I am looking at buying a get 3 Prius as an inexpensive around town car. I know the market is crazy right now but I figure if I buy something cheap enough the correction won’t be too expensive. i am looking at a 2011 with 66k miles listed for $9500. Single owner and dealer maintained. I think it is a two. Hoping to check it out today and probably have to make a on the fly call to buy at this price. What do I need to look for in a test drive?
HI... I live an hour south of you and the first couple-few years of Gen3 have issues with burning oil and blowing head gaskets... Spending less on a Gen2 or more on a newer Gen3 will be a much safer way to go. Get in touch if you need more help, I've helped lots of people find great prices on Prius via private owners because everything you've ever heard about used car dealers is mostly true and spending an extra $1500 on a gen3 from a used car dealer is a huge money waster.
66k, you're probably still good, but do your due diligence on all the gen 3 defects $9,500. doesn't seem reasonable to me for a 10 year old car, but it is what it is. and figure a couple grande in the near future for a new hybrid battery
Appreciate this thread is done-an-dusted, but I’d like to counter: I don’t see 2012~2015 model years being immune to all the 3rd gen foibles. part way through 2014 there was a semi-significant revision, oil rings and pistons; that “may” lessen oil consumption, but I doubt it cures Exhaust Gas Recirculation clogging and head gasket failures.
For the first time, I just added a bit of oil to my '14- around a half quart. If my Prius has slight oil burning, is that normally related with EGR issues?
these cars save gas the longer and further each drive. Around town, you’ll probably experience oil dilution and gunked up rings quickly due to engine temp not reaching optimum temps and bad flywheel. And probably lower mpgs than specs thus not being an inexpensive option.
Oil burning might well make for dirtier exhaust, and accordingly increase EGR clog rate. Still, I think even with no oil burning the EGR is slow-but-sure clogging. That's my case so far: I cleaned the EGR at 70K kms, and it was worthwhile, carbon was building. To date I've never seen the engine oil dipstick level budge, between oil changes.
How many miles have you driven since the last oil change? If you do 10,000 miles oil changes, and you just added 1/2 quart and you have 9000 miles then 1/2 a quart is nothing.... How many miles on your Prius? Have you cleaned the egr system?
Thoughts: 1. "Around town" - get a non-hybrid, or maybe look at a Prius-C. Hybrids are volume dealers. If you're not knocking down enough miles to pay back the additional buy-in costs, then they're just "statistically" cheaper to own. B. If you're not a DIY'er - See #1 above, and add in the fact that non hybrids do not have traction batteries, regenerative brakes, inverters, motor-generators....IN ADDITION to all of the other stuff that goes wrong on 10 year old cars. III. I had the great pleasure of living in Seattle 30 years ago, and thought it was paradise on earth! My feelings have.......er........ah........"evolved" somewhat since then, as has that town. So.....Priuses, including G3s are ultra-super-close-to-zero emissions vehicles....or something like that. This means that EITHER their catalytic converters are being jacked because of third-world politics and corrupt local governments resulting in a black market for OEM catalytic converters -or- there's gobs of rare elements in the OEM cats that make them irresistible to thieves where property crimes are not as aggressively as they are in......'other' places. Or? A little of both. Either way? A jacked cat on a G2 means that your car sounds like every other car in red-dirt country. A jacked cat in a G3 probably means that your car is lawn-art until you get it fixed. Takeaway: You may want to consider a NON ULEV/SULEV ride if you're not a DIY'er. The GOOD news is that a stolen cat near Sea-Tac is only a several hundred dollar event. The BAD news? Well.....see the first part of this part. e. Head Gaskets (See "B" above.) Fiver. Read the ten longest threads in this forum that start with "Should I buy a Prius?" Good Luck!
Hybrids don't either: they have those things IN ADDITION to some of the other stuff that goes wrong on 10 year old cars, but there's a fair chunk of that other stuff they haven't got.
I want to burn less gasoline and produce less pollution, particularly global warming pollution, everywhere I drive. Also, where hybrids save the most fuel vs. conventional ICE cars is precisely 'around town,' in stop-and-go driving.
^ This is why I recommended a C-type for the OP, since the "C" in Prius-C stands for "city." So.....it goes something like this: The RULE IS...... Cheap (more) Eco-friendly Reliable ...pick any two. The OP didn't SAY "I want to burn less gasoline and produce less pollution, particularly global warming pollution, everywhere I drive." otherwise I would have wholeheartedly recommended a Prius Prime, either new or gently used. The OP actually SAID something like: SO.... The G3 is a darned good car. I've logged 200,000 miles in TWO of them, and the only time I've ever had to leave any of them in the barn was due to their very low ride height during tropical weather, and because one of their design flaws (all cars have them!) is an under-sized aux battery. However (comma!) the last new wireless G3 was made over six years ago, and unless you're KNOWLEDGABLE about cars in general, and the G3 Prius in particular you may be standing into uncharted, shoal waters and there are some pretty dangerous ROCKS out there. The company I work for (Big Phone) so far is on track to get well over 10 years and probably 200,000 miles out of every G3 Prius that they bought in 2010 and 2011. DEPSITE certain very well known FLAWS in the G3, it is still possible for the every-person to buy a gently used example, and get 200,000 miles out of the car BOTH inexpensively, and eco-friendly. ALSO! If you want to be a 'rule breaker' you CAN achieve the trifecta and be inexpensive, eco-friendlier, AND reliable. MANY people on this forum do it. But it takes more of a commitment than just repeating the mantra and writing a check to a Toyota dealer's service department every five thousand miles....unless you JUST want to be eco-friendly and maybe more reliable than the average bear....and are not worried about the cost - AND EVEN THEN you have to be informed of certain pitfalls in the G3 life (looking at YOU: timing chain cover, not-so-smart key, soy based wire, ez-peel white paint!) As Always. REAL WORLD mileage WILL vary.....
If you have a 10,000 mile OCI (oil change interval) and you're using a half-quart in between changes....that's not the end of the world. As mentioned above, if you're using a half quart every 1,000 miles it's a different symptom. Congratulations! You're smarter than most folks who, believe it or not, never check their oil level! I'd consider reducing the OCI to 5,000 miles and continuing to check the oil level every 1000 miles or third fill-up since the Prius has an under-sized oil sump for my tastes. Since you live where you live (trying to be nice here.... ) I'd also consider reading up on oil catch cans and perhaps installing one for your car. MANY factors to consider here including miles, driving habits, and how long you intend to keep the car. Good Luck!
If anyone is interested, I've got some real nice waterfront propery in south Florida for sell, cheap, and a quick sale!!!!!!!
