitable repairs required.

It's never easy - and you take a risk with anything that isn't brand new. Get it checked out by a reliable mechanic, preferably one who knows PRIUS.

The battery - from what I can see with the few I've read about failing, tend to fail by time, not distance - and most get to 10 years or well past. Here in Australia, TOYOTA is putting a 10 year, unlimited kilometre warranty on new Hybrids (for private owners) - ours are all NiMH.

 

For me, the only thing my '18 level II is missing is Apple's CarPlay. I can get that with a radio swap which is easy and relatively cheap since the car uses a conventional "double-din" setup unlike the higher trims with the big vertical screen (and no volume knob).

 

THIS DRIVES ME NUTS!!!!!!!

 

I believe the TSS-P was an added option only available on some trims for 2016. Some safety was standard for 2017 and then they added more features in mid-2017. The available features will depend on the build date. I have an early 2017.

 

In California the 2017 would still be under hybrid warranty, I believe.

 

No this Prius is well outside of warranty for the battery. In California, I believe its 10 years or 150k miles whichever comes first. I would totally pass on this, but that's just me.

 

A 2017 Prius Two with 50K miles as mentioned is well within that warranty. That extra $5000 provides 50K miles of Hybrid warranty.

 

All else being equal, I would pay $5000 to get a newer car with 125,000 fewer miles (that's only 4 cents/mi for less wear and tear, a very good deal). Be sure to review the maintenance records for anything you buy - timely fluid changes, especially oil and coolant, are extremely important to longevity. At 50,000mi. it's probably okay to have the original coolant (but you should have it tested), but by 175,000mi. it probably should have been changed at least twice. Somewhere before 175,000mi. transmission fluid should have been changed. By 3-4 years brake fluid should be changed, or at least tested for boiling point reduction and copper ion build up, (a measure of corrosion) - not just eyeballed.

 

Yes - have the 4th trim out of 7 in the JDM lineup. Its the lowest of the trims to include BSM and RCTA - which are features I most definitely wanted. For a car with compromised rear sight lines - I really wanted that BSM. This was decided after considering 1 tier lower which was basically equally equipped save for those 2 things, despite the price premium.

Definitely don't worry about any head unit features as that's a double din swap away - easy as to add something with Android/Carplay if you want. As for 15" vs 17" - objectively the 15s are better for ride quality (taller aspect ratio), deliver a few more MPGs theoretically all else being equal, and are cheaper to replace when you need to do that. But it's not that huge of a difference.