Pre Purchase Questions: 2010 Prius IV

welcome!

1) 2010 is a good year, but not the best year.

2) some 2010's are vulnerable to oil burning after 100k miles. some have a lot of noisy squeaking interiors, and no, the nav is still terrible, even in 2017.

5) how to test for oil burning? and yes, the battery may or may not have much life left. something to be prepared for, but no one can tell you.

all the best!

 

not really sure, i think they improved the squeaking along the way, and much fewer reports of oil burning from 2011 onward, but that may be due to less miles.

don't get me wrong, there a lots of very happy 2010 owners.

 

If I had it to do over again, I might have gone with a 2012 or 2013, rather than a 2010. But...affordability was also a concern, and I needed a car, so 2010 it was. If you can get the car at a decent price (below book value), go for it. If your neighbor is asking as much as it would cost at a dealership, try for a later model.

Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $7,500 - $8,000 for it, if it were in good condition. 2012's and 2013's seem to be in the $11,000 - $14,000 range around here.

 

Yes! The day we signed the dotted line:



Looks and runs just the same, 6 years on.

 

a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

If it helps any, I paid just over $8,000 for my 2010 IV with solar package, nav, etc. at 127,000 miles here in Atlanta.

On cargurus, there's a 2010 prius for $7,990 with 123,000 miles at Suncrest Automotive in Denver.

The 2010's I see going for $9,000 - $10,000 seem to have much less mileage on them...

 

The older they are, the less value the option packages seem to have, at least around here. The difference between a 2010 II and a 2010 IV, with equal miles, seems to be about $500, give or take $100. Ultimately, it's up to your neighbor - if he chooses to believe that his car is worth $10,000 or so, then he's not going to be happy with an offer of $8,000.

Edmunds lists the following values for my 2010 IV with solar, moonroof, leather seats, navigation, rear-view camera, Premium sound:

Edmunds True Market Value®

• Dealer Trade-in:
  $6,262
• Private Party:
  $7,915
• Dealer Retail:
  $9,659

The chances of your neighbor getting Dealer Retail pricing as a private seller without having the car on the market for 2 or 3 months are pretty slim. And, he'll have to show the car to dozens of people while he's waiting for a buyer to meet his price. It's not like these 2010's are hard to find.

 

The change in the 7" nav system happened between 2011 and 2012.

The 2012-and-later version has the maps on an internal hard drive (bit faster access), has HD Radio, a better FM antenna system, better interface to music on USB (search by album, artist, etc.), some apps that can integrate with your phone ("Entune"), and the ability to display/change some car settings.

The 2010-11 version has the maps on a DVD, and managing USB music is clunkier. But it has a 4-CD changer, to the 2012+'s single slot. But the CD changer can only play CDs, where in the 2012+ you can also use the single slot to watch a DVD (if the car's not moving).

Map updating for the 2010-11 is dead simple: 1. obtain map DVD. 2. eject old one. 3. insert new one.

Map updating for the 2012+ is going to the dealer, where they plug in a USB stick while waving a chicken.

All this pertains to the 7" screen versions (which was the only available nav for 2010-11). For 2012+ there's also a 6.1" version, which can have nav or not, and that's its own different beast.

-Chap

 

Yes, it's possible. I've done it in my 2010 Prius II with JBL.

Installed:
Pioneer Double DIN AVH-280BT
Cheapo backup camera
Metra 95-8226B Dash Kit for Toyota Prius 2010 Double DIN (Black)
Metra Axxess ASWC-1 Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface
Metra TYTO-01 JBL Amplifier Interface Harness (mine has the JBL factory amp)
Metra 70-8114 Steering Wheel Control Wire Harness with RCA for 2003-Up Toyota/Scion/Lexus Vehicles (Optional to use the AUX-IN inside the center console box)

Installation is not too difficult. Just follow spiderman's install steps.

 

I have a 2010 Prius 3. Over 230k on it now. There are tons of rattles but I just turn the radio up if I don't want to hear them. The car can still get 45mpg all day long. I love it. Might get a 2017 soon or look for a lower mileage as backup.

Edit:

Just wanted to say that I am not burning any oil. Full synthetic 0w20 oil changes since day 1. Always on time.

 

Good to know!

I guess it can be a bit of a crapshoot: some owners, supposedly following the same regimen have started burning oil, a lot sooner, but at least it's not inevitable.