Looking for a used Gen 2 but I am finding lots of low mpgs

@ChrisPR77 In answer to your question, I've had the car for 2 weeks thus far, and I live in the upper midwest. Cold temperatures + driving in rain & snow have a negative effect on fuel economy, and since I just got the car, I haven't become expert enough in driving technique to improve much in my first few hundred miles. Also a lot of bumper to bumper traffic jams in the week before Christmas didn't help.

My third fuel up (second Fuelly result) was 42.5 miles per gallon, giving me a current average of 41.3 on Fuelly. I expect since I just put that in today, the signature will update it tomorrow. And on a 50-mile drive after the gas station today, I averaged 50 MPG according to the display. The car had 47 MPG on the display when I bought it, although I reset it to reflect my own personal MPG and not the previous owner's.

 

there are a lot of russians rebuilding salvage prius, but i thought you were savvy enough to read between the lines. if not, i would stay away, could be a headache.

 

You can't get full coverage insurance on a salvage titled auto.

 

you're lucky if they tell you, a lot of people get scammed.

 

believe me, we have seen many who are not. imo, you generally get what you pay for. if something looks too good to be true, it generally is. but for the really savvy buyer, sometimes deals can be had. but it's few and far between.

 

hey, you're living in la la land. everything is an illusion.

 

I think someone mentioned this, but if someone's trying to sell a car they might not driving it much except for short test drives. That will sink a Prius's MPG quickly.

Does the gen 2 have a trip B monitor? (I have a gen 3 so I'm not sure). If it does, I would look at this trip monitor also when test driving them. Chances are the average non hypermiler driver doesn't even know it's there and this would have never reset it, which could give you a look at the MPG for the last 999.9 or even 9999.9 miles and a better picture overall.

 

If by this, you mean the reading on the consumption screen, you are setting yourself up to fail. It doesn't matter what the screen says, what does matter is what it says when you drive it. Just reset it and go for a 20 mile drive.

Most of the problem is the nut behind the wheel. It won't matter what the consumption screen says, because as soon as the nut behind the wheel is changed you have a totally different kettle of fish.

I could guarantee that if you drove my Prius, you would not be able to get an average of 50 MPG.

You have been give some good advice, but you continue to blindly follow your own preconceptions. You will get nowhere, if you choose to ignore good advice.

 

Maybe you could try to wait then - if the civic falls apart the gen 2s will still be there for you. I know waiting sucks though, I was there when I was looking for mine. Good luck whichever way you go!

 

stop worrying about the mpg on the display. the previous owner might have been simply a clueless tree-hugger that: A. didn't know how to drive for mpg, B. didn't even know how to check tire pressure, which has a major effect on mpg, C. was a cheap idiot that bought junk tires, which also can affect mpg.

what you do want to worry about is the service records, and carfax report (not all accidents get reported to carfax though). forget a salvage car, if you can't even do your own tune-up, your gonna spend a fortune trying to pay for a salvage car to be roadworthy. i've been a mechanic for 35 years and I wouldn't even consider a salvage car unless it was free.

also, if you buy from a used car lot, make sure the car comes with some sort of warranty, just in case you do have a problem. one good thing for you is that in Cali you get a 150k hybrid warranty from Toyota. so if the car hasn't been wrecked, your covered.

I would steer clear of independent used car lots; Abdul will tell you any lie he can make up to get you to buy, and as soon as you've driven off the lot, he won't give you any help.

 

Click on his Fuelly badge and you'll have your answer. Just started, posting a first tank of 40 at the end of 2016. Fuelly hasn't updated their site to include 2017 stats and his second tank yesterday was 42.5. Only 500 miles entered so far. You need longer term evidence before you can judge that car.

I know mine is also low by your standards but it has a lot to do with how the car is used. During the school year the car transports kids to and from multiple schools at different times, me to and from my job at a local school twice a day, grocery shopping, etc., all trips of less than 1 1/2 miles each way. It doesn't see the freeway but once or twice a week and one of those trips is in stop & go rush hour traffic. It does spend a lot of time on the open highway at higher speeds during the summer.

I've logged tanks as low as 34 mpg under those conditions but I've also gotten over 51 mpg while heading across Arizona at 75 mph with the a/c on in 110* weather. I don't agonize over the mileage or worry about it because the car is driven carefully and maintenance is faithfully done. A Carfax + a logbook containing a combined 110k miles of never missing a service and a some things (trans fluid, 12v battery, etc.) done preemptively.

Looking at mileage on a screen that may be innacurate and based on only a partial tank is really not enough to judge a car's history and condition.