Looking into my first Prius, Higher Mileage a problem?

welcome! high mileage pri are pretty bullet proof, but you do have to be prepared for any possibility. some of the systems can be very expensive, especially if you don't major diy.
besides the battery; the brake actuator, the a/c compressor (which i suppose doesn't matter in a winter car)
tranny, and a few other things can run a few thousand dollars. even the multi function display is over a grand.
then there are niggling little problems that aggravate, such as trying to figure out low mpg's. is it plugs? injectors? pcv? intake manifold? throttle body?
what if an ecm or ecu goes bad, buried deep in the dash?
then, some 2010's burn a lot of oil, (see the threads) but all these problems are a very small minority, as long as your eyes are open. all the best!

 

Both deals look good.
Watch out for high oil consumption. Look at the tailpipe on each car. If the end has thick soot it's burning oil.

 

If you expect to routinely drive through deep loose snow, then you may need to focus on 4X4 vehicles with high clearances.

Our Prius does fine in fresh snow up to 8 inches deep.

Most of what we get here [Maine] is the ice. Prius' handle excellent on ice so long as you have good winter tires.

If a Prius is not the 'best' for winter, it is certainly among the top 10.

 

and you can always mount snow's if need be. there is some little thing about getting stuck on ice, because the traction control won't power the wheels, but i'm not familiar with it.

 

@bwilson4web drives an i3rex and, i believe, has a 2010 Prius. He is a good guy for measurement.
I pinged him to see if he can help.

 

I meant he measures everything, as a 2010 Prius and last year bought a BMW. He would know what to look for & how to measure /tell if ther is an issue.

For non-hybrids, Corollas or Camrys are pretty safe choices for reliability.

 

I recently purchased a 2011 Prius Four with 66K and incredible service records. With my four Michelin X-Ice winter tires it has done fine on snow and ice. I have also owned a Camry Hybrid, which I loved but the mileage was considerably less and the trunk space very small. I would not go Gen II because of fuel bladder issues. At the price you are looking for for a Gen III expect high mileage.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Was considering this issue recently . The "whole 9 yards " approach would involve a compression check on the engine in part to avoid the oil consumption issue some older Gen 3s have experienced , plus a check of the transition oil, brakes, HV battery status ,etc.
But you really want to know how the car was driven by its owner(s), right? Could I suggest you check the brake pads to see if they are the original , factory-installed pads? A gently-driven Gen 3 will still have its original pads up to about 200,000 miles, whereas a Prius driven by "Lead Foot Louie" will have had the pads changed at least once. So carefully take a look when you have it up on the rack and see if the pads look like replacements.
Good luck!

 

1 mile each way in winter will result in about 18 mpg. prius won't even have warmed up.

 

Nate, good luck with that car!
BUT checking compression on a Prius is way more complicated than any other car I have owned, due to (1) the spark plugs being buried so as to require a decent amount of disassembly to get at them , and (2) the engine is not cranked over by a starter battery in the normal fashion, so things have to be arranged correctly with the computers before you can turn it over without ignition or fuel injection inputs.-->so the shortcut is Jadziasman's suggestion of carefully checking the tailpipe, and then maybe having a Prius mechanic do the compression check the first time and show you how it is done. ( I have not had to cope with that thus far.)
Wait a minute I have an idea: if you can find a place that measures emissions by using an old-fashioned tailpipe probe with the engine running, have the car's emissions checked there and get the "hydrocarbon " level readout--if that is getting high it is becoming an oil burner.
Again, good luck!