Hey everyone, Since the car market is CRAZY right now I am considering selling my Kia Soul for a 2010 or 2011 Prius. My partner just got a 2005 and just broke 200k on his, still runs like new! My Kia Soul is a 2014 with about 88k on it, but the kicker is that it’s a 6 speed manual. They’re not super easy to find. We bought it for 7.5k in 2018 and Carvana just offered me 8.1k CASH to buy it outright from me. I really want a gen III Prius but I’m wondering, is it bad if I got a gen III (2010 or 2011) with less than 100k on it? That puts yearly mileage around 8-9,000 miles. Does anyone think there will be battery problems since it is “lower” mileage? Or is it driven enough for me not to be concerned about the battery? Any input is greatly appreciated.
I have a 2010 with 120k miles, its been super reliable with no oil use. But I am pretty religious about maintenance and doing oil changes at 5,000 miles including not using 0W-20 weight oil and using 0W-40 weight oil. EGR cleaning at 80k-90k miles is a must, so expect to have that done. It’s not a normal service by Toyota, so you will need to find a shop to do it or do it yourself. The only issue that you may have is oil use, as it’s common on 2010-2011’s and buying a used one there is no real way to tell, unless the seller is honest.
I Have an 07 with 31,000 Miles. Been Serviced every 6 months at Toyota Dealer. ( I Have The Receipts ) The Car has been garage kept and it in Great Condition. Anyone Know What a Good Asking Price would be. It was the Top Model for 2007. Has Nav Leather Fog Lights Etc.
The hybrid battery is probably the last thing to have concern over. It's not about mileage with the battery......also some Gen 3's do have oil usage and head gasket issues, but many thousands have gone well over 200k with none of those problems. I would also advise getting the egr system cleaned, it seems to have an effect on those two mentioned issues. If I had a choice, I would get a Gen2 lower mileage before I would get a Gen3...although I drive a 2015 but have only 67k on it. I've never had a problem.
2010 here: build date August ‘09, we purchased November’10, with under 20 kms on the odo. 12 volt was dead (and dealership replaced, after some subterfuge). Our usage has gone down and down; currently lucky to get 4K kms per year. Odo currently at 90k kms (56k miles): no noticeable change in hybrid battery performance over the years. Do budget for Exhaust Gas Recirculation cleaning though; it’s due. More info: Bad Flywheel | PriusChat
I'll be the voice of dissent. Given the age of the battery I'd plan on replacing it in the next few years. Mileage isn't really relevant, but time seems more important to longevity. If you don't have to that's great, but I wouldn't be surprised if it starts to degrade. I'm at that point with my 2011. I don't want to replace it and I'm hoping it will still be a few more years. However, it's old enough where I don't feel it owes me anything and if I need to spend some money on it, so be it. That said, battery issues are overblown and give people too much angst. They're relatively cheap and easy to deal with now. These cars are incredibly reliable and stout. They're really cheap to pound miles in, even if you need to spring for a new battery at some point. As for usage, I bought my 2011 2 years ago with 42k on it, so it saw similar low usage. It now has 132k on it with no indications it suffered from low usage.
