Advice on potential used high mileage Auris purchase please

[Roy124]

13 hours ago, scooby123 said:

Yeah, the mileage and years add up though there was one 18 month gap (not the covid one) so don't know what happened there. Maybe something happened or maybe they just forgot or they sorn'ed it... 

I think that is a clue.  If the mileage didn't drop but the MOT was late by 6 months that suggests a lack of care for legalities and potentially servicing. 

If the mileage also dropped was it a crash repair? 

What is the engine bay like?  Look for witness marks, undisturbed dirt is a clue.  Is the Battery and tray clean and corrosion free. 

[TonyHSD]

Who said that Prius gen 3 are not reliable?! If they are neglected yes and this applies to all cars including Prius gen2. The biggest difference between gen3 and gen2 is that the gen3 one has an egr system that requires some attention every 100k miles, only cleaning and one gasket £20 and one pcv valve £30 which also it’s not necessary to replace always. Anything else the gen is a superior car , drives better, it’s more efficient and looks better, it’s bullet proof too. I have Auris from 2010 based on Prius gen 3 and I drive it properly, twice as much as average mini cab in uk and to date i only service it every 3 months and except brakes and wheel bearings change it’s all original including the batteries, what I called a factory sealed car. Average miles of 202500 to be precise., and when I come back and write here tomorrow it will be 202700+ 😉👍

Prius gen 3 will set you at least double price imo. For the diesel Auris everything was wrong with it at only 22k miles and 2.5 years old., perhaps was clocked that even dealer was not aware of or it’s not just the best Toyota model and trim. , no regrets I returned that car. 

[scooby123]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

I had a gen3 Prius, bought with 105k on the clock, last 50k was in use as a taxi, well looked after (it had to be on the road for the guy to make a living) sold it with 110k as a trade in for my current Gen4 Prius (I love Prius). Toyota now will warranty up to a 15 yrar old hybrid battery, theprice of hybrid battery is falling, and you can replace individual cells (can get recon ones as well).                      

When considering a hybrid think of this too. They dont have a starter motor, alternator or clutch (as you know them) to go faulty. Get all those 3 going in a normal petrol/diesel car in one year and your wallet will be a lot lighter.

Any battery deterioates with age-use, so a hybrid battery wit 170k miles use is very likely to be worse for wear then the same battery with 100k miles use.

Get on YouTube, or USA forums and see what problems they ahhave with Toyota hybrid cars/batteries. Even in the UK there is more then a few Pruis cars, inc gen2, that are running around with 200k+ milles on the clock.

Which year gen 3 prius? I read that 2010-2012 are the problem models. To be honest I think I prefer a Prius but the potential problems of the unknown are makes me nervous.

2 hours ago, Roy124 said:

I think that is a clue.  If the mileage didn't drop but the MOT was late by 6 months that suggests a lack of care for legalities and potentially servicing. 

If the mileage also dropped was it a crash repair? 

What is the engine bay like?  Look for witness marks, undisturbed dirt is a clue.  Is the battery and tray clean and corrosion free. 

I've just had a look at the Prius. It was in poor condition. Bumps and dings on it and the roof looks to have been repaired but not painted! I didn't even bother with the test drive! Inside felt quite nice though, spacious and quite luxurious, maybe because of the leather seats. The search goes on unless I go for the Auris!

 

[scooby123]

5 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Who said that Prius gen 3 are not reliable?! If they are neglected yes and this applies to all cars including Prius gen2. The biggest difference between gen3 and gen2 is that the gen3 one has an egr system that requires some attention every 100k miles, only cleaning and one gasket £20 and one pcv valve £30 which also it’s not necessary to replace always. Anything else the gen is a superior car , drives better, it’s more efficient and looks better, it’s bullet proof too. I have Auris from 2010 based on Prius gen 3 and I drive it properly, twice as much as average mini cab in uk and to date i only service it every 3 months and except brakes and wheel bearings change it’s all original including the batteries, what I called a factory sealed car. Average miles of 202500 to be precise., and when I come back and write here tomorrow it will be 202700+ 😉👍

Prius gen 3 will set you at least double price imo. For the diesel Auris everything was wrong with it at only 22k miles and 2.5 years old., perhaps was clocked that even dealer was not aware of or it’s not just the best Toyota model and trim. , no regrets I returned that car. 

What was specifically wrong with the Auris? Reliability? Repairs? Or doesn't feel good to drive? Refinement? Interior? Or literally everything lol

I agree gen 3s look better! All I see on the forums are regarding buying gen 3s are the EGR and head gasket problems. That's why it's got into my head that gen 3s, especially 2010-2012, are a risky proposition.

There are some examples of gen 3s, 2010 and 2011s mainly, that are advertised in the £4k-£5k region but these are the high mileage ones, usually 200k+ miles, which I can accept but was put off because of what I said above about early gen 3 reliability. Maybe I should start looking at them seriously...

[Catlover]

My Gen3 Prius was 2010, 59 plate. There was an oil burning problem. Shortly after I got mine a friend bought one from a Toyota dealership with 12 month warranty. His was an oil burner and he got an engine strip under the warranty. I would imagine most have been sorted by now.

The wife has  2010 60 plate Auris hybrid, was originally mine when I bought it in 2017. As Tony says, same hybrid engineering as Gen3 but cheaper then the Gen3. Same engine as Gen3, 1.8, but again.. it doesn’t burn oil. But fuel consumption is 10mpg lower the the Prius….due to difference in shape. I am fully hooked now on Toyota hybrids.
 

[TonyHSD]

But at this mileage the risk to have head gasket or other major components issues is high on all cars and that’s why the prices are lower. The Auris wasn’t nice to drive, very noisy, poor interior, not comfortable seats, sluggish and on top of all that had unbearable vibrations at all speeds over 40mph, which I didn’t noticed on my test drive but when I went to collect the car. Dealer had no explanation why is that happening and I refuse to take it. Other Aurises might be better, perhaps that one was a lemon. Prius in general will drive better than diesel car as hybrids are very smooth and refined cars, even the hybrid Auris are way nicer than standard petrol or diesel, I tested all engines on Auris gen 1 and the hybrid wins by far. 

[Cyker]

If forced to choose between those two I'd take the D4D; The Mk2 Prius is literally why everyone still thinks hybrids are slow. It's not very efficient, and has no power on fast roads.

The minimum hybrid I'd even consider is an Auris 1.8 or a later Gen3 Prius - The Mk2 is okay if you're only going to drive around town, but then you may as well get an Aygo - It's cheaper, just as economical and much more fun to drive.

 

TBH, from what you've been saying, you might be better off dropping both and just carry on looking.

What are you after in a car? i.e. what are you going to use it for and what do you want/need it to do?

It's hard to recommend any diesel these days as DPFs and DMFs have killed their reliability, and with cities rubbing their hands with glee preparing to levy more charges against all but the newest (And least reliable) diesels it's just not worth the hassle unless you are going to use it for a very specific use case (i.e. long motorway journeys and no cities)

 

[scooby123]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

But at this mileage the risk to have head gasket or other major components issues is high on all cars and that’s why the prices are lower. The Auris wasn’t nice to drive, very noisy, poor interior, not comfortable seats, sluggish and on top of all that had unbearable vibrations at all speeds over 40mph, which I didn’t noticed on my test drive but when I went to collect the car. Dealer had no explanation why is that happening and I refuse to take it. Other Aurises might be better, perhaps that one was a lemon. Prius in general will drive better than diesel car as hybrids are very smooth and refined cars, even the hybrid Auris are way nicer than standard petrol or diesel, I tested all engines on Auris gen 1 and the hybrid wins by far. 

But the risk to gen 2 head gaskets and other components is lower? 😉

18 minutes ago, Cyker said:

If forced to choose between those two I'd take the D4D; The Mk2 Prius is literally why everyone still thinks hybrids are slow. It's not very efficient, and has no power on fast roads.

The minimum hybrid I'd even consider is an Auris 1.8 or a later Gen3 Prius - The Mk2 is okay if you're only going to drive around town, but then you may as well get an Aygo - It's cheaper, just as economical and much more fun to drive.

 

TBH, from what you've been saying, you might be better off dropping both and just carry on looking.

What are you after in a car? i.e. what are you going to use it for and what do you want/need it to do?

It's hard to recommend any diesel these days as DPFs and DMFs have killed their reliability, and with cities rubbing their hands with glee preparing to levy more charges against all but the newest (And least reliable) diesels it's just not worth the hassle unless you are going to use it for a very specific use case (i.e. long motorway journeys and no cities)

 

Well, I'm definitely dropping the that prius I looked at, don't know if you read my earlier post but I went to see it and it was in very poor condition. The Auris d4d is still in the mix but I am leaning towards the Prius mk3 now after this thread and what @TonyHSD and @Catlover have said.

I hadn't even considered the Auris Hybrid before this but looking at the adverts, there is much less choice and they appear to be even more expensive than the mk3 Prius'.

I would be using the car for general driving, not too many miles, likely less than 10k. Mixture of town and motorway. And I'm mainly looking for reliability and, even though I'm not doing too any miles, I would prefer good economy. And I also like the idea of a hybrid!

 

[Cyker]

With that sort of mileage, if you are quite a gentle driver don't go near the D4D - They need to be driven long and/or hard enough for the engine to get good and hot to burn off the soot in the DPF. Unless you normally accelerate fairly aggressively, I don't think it will get hot enough often enough to keep the DPF in good condition.

Hybrid would likely be better suited as they reward gentle driving more, but they hold their value which is good for owners but bad for buyers, and because of things like the ULEZ the prices have been pushed up as everyone has been scrambling to change from diesel to petrol/hybrid to avoid paying KHAAAAAN! an extra 3 grand a year in return for nothing.

 

[Catlover]

It’s obvious you don’t like Khan, but he not the sole reason why hybrid prices have shot up, or cars in general. As you know it’s covid and chip shortages that have hit production of all brands, hence supply of new cars often have extended deliveries leading to increase in 2nd hand prices. 

[Cyker]

He was at the time - Well before the chip shortage etc really kicked in, the ULEZ caused a sharp rise in the cost of petrol and especially hybrid 2nd hand cars around London (Like, ridiculously!) while diesel values absolutely tanked - My mate's old diesel Jetta was valued at something like £500-600 at the time, while his Auris actually started going up in value!

This was all very localised around London tho.

Ironically everything else (chip shortage, lack of 2nd hand cars etc.) has brought things back to parity (Albeit in an upward direction!), to the point he managed to sell the Jetta to WBAC for a ~£1500-1800 IIRC?

 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

It’s obvious you don’t like Khan, but he not the sole reason why hybrid prices have shot up, or cars in general. As you know it’s covid and chip shortages that have hit production of all brands, hence supply of new cars often have extended deliveries leading to increase in 2nd hand prices. 

And now with the war in Ukraine the things will go even worse, in each of our hybrids Battery there are precious metals that has come from Russia. 🤐