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Few cars were built to be used up as thoroughly as the Toyota Prius, which makes the 2010 Toyota Prius now live on Bring a Trailer a strange sight: a Barcelona Red third-generation hatchback that shows just 621 miles. The no-reserve auction is scheduled to end Thursday, October 29, at 2:19 p.m. Eastern, and the bid stood at $12,150 when we looked.
A Commuter Car That Never Commuted
According to the listing, the Prius is finished in Barcelona Red Metallic over Bisque fabric. Power comes from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder paired with a permanent-magnet AC synchronous electric motor and an electronically controlled continuously variable transaxle, good for a combined 134 horsepower. Equipment is what you would expect from a mid-level Prius: 15-inch alloy wheels, a JBL eight-speaker stereo with a CD player, automatic climate control, and cruise control.
The selling dealer recently acquired the car and is offering it with manufacturer's literature, service records, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Pennsylvania title. The Carfax snapshot lists two previous owners and no reported accidents or damage, with a last reported odometer reading of 609 miles, just 12 fewer than the car shows today. The gallery runs to more than 70 photos, including underside shots.
Why Would Anyone Save a Prius?
That is the question this listing puts to the room. The third-generation Prius was an EPA-rated 50 mpg car when new, and it was designed to be an appliance: quiet, efficient, and ignorable. Plenty of them did exactly that job for years, and commenters on the listing have shared stories of Priuses that covered 200,000 miles or more. A car like this one, by contrast, spent sixteen years doing almost nothing.
It is the same puzzle we raised with a 14,000-mile 1991 Honda Civic that the dealer who sold it new bought back and with a 15k-mile Nissan Cube survivor. None of these cars was rare when it was new. What makes them interesting now is attrition: when millions of one model get driven until they are worn out, the few that were left alone become the unusual ones.
The Practical Questions
A sixteen-year-old hybrid that has barely moved raises fair questions, and the seller has answered several in the comments. He said the hybrid battery charge was depleted because the car was moved short distances around the dealership's warehouse for photos and storage, and that driving it normally should recharge the pack. An earlier service record noted a misfire after the car had sat for a long period; the seller says there is no misfire now, and that the fuel has been flushed, new spark plugs installed, and all fluids refreshed.
He also confirmed that the tires are original, with date codes about sixteen years old, and recommended that anyone planning to drive the car daily budget for a new set. The dealer offered to install new tires at cost before the car leaves.
The Question It Leaves Behind
The Prius was never supposed to be a collector's car, and nothing in this listing argues that it should become one. What it does offer is a clear example of how a car's story can flip: the thing that once made it forgettable, its sheer ordinariness, is now the reason a nearly unused one gets 70-plus photos and 320-plus watchers on BaT. Whoever wins will have to decide whether to start adding miles to it or keep the odometer exactly where it is.
You can see the full gallery, walkaround video, and bidding on the 621-mile 2010 Toyota Prius at Bring a Trailer.
