I'm new to the forum and hope you can help. I'm considering a Prius v III for $6900. It's very clean, but it has about 165,000 miles. Am I crazy???
If it is a 2015-17 v with no apparent issues, then I would consider it. Review the v forum posts to learn about high mileage issues with a v which can be significant, especially on 2012-14 v models.
It might be a risk relative to oil burning, egr cooler clogging, head gasket and hv battery. The brake actuator and inverter problems have customer support programs (similar to an extended warranty). They are good for ten years from delivery. The oil burning was a design flaw in the piston and ring design which a few cars had repaired under the original powertrain warranty. Evidence of that repair and some of the others would be better than no fixes in my book. Otherwise anticipate $5k of repairs under your watch.
I have the same car which I bought with 80k miles. Now has ~151,xxx miles. Had the EGR cleaned at 100k. No oil burning issues to speak of. Uses about a 1/2 quart between oil change. iPhone ?
I too have a 2013 Prius V, but with 95k of very hard Uber driving miles. I am currently in the process of doing the EGR Cleaning right now. I have no oil consumption at all (yet). I just changed the original spark plugs, and they had zero evidence of oil fouling. Changing the plugs on these cars takes a whole day, so don't think you can ask to casually remove a plug for inspection. I think my lack of oil consumption is due to my misreading the owners manual. I changed the oil every 5k miles since I bought it at 22k. Toyota specification says change at 10k. Other people have seen "dealer maintained" cars with just over 100k consuming a quart every 3000 miles. So the main answer to your question is a one of oil consumption. If the car was kept clean, the oil changed at 5K intervals, and the EGR system got cleaned (a very big job) before the head gasket went, then it probably isn't burning oil. If it isn't burning significant oil at 165K, then it could be good for another 100k. That is a very big if... but it has happened. The other issues RJParker mentions are worth considering as well. He has been through it all with his 2012 Prius V. I think he has over 250k on it.
check out my post about my 2014 prius v at 170k miles looking for a hitch for a cross country move | PriusChat all you have to do is make sure the battery isnt dieing and checking if its eating oil IE if the oil level is low when you check the car out huge chance it is burning oil, these things love to do that unless you install a oil catch can. if all that fails there are guys whos do this 3rd gen prius head gasket replacement - YouTube for 400$ lol
You should be careful about buying cars with higher mileage on them since it will be hard to maintain. Make sure that you will get it from a reputable dealer. You may want to read this article for more information. 5 Problems with High-Mileage Cars | BestCompany.com.
