Hello everyone, I am in the market for a Prius while my es300 is actively dying and do not know much about these cars so I am looking for advice on a listing I found in my area.. I am aware of the issues gen 3s bring however I saw a listing that caught my eye: 2012 Prius Five 217k miles, with a recently replaced, low-mileage engine (<100k), and a new 12v battery. asking $3500 OBO. While this may sound like a good deal (at least to me), it does have the dreaded ABS actuator/module issue that will need to be fixed, as well as a P0A2B code. Those are the only known issues on the car. It looks to have been kept in really nice condition. So i have a few questions with all that information in mind: Is it worth buying the car and tanking the repair costs of the ABS system, considering the pros of having the newer engine? How long would it last me? I've found a few matrix/vibes around the same mileage and price point, would these be more worth it in your opinion? I've read around that gen 2s generally aren't worth it anymore considering their maintenance costs and high mileage, are there any worth buying? Or, should I save up for a gen 4/C? Any and all advice would be appreciated I am new to these cars and would like to learn more
Is there any "hard" proof that's a low mileage engine, other than the word of the installing mechanic or seller? (ie. VIN of the car it came out of) There are plenty of wrecks in the bone yard that can be tagged as "low mileage". If you can't power them up, you can't read the odometer; at least you have a chance with the VIN. Bottom line it's a used engine with KNOWN issues. A use motor doesn't reset the clock. It's just a band-aid that doesn't address the underlying issues. If it was an updated, rebuilt engine - that would mean something - IMHO. So we are talking about braking issues and possibly a traction battery in the near future. The correct price for that car is FREE - IMHO, because your talking about a $2K+ bill now and another possible $2k+ later - that's assuming that "low mileage" motor holds up........ IMHO, I'd look for a gen4, the Prius C is basically a gen3 with less issues because of it's smaller, lighter body - less weight to move, so less strain on the base components. ES300 are pretty much bullet proof cars. You just need to stay on top of the oil changes and timing belt changes. Any decent shop can work on those; not so much with a Prius. You should probably get a second opinion on that ES300, because it may burn more gas - but it won't become a money pit like an old gen3 Prius with 200K+ miles on the clock - IMHO. Even if you have to replace the engine - you know what you have. Do you want to gamble on a 15+ year old unknown car???? The savings in gas will NEVER pencil out and reliability will become a big question mark.
it's potentially a good deal, but no way to prove it. could be a bust from a bad faith seller. you have to ask yourself, do I feel lucky?
Anyone selling a Prius with these high gas prices knows the brake booster is $2500, your other code is possibly a bad motor generator (at least $2500 for a used transaxle installed or a $800 inverter pump) and most likely a weak hybrid battery that codes were cleared prior to sale (another $2500). If the engine was salvage yard instead of JDM (X2ZR-W20 on the engine model plate), a can of head gasket sealer could be hiding a second bad engine. It happens. Run and don't look back.
