Buying used Prius

[ksc]

I cannot afford a new Prius; thus I am wondering which year you would suggest I persue. 01's seem to have some problems. 02 are very available @ $16K and up; but I have read that the mpg are not as good as the 03's and higher. I do want a nice interior, in fact I will probably do some aftermarket things to enhance it. Is the nav system just for info purposes (travellers) or does it enhance the interior? Thanks.

[jeffn]

How mucho have you got to spend? I see a continual ad for an 04 (probably low pkg model) here in NY for about 20k.

[tochatihu]

I have a 2001 with 74k miles purchased new. The only early bugs I know concern the tires and the electrical power steering system.

The faulty tires had a "CHA" identifier on the sidewall and are certainly not any longer in use. Mine was manufactired in July 2001 and came with the (improved) "JDH" tires. There is a more general concern about the Bridgestone Potenza tires (standard on US model from 2001-2003), that they wear rapidly at the Toyota specified inflation. Many have found adequate tire life (30k miles or more) with higher inlfation oressures.

The power steering issue was address by Toyota extending the warranty on that assembly to 5 years, no mileage limitation for 2001 through early 2002 model year Prius. This implies a cutoff at a particular VIN number, which I don't know. If I were looking at a particular 2002 to buy I would want to know if it's within the range.

There is a special service campaign "SSC 40G" to modify the high-voltage battery, covering 2001 through mid-2003 model year. So here again the implication is that there was a hardware change at some point.

If you do buy a used one, you are advised to know what's up with both of these issues.

Based on ebay sales (of 2001-2003), you could guesstimate a price with my handy formula. $16,800 - 7.3 cents per mile driven. This will get you within a couple of $thousand. But I would not by any car on ebay without an independent inspection. Asking prices on a car lot would be higher, no doubt. www.kellybluebook.com is another source of price estimates.

The increase in fuel economy came with the 2004 model redesign, and is 7 mpg more in the "EPA combined" rating. The mpg database at www.greenhybrid.com is one source of real-world data.

Suggest you take a close look at both models early in your search.

I have not the NAV system, so no comment on that.

[xevious]

Tochatihu's information is excellent.

In addition to the big-money items he/she listed, you should obtain a complete service record from the previous owner and verify that all service campaigns have been completed. There have been several TSBs and SSCs for the older cars (mainly routine stuff); a few of these involve the Hybrid ECU, which is NOT reprogrammable in the classic Prius. This means if you require an ECU upgrade, either you or Toyota must buy a new one.

I don't understand your question about the navigation system. Could you be a little more clear?

[marcin]

Hi,

I'm also considering buying second hand Prius, as the new one is out of (financial) range. I'm in the Netherlands and a 2001 model comes to about 13000-14000euro, depending on the mileage. However, besides the inital investment there are also maintenance costs. Currently I drive an Alfa Romeo 33 (which I enjoy very much and will keep it for sure ) and it is sooooo cheap to maintain. Most things I can fix myself and the spare parts are also very, very affordable. Can someone tell me how are the maintenance expences of a Pri? I can imagine that the high-tech solutions make DIY-repairs difficult; also fooling around with some systems could make you loose the warranty on the car and the hybrid system in particular, right? So what do I really need to have done by Toyota Service on a regular basis and could you give me any idea of the costs? Are there also any special things to pay attention when buying Classic Prius, besides the remarks elsewhere in this thread?

Thanks!

Marcin

[Mieke]

Hi Marcin,

I'm living in the Netherlands too and just bought a second hand Prius, a 2001 Classic. You are right that they do about 13.000 euro's at the moment, although I've seen one for about 11-something from a private owner (if you're interested, I can give you more details, it is still for sale).

Mine I found in Germany. Maybe that's possible for you too. It is relatively cheap to buy a Prius there. As you probably know, cars are less expensive in Germany. Usually importing a car isn't really cheaper because you have to pay BPM over a used car you import. But Prius is BPM-free, even when you get it in another EU-country. It can save you several thousands of euro's!

If you want more info about this you could have a look at our website www.jantzen.nl/prius (only in Dutch language).
Your other questions and concerns I can't answer too. I hope you can find yourself a nice Prius!

Mieke

[IsrAmeriPrius]

I assume that BPM is a tax of some sort, what do the initials stand for? Is it similar to VAT?

[Mieke]

BPM is a luxury-tax. It stands for "Tax for private cars and motors". For every car or motor that is first registered in the Netherlands you pay this (so every new and every imported used car).
For a new Prius it would be € 7660,- but the Prius is free from BPM because of the low emissions. For a second-hand Prius it would have been a percentage of € 7660,- (for a 2001 Prius still several thousands of euro's).

We also have the normal tax, BTW. BTW is also charged over everything you buy. When you import a foreign car you only have to pay this when the car is (almost) new. When it is less than 6 months old, or it drove less than 6000 km, you also have to pay BTW.
So a used Prius over 6 months, you pay nothing, except several hundreds of euro's for having it checked and all the paperwork.
I don't know VAT, so I don't know which tax is more like it.

edit: I was just told that VAT = BTW

[DaveinOlyWA]

i must aplaud the netherlands for the steps they have taken to make a Prius a desirable car to own. something that i think this country has failed to do and miserably. i cant help but feel that if it were american companies doing the Prius, things would be hugely different.

[AnOldHouse]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"87738)</div>

i must aplaud the netherlands for the steps they have taken to make a Prius a desirable car to own. something that i think this country has failed to do and miserably. i cant help but feel that if it were american companies doing the Prius, things would be hugely different.[/b]

Applaud? Hmmmm.....

Let's see, the Netherlands charges a huge BTW (aka VAT) tax on all new cars and even ALMOST new imports, regardless of whether or not it's a hybrid. Isn't VAT 17.5%?

So they nicely drop the already phenomenally outrageous BPM of €7660 prorated based on car age, not sales value. That currently translates into US$9,812.

In the US, we currently get a modest $2,000 ATI, effectively a tax deduction for all, that may possibly (I think probably) become a $1,000 tax credit. Various states around the country are stepping up to the plate with various incentives, including Connecticut since October 2004 which waives sales tax for the purchase of a new hybrid. At 6% CT sales tax for a $25,000 car, that's a solid $1,500 savings.

Thankfully we don't have anywhere near the obscene taxes that the Netherlands already has in the first place so that they can appear to be so "generous" by not applying an nearly $10,000 per car tax selectively and yet, still charging the full new car sales tax of 17.5%.

Unless of course, you are advocating for a US national sales tax of $10,000 per non-hybrid vehicle?