Advice for first time Prius buyer - which Prius to look for?

i had read that some suburb's had a head gasket issue around 140k, but i don't remember years and models.

short trips won't affect the prius anymore than other cars, you just don't get 50 mpg.

 

Look at it this way regarding MPGs and short trips. Startup uses a lot of gas. Warm up uses more than the normal amount of gas. Once you're warmed up, you're getting great mileage. But a short trip and you turn the car off before you get the advantage of the great mileage. Then you go through the start-up/warm-up routine and get home. Bad mileage (for a Prius but still better than most cars). My commute is 50 miles one way. At 1 mile I'm at about 20 mpg, at 10 miles, I'm up to about 40-45 MPG. at 50 miles, my trip MPG might be in the range of 55-58 and it's still increasing from the startup deficit. Of course, weather, driving conditions and your driving habits make a huge difference. Short trips do no more damage to a hybrid car than a regular ICE car, probably less so because your ICE turns off for a good part of your drive.

By the way, I just set a personal record 66.1 mpg on the 50 mile drive home today!

 

Nice record. Here's today's commute-

69.7 MPG to work, 68.2 MPG back home. Last 3 tanks were avg 65 mpg, last oil change was 13,000 miles ago

 

EGR gets plugged up quickly.

We had a guy in Europe that had misfire around 40k miles. It turned out to be EGR plugging early from lots of short trips.

Plugged EGR encourages head gasket problems due to combustion temperature and pressure increases.

Pixel XL ?

 

Based on the information you have given us, I would recommend a used Corolla or Civc. Both will be cheaper to repair over a 5 to 7 year period than a used Prius would. If you really want to save money over the next 7 years, that would be my suggestion. If you buy a used Prius, you are buying a car that is on the latter end of its cycle when things tend to need repair and attention and these things cost a lot more than a normal vehicle. Most of us in Priuschat knew that and so we bought our cars new, with the expectation of some repairs 5 to 7 years and later. So, we have had 5 years of great mpg and have saved up some money for the costly repairs to come. Heck, even a used Yaris can be cheaper in the long run and get you 32mpg. I would just hate to have you buy a 2015 with 75k miles and within the next 2 years your main electrical battery (costing $2,000 and up) goes out. Then your 12volt battery goes out. Then you have clogging in your EGR system.........etc. Most of us here bought ours new, and have done the necessary repairs within the first 5 to 7 years to make our Prius' last even longer. The used Prius on the dealer lot most likely has not had the same maintenance done. Otherwise, it wouldn't be on the dealer lot.

To give you an idea of repairs on a Prius vs Yaris/Corolla, you and your wife can see where the spark plugs are on the Yaris and Corollas and if you had to, you could replace them easily. On the Prius? First, try to find them, then, you find out that you have to remove the windshield wiper assembly to get to them. This will cost you more labor at the local mechanic shop or dealer. Hopefully you can see why we all are pushing for you to just get a new Prius. In the long run, its a better investment.

 

Listen to the advice on here

Get a corolla or civic

Everything costs more to fix on the Prius

Most mechanics cannot do things like bleed the brakes... so have to go to the dealer

Also the things that do fail on a Prius are big ticket items...

Just one big ticket failure and all that gas savings for the last few years is wiped out anyways

All used cars have known issues

Subaru blew head gaskets with one of the motors they used back in the early 2000’s

It was a known issue

Just like known issues with 3 rd gen Prius ...

Hybrids are expensive to repair due to the tech involved

 

So your advice is do not buy Gen3 for long term car?

 

Yes
Personally
I would get a Camry / corolla / Yaris

 

To be clear

I own a 2009 and a 2011

In October 2017 my 2009 had it’s brake accumulator go
it failed two months before the end of the extended warranty by Toyota

the dealer replaced it for free but if it had failed to months later I would’ve been out of pocket $4500

because of the technology involved it is not a thing I could have replaced on my own

Recently I bought the 2011 and now I am finding that the brake accumulator or actuator is beginning to fail on it

If you look at the reliability of a car but only look at the number of items that can fail and not the cost of the individual items

you do not have a clear picture of the true cost of the vehicle down the road

The problem with the Prius is that the things that fail are very expensive

these are not wheel bearings and CV joints

I’m getting rid of my 2011 and I will keep my 2009

because I have handled the brake accumulator already

and the second GEN’s do not tend to blow head gaskets or have any other big-ticket items go on them

To replace the 2011 I am looking at a non-hybrid and something that has no big ticket issues

Honda’s have some air conditioning problems so I’m probably sticking with Toyota for now

 

Couldn't say it better Mattbatson. If one is buying a used car, hybrids are a bigger risk. If one is in the market for a used car, the Yaris and Corollas are a safe bet. Even if it fails, much cheaper to repair. You can change the water pump, alternator, brakes, spark plugs............its just better. By the way, in my house, I drive the Prius (I bought it new in 2015)while the wife, my son and my daughter drive the Yaris. Daughter's Yaris has nearly 200,000 miles on it and its been all up and down California! No major repairs to the Yaris's.

 

Bisco,

I just noticed you're in Boston. I'm on the Northshore. Is there a Prius mechanic you can recommend in our area? I'm trying to prepare for the first bridge I can't cross on my own.

Thanks

 

An older Prius doesn’t come with a terrible risk, but the specific risks do come with expensive consequences.

A same-age Corolla has none of the same specific risks- cheaper ones instead. Also a lower purchase price, easier to find independent service and they give 80% of the same fuel economy. Right now, fuel is so cheap that the Prius’ fuel savings aren’t worth the risks. And fuel would have to go up by a lot to change this.

Nothing wrong with wanting a Prius for its other qualities, but it isn’t the most frugal car you could own until your fuel costs are high.

 

@Leadfoot J. McCoalroller i do not know but some replies on this forum are writen so that any potential buyer of Gen 3 would think that gen3 should be avoided and only look at gen2 and gen4

 

Well I’m not out to scare anyone into avoiding a given car. My comments should not be taken with such a specific filter- I don’t think those are significantly better or worse than the 2s or 4s or the c or the v.

Philosophically, I believe hybrids are best for heavy usage while new, and are not as well suited for light usage spread over many years. A simpler car would do better in that role.

Many people have gotten the idea that any hybrid will automatically save them money vs. other cars. I believe that is false, and it helps when people understand how a hybrid can save them money and also when it won’t.

 

true, but my post was not aimed at you. Not all of us is intrested in hybrid becouse of MPGs some are intrested in owning Prius becouse of its tech.

Here gas costs 1,3€ per liter that would mean in your units 5,49USD per gallon

 

i'm not trying to scare anyone, i would buy an older prius if i were in the market, but not before doing my due diligence, having a nest egg for emergency repairs, and finding a good hybrid mechanic if i couldn't diy.

 

i'm in the metro west area, and i don't recall anyone here ever posting about a good hybrid mechanic unfortunately.
i only drive newer cars and take it to the local gas station for oil changes.

 

What is different about bleeding the brakes on a Prius compared with any other car?

The issues I see reported most frequently are with the ICE (e.g., head gasket), so no more difficult to fix than any other car.

 

The computer in the Prius is allowed to actuate the brakes for lots of reasons- stability control, traction control, diagnostic purposes etc. If you’ve bled brakes on regular cars, you know there are times during the bleed procedure when you can’t allow the brakes to be operated.

So at a bare minimum you’ve got to have a way to inform the car that you are doing brake maintenance so it doesn’t rip a gusher.

Further, because the car has a sophisticated valve body and pressure accumulator to enable this computer-assisted braking, that device needs to be bled free of air as well. You need to be in communication with the computer to cycle the valves at the appropriate moments to get air through and out.