Need help with a decision :)

I tend to avoid buying used cars, and I make up for it by buying new, base models and driving them longer.
There are too many people out there using their Priuses for chemical and physical experiments (towing/e85) and it's waaaaaaaaaay to easy to damage one and have it repaired without causing a ding in the Carfax world.
Also?
People don't check oil.
This means that I have no slot in the poll.
There's also no price point.
I'll buy any used Prius model if the price is right!

OK...so in order to be fair here, I have often said, and still maintain that a Prius is real-world dependable out to about 250K, provided that you're able and willing to do a little research and maybe even some very minor maintenance and repairs.
Having said that, I would not hesitate to buy one with over 100,000 miles, maybe out to about 150K before reliability concerns start to make it not worth my time anymore.
200K for select, extra clean models with a history that is known or verifiable.

So....I'm down for about 140k.....IF the price is right.

YMMV.
Good Luck!

 

We are seeing a lot of 2004,5,6 needing new hybrid batts and probably 2007 catching up. Seems about 10 yr old point. Now if you could find one with a new Toyota battery vs. rebuild it might be good buy. Also are you in CARB state for 150 k mile warranty?

 

So how "temporary"?
Because how long you intend to keep it would really affect how high a mileage I might be willing to gamble with.

A year or less? If I felt the vehicle was in good then how high the mileage might be, would be less important to me.
2-3 years or more? And I'd want the lowest mileage I could afford, in the best shape I could find.

I don't really "get" the logic of buying a Gen 2 outright for $8000 so you can start to save up for a down payment on a Gen 3.
Why not just use that same $8000 as your down payment on your Gen 3?

$8000 is a pretty sizable down payment, and right now it's a buyers market for the Gen 3 as it's the twilight of the model.

 

we bought our '05 at 93K, for $8500, in 2011. It didn't start exhibiting oil-consuming behaviour until at least 150K.
We only had one sort of persistent problem - a short in the LED portion of the tail light caused the 12V battery to drain and required somewhat frequent "jump" starts. Replacements are expensive. Expect more wear items to be replaced during this time - brakes and rotors in the 100 - 150K range, other suspension and driveline components that wear as they do on regular cars.

We now have an '07 with 176,000 that we bought from my parents at dealer trade-in price of $2500. It also uses oil but we know the history and expect it to last well into 200K territory.