My 2005 (115,000 mi from Mom in NW CT, many years of salt. Rear coil broke, weakened by rust I believe) has rust pretty bad. I want a car that will last me for the next 4+ (preferably many+) years. Mine is also starting to throw a lot of codes. I replaced the throttle body, now I am on to 1116, 1121 and 1150. Is it reasonable to think that by the time they get to 20 years it is harder for all the sensors themselves to not have problems? I also have the feeling that my second front bearing may be going bad. The last one cost me $700 in labor alone because it was so rusted in. There comes a point when you move on, even w/ low miles it doesn't mean a lot a of ancillary work doesn't become tiring and the 2nd best thing about the Prius is the reliably and lack of maintenance. I am tempted to try a Gen III or even a Gen IV. I don't think that the body style on the new, new one looks promising. Giving up practicality for sexy. So, what's the best choice? Low miles Gen II (best car ever but even an 09 is starting to have aging issues?) Gen III Gen III, 2012 or later Gen IV (maybe)
skip gen 3 or you'll regret it. gen 4 is fine, but at 115k, your car is just broken in. yes, it will need repairs, but weigh the cost vs buying newer. i would buy newer myself, but the prices are pretty outrageous. if you can afford it, go for it.
Gen 4 is VASTLY better than Gen 3. More comfortable, handles better, better fuel economy, much less chance (but not quite zero) than a Gen 3 of a blown head gasket, and the battery will be newer and likely still under warranty. Negatives are higher price, fewer cubbyholes for small items. Worth the tradeoff in my opinion.
Come down south but a gen2 in good shape . And in Conn try n garage it or such . Western MA and Conn are not good for cars BTDT.. wheel bearing in that area you get it in shop you start spraying the PB or AeroKroil a few days before wrenching in summer . Or spring .. in the dry..
Sadly I agree with @jerrymildred; holding your nose and getting a 4th gen is a better bet. Their main issue is leakage in exhaust heat recovery, but that’s relatively straightforward, at least if addressed promptly. And maybe due to a “bad batch”? And Toyota has acknowledged the problem, will fix for free. On the other hand, replacement parts are in short supply. 3rd gens have head gasket failures, runaway oil consumption (for model years 10 through 13, and some 14), brake booster failures, and perineal hybrid battery failure. The first two I’m betting can be mitigated by certain preemptive maintenances, but used 3rd gens for sale have a high probability of being sold due to those failures.
Thank you all for the feedback. No comments on general code throwing by aging electronic parts as car gets older so I'll scratch that and consider a low miles Gen II or maybe play around with a auction flood or hail gen 4 just for chuckles. I've always wanted to have a hail car or to walk on the wild side and roll the dice with flood. Auction fees have gotten so high I'll probably just find the Gen II of my dreams. Grey, Leather, JBL with 75 - 110,000. Love the Gen IIs. Remind me of BMW 16/ 2002s Cheers all.
Every time I look at getting into a IV I see the glossy plastic dash components, I wretch a bit and then climb down into instead of sitting on and ... no mommy no, don't make me get in that car. What a baby. I'll try.
Regardless of your choice special winter maintenance need to be added to your plan. Years ago I bought a 15 Year old subaru outback that lived in Arizona. I was for my son, I had the identical car that lived in PA. I can tell you working on the AZ based car was a joy.
