Used Prius with high miles

[jhnsn715]

Hello,

I am about to join the ranks of Prius owners and I am admittedly overly excited about this car (2002 Prius). I have never owned a hybrid car before and this car has 100,000 miles. I had the dealer check out the car but I would love talk to experienced Prius owners about likely repairs in my future.

Thanks,

B

[tochatihu]

Hi, BPJ. Your question is similar to one I responded to recently in the Green Hybrid group, so I am going to paste that below. Not all of it pertains to your question, but it may be of use to others attracted to your topic.

""
I drive a 2001 Prius, now with 87k miles. The *major* distinction of a 2002 might be the availability of side air bags - those are supposed to be very helpful in a T-bone accident, for cars in general. Both 01 and 02 have a warranty extension on the power steering system, and that is beginning to sunset for the 01's. I think one 01/02 distinction relates to a mechanical valve in the exhaust system, but heck by now the sensitive 01's should have been cleaned up. Mine has not had that problem.

All classic Prius years receive a high voltage battery "resealing" (special service campaign SSC-40C); which is to prevent future electrolyte leakage. If leakage had already happened, it gets fixed.

There is at least one "persistent" issue across model years, which gives a scary error on the display screen. A computer gets replaced for free, under a mileage limit that is 80 or 100k miles. It is covered by the technical service bulletin EG011-03.

For any used classic Prius available, you should be able to determine whether these (or any other) warranty work had been done. Perhaps it goes without saying, but a used vehicle with complete service records ought to have higher market value.

Used vehicle price guidance such as Edmunds, KBB and NADA will probably say that the 02's are worth more than 01's, but plug in different odometer numbers to their valuation tools and see what you think. At least one of them will tell you how much more they think a "certified" used vehicle is worth, but I don't remember which one does that.

I have tracked ebay sales since Nov 03 and have posted the data in one of the Yahoo groups. Your question led me to segregate the "model years" in that data. No significant differences when comparing sales price with odometers separately, among model years. A classic Prius with 50k miles ought to sell for about $14k, and one with 80k miles for about $11k, regardless of model year. Bear in mind that these are only "ebay prices", so if you have good confidence in the seller's item, it might be worth more.

With any used vehicle purchase, a mechanic's inspection has value. The difficulty with Prius is that generally only Toyota dealers will be able to perform these.

If you say where you are looking, perhaps some local readers will have some other suggestions.

""

So, what does all that mean for someone considering an 02 with 100k miles? You should find out if the power steering rack has been replaced, if the HV battery resealing has been done, and if TSB EG011-03 has been done. For any used vehicle purchase, I would assume that the engine oil and oil filter, engine air filter, and cabin air filter would need to be changed, unless we know they have just been done. A front-end alignment is also on the list if the car "drives funny" or with uneven tire wear. One maintenance item that is not specifically called-for is changing the transmission fluid. Some folks have changed that fluid and found it apparently OK (like me) and others have found various degrees of fluid degradation. This is a topic of current discussion, but I am leaning towards suggesting this fluid change at least once.

But please do not be put off by this list! Prius needs only service that is typical of any front wheel drive car at 5000 or 7500 mile intervals, and any good shop can handle it. At 30,000 mile intervals, there are hybrid-specific things to be done and for the most part that means using a Toyota shop. I DIY the easy stuff, so my visits to Toyota are very rare. These cars are very well designed and built, and are just not wearing out. Those who chose to, can drive them until gasoline becomes absurdly expensive. As I said I now have 87k miles. The 12-volt battery is small and expensive from Toyota, but we now know that Conicelli sells them for $70. The only other repairs for me have been a rear wheel bearing and a computer replaced (under EG011-03). Brakes last for-freaking-ever. Next year I'll probably get new windshield wipers. Prius good.

[kirbinster]

That is a lot of mileage. My 2002 only has 19,300 miles on it.

[inventor00]

For any used car (unless you know the owner) , ALWAYS get a CARFAX report- it will tell you if it was a lemon, had an accident, was in New Orleans (hurricane damage), etc. You can just order it on the carfax.com site...

[Frank Hudon]

if all the items that tochatihu related too have been addressed to your satisfaction the car is probably in the first third of it's life span.