buying (high?) mileage Prius

The 2010-15s have similar problems primarily due to piston ring, brake booster, inverter and egr design flaws. Hybrid batteries are always a concern as they age. The 2015s and some 2014s have redesigned pistons and rings.

It requires a 2016 gen4 redesign to ensure the best reliability. I would buy a 2016 or newer or get a conventional car in your price range.

Use last six digits in the attached reference

 

Yes, unless you're a big DIY person you want to stay away from Gen 1 and Gen 2 Priis. (1997-2003) Gen 3's have some issues so if looking at those you'll want their maintenance history and have a mechanic run an advanced scan on the car as well as a visible inspection....since you seem to be in the rust belt, also want to check for how much rust is underneath. Look for anything 2015 or newer, Gen 4.
I would NOT want to be in the market for buying a used car right now! My friend (who hates Toyota, makes me angry) ordered a Jeep Wrangler a few months ago and it just came in but the dealer tried to pull a fast one and now wants $10,000 OVER MSRP! I told him if he has a paper from them where they quoted the MSRP then he needs to see a lawyer and not pay that ridiculous amount. (Should also report them to the BBB, IMHO)

 

Wow, you're right about those prices. I just searched my local places and 2015 Prius 2/3's are going for 17-18,000....dang. My 2017 Prius was $21,000 NEW (MSRP was 26,000 but I'm a good bargainer.)
Do you have to get a Prius? I saw a 2015 Camry Hybrid with 117,000 for $17K....that's what I'd be looking at I were buying.

 

The last six digits are a sequence number. Bigger means the revised pistons are in the engine.

 

You may to also check out Mazda's, especially the CX-5's....my daughter has a 2016 and it's very impressive and getting 32 mpg. Older Mazda's had a horrible transmission (Jatco) but Mazda wised up around 2013 and now have their own transmission which is almost as good quality as Toyota's these days.

 

As long as you ignore the issues it is a great car. The brakes last forever, you get good mpg, the transaxle and ac are solid, plus the body fit and finish are above average.

 

agreed. we have no idea how many high mile gen 3's are running great with no major work. all we see are mostly problems.
could be 99% for all we know. there was a lawsuit against toyota from a dealer in cali, not sure how it turned out.
edit: he got 16 million over the inverter problem.
here's an interesting writeup on the brakes:
2112

 

It is very difficult to "inspect" for excessive oil consumption. Even Toyota requires a 1200 mile period to judge the amount of oil lost.

A gen3 brake booster is "good" until it fails. However frequent running every minute or less is a bad sign and its soon to fail. Most mechanics would think "no codes no problem."

The best hybrid mechanics can only tell you that a gen3 head gasket is currently good. "Currently" on a gen3 head gasket could mean right now but no telling if it was good two days ago when it was started cold. Characteristic gen3 early stage rattling often only occurs on a cold engine that sits overnight. Any rattling even for a minute should be a no go on that car.

An average mechanic may think its all good if there is no overheating when driven hard, no coolant loss on the test drive, no milky oil and no coolant gasses in the reservoir.

A decent test is a quality borescope inspection through the spark plug hole. A steam cleaned piston is a bad sign. Obviously late stage gen3 head gasket failures will rattle frequently, even when warm, may have obvious coolant loss and if they are blowing white smoke, may be past an easy gasket replacement.

I would want a six month or better guarantee over a third party warranty. Those warranties are usually full of exceptions and limitations.

 

If you are not going to put a lot of miles per year, then a 2011 with 70,000 is a great choice. All of the problem people are talking about are very unlikely below 120,000 and then unlikely until 150,000. Yes, they can happen but some people make it sound like brake booster, head gasket, etc. are sure to fail which they are not.

I suppose I'm biased with my 2010 at 104,000 running like new.

How many miles per year do you expect to put on it?

 

The gasket issue could be more aptly called the EGR issue. Are you ok with cleaning it? Stick with 5K mile oil change interval, and get on the EGR; you should be fine with any third gen year. Especially if you can get one well under 100K. More info in first link in my signature.