Need advice on high mileage gen 3 or similar gen 2

welcome!

of course, there is no definitive answer to your question. certainly, the 2012 is a much better option because everything is newer. but the battery could go at any time ($3,500.) a/c can be a few thousand, engine might blow a gasket, etc., etc.
that being said, you might go another 150,000 miles with no major issues.
the big thing is, can you diy, or have to go to the dealer?

 

You'd benefit more from a plug-in (PHEV) rather than a hybrid (HEV). Hybrids like most cars don't get very good mileage during short trips (spend most of it warming up) so no real gas savings and low use is bad for the HV battery longevity.

If your miles are mainly local, look into used Leaf's. If you need to regularly drive farther or away from chargers, look into used Volts and PiP's (plug-in Prius).

 

I was faced with similar choices when I was shopping. While there wasn't a consensus, many believed that years impacted the life of the traction battery, compared to miles. That's why I increased my budget to get a newer model- plus I liked the styling better.

You're in a CARB state. If you could increase your budget a bit to get a lower mileage gen3, you could take advantage of the 10 year/150k warranty on the traction battery.

 

the plug in prius has a range of 10-15 miles on a charge, then it becomes a regular prius.

the maintenance schedule for gen 3 is inspections every 5k w/ tyre rotation. oil and filter every 10k. cabin filter every 15k and air filter every 30k.
when you get to 120k, it's fluid changes and spark plugs.
what's not in the manual can be done when there is a problem like throttle body, maf, pcv, egr, intake manifold, injectors and etc.
some like to change the tranny fluid and brake fluid regularly.
a/c, tranny, brake cylinder, inverter are all potential high mileage trouble spots, but i'm sure there are many more that are fine than the broken ones reported here. just something to be aware of.

 

plug in is great for a lot of local driving, and even better for longer distance than her.

look at it this way. most owners go many miles beyond 150k without major problems. as long as you're comfortable with the odds, go for it! no one can guarantee a trouble free experience.

 

Honestly, if your budget only allows you to look at high mileage G2 or G3 Prius and you drive only 8K a year perhaps a Toyota Corolla with low mileage is a better choice. No need to replace the traction battery as others have said. Just my 2 cents.

 

I'd take a Gen 3. They are newer and more modern. People seem down on them recently in Priuschat because of some recent discussions on head gasket issues and oil burning, but by the stats, they are among the most reliable vehicles around.

Like you, I like the space in the Prius for camping and sports, and that is something that suggestions to buy a Corolla or Honda that doesn't work with (Honda only this year coming back with a hatchback Civic). I'm a wagon or large liftback/hatchback guy, and this is the only one in the good gas mileage segment on the $7K-10K used market, or if you're not needing good gas mileage, a Subaru wagon (but they have issues...). Maybe the Honda Fit, but I think that's smaller... I bought the Prius in large part because it's a nice car to sleep in the back for car camping on long travels, with full climate control overnight for hot nights (keep AC on to keep cool) or cold nights (prevent windows from fogging, etc.). That also makes it a good pet car, leaving AC on when parked if necessary (and a sign if in a warm place where other people might show concern... not an issue in Alaska). I can also fit a mountain bike inside the cargo area with the wheels off (don't like racks... stuff gets stolen, run into the top of garages, messes up aerodynamics, etc.) while my big dog takes up the entire back seat (with one of those back seat covers that attach up to the back of the front seat).

My car buying philosophy has been to buy high mileage, fairly recent cars with good reliability in order to get a relatively low price car. I then keep the car for as long as possible (until it rusts out or similar). This keeps my average yearly cost to keep my car(s) going is a small fraction those who buy new cars and trade in for something new every half dozen years or so. I bought my 1996 Subaru in 2000 with about 135K miles on it (still have it), and my late 2010 Prius in 2016 (5.5 years old) with 150K miles on it. That means that I need to be really on it with maintenance. (I'm kind of similar in behavior with my mountain bike, a 1993 that was bought new on sale in 1994. Still riding it with updated stuff on it as things wear out, and it's in tip-top shape. Just realized that cyclists talk about those bikes as "vintage" though it doesn't feel that way.)

I've been reading Priuschat since before I bought my Prius (to research reliability issues), so I know the potential issues and have taken care of everything mechanical. At this point, I have owned it for 19K miles and know it pretty well, knowing much of the maintenance history and having DIYing a lot on it. I'm not worried about the hybrid battery. I'm not worried about blown head gaskets. I'm least worried about oil burning, and I'm still using 0W-20. My car burns minimal oil (about 1/8 quart in the past 8K miles), though I check all fluid levels at every gasoline fill up because it is good practice and something to do while waiting. I'm getting 50 mpg on average, and better than that in the warm months (56 mpg on dash, maybe 54 actual 350 miles into the current tank), and it's in tip-top shape. I'm expecting it to go over 300K miles.

If you read Dan Latus blown head gasket thread (pinned in the maintenance sub-forum), his 300K mile or thereabouts engine when torn down actually showed minimal wear and was within tolerances for everything he measured. Even if you get a Prius that hasn't been well taken care of (mine had regular dealer visits in the Carfax, but really wasn't well taken care of in other ways) the major issues can be fixed if you keep that in mind for the budget. A blown head gasket or engine run out of oil might get a quote of $4000-$7000 to fix, but an engine swap with a 20K mile engine could be done for "only" $3000 easy. My alternative choices when I was shopping were around 10 year old Subarus that ALL need new head gaskets by around 100K-150K miles, and cost $3500 on average (including water pump, etc that is typically done at the same time). And that needs to be done every 100K or so miles. We are seeing some hybrid battery failures, but very few before about 300K miles have been reported in Priuschat. If you can DIY, that could also probably be fixed for a less than the oft-quoted prices. Basically $3K in the emergency account would be good, but if the price of the car is decent, that potential cost can be absorbed.

I suspect that those that discourage buying 150K mile Priuses wouldn't buy other cars with that mileage either. At 150K the new car "hybrid premium" is gone in the used market. Other cars are likely to have similar potential costly expenses. But those of us buying the high mileage cars are betting that the low purchase cost will more than offset that. My Prius doesn't feel any different to drive than it did to the original owner, who likely purchased it loaded for $30K (solar roof, etc.), but I paid 1/4 of the price and my expenses, even if I somehow blow an engine, will be far, far less.

 

I thought the exact same thing before my first hybrid purchase. No, EV mode doesn't necessarily guarantee pure EV driving; many variables can and will make the engine (ICE) come on. So the ICE spends most of its time on the short trip trying to warmup (and uses a richer fuel mixture to speed up the process) which is an inefficient stage. A regular ICE car does the same thing so neither will achieve EPA ratings used in this manner. Once warm, a hybrid will do much better because it can stop the ICE while waiting at traffic lights, drive throughs, very slow speeds, etc. In the warmup mode, it may continue to run like a "regular" car.

Even though gasoline is really cheap right now, for most folks EV driving is still cheaper than burning gasoline. You will need to compare with your local rates. Some use TOU (time of use) metering and charge at night when rates are much lower (or free), solar, free public charging, charge at work, etc.

Personally, it costs about .70 cents to charge my Energi for about 20 miles of range or about 1/2 gallon of gas @40mpg which would cost me approx. $1.00 even at todays ultra-low prices. Gas is mainly used for out of town trips and I typically fill up about 2-3 times per year. Yes, per year.

Finally once you experience true electric driving (ask PIP or Prime owners here), you will instantly love EV performance (quiet, smooth, powerful) and dread hearing the ICE run.

GOOD LUCK in your search.