Buying a low mileage Prius?

battery suffers more from time than miles. so i would look at it as a 10 year old battery that may need replacing at some point in the near future, and be prepared financially for the potential event.

after that you should be good for a couple hundred thousand miles.
some potential for a bad brake actuator as well, but i wouldn't hesitate to dive in.

 

The Prius seems to like being charged. A Prius that is not driven for months may not last as long as one which was running, but parked for part of each day.

So while I worry about why a Prius has low mileage, it is not directly a sign of trouble.

 

Yes. Sitting is just as bad for the traction battery as the extreme temperatures. If you want to get a gen 2 with low miles like I did, expect that mpg to be low at first and know that a battery that sits alot will fail...
That's my 2 cents worth. Just know what you are getting into. Prius like to be driven. Everyday if possible I take mine out and drive it even if I don't need to. I just think batteries need to be charged and discharged. That's what they're designed to do charge and discharge. Not just sit. Keeping the miles low in one of these cars without causing harm to the battery down the road can be very tricky. If done well then the ICE most likey has had many many many short trips which and essentially death to any gasoline engine. That's hy diesels last so long. They aren't exposed to as many short trips and they warm up and stay warm. These gas engines running briefly here and there are hardly coming up.to temp before they begin to cool right back off. Causing carbon and moisture to build up inside the engine and creating nothing but problems down the road. Not to mention expansion and contraction is hard on gaskets. It's. my understanding that you want to be cautious about the ones with real low miles. If nothing else it affects all vehicles poorly to just sit. Even the ones that don't have a HV battery to keep up with... Best wishes.

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