Would this scare you? Purchase...

no, that sounds decent. check the maint. records though. and make sure you have proof of a dealer installed hybrid battery.

 

I just bought an 06 with 265,000 miles. It's a one owner, mostly service records for oil changes at the local Toyota dealer. I've done crazier things, but it is apparent this car was well maintained. So, if you buy the 04, I'll be scared right along with you!

 

Well, it is guaranteed that the Toyota factory in Japan did not install a replacement traction battery or 12V battery two years ago.

So, perhaps you meant that a new battery from Toyota was installed by a dealership?
Or did you mean that a "remanufactured" battery from some third party was installed by an independent?

There is a big difference between the two possibilities, mostly because the useful life of a remanufactured battery is questionable.

As far as the rest of the car is concerned, you should make sure that all systems are operational. It is possible that some other system might fail at any moment - or you may hit 299K miles on the odometer without a big repair. (The odometer on older 2G Prius stops at 299,999 miles.)

 

Oh Man, I hope my 06 odometer will not stop at 299,000. I plan on a lot of 300k plus bragging in a year or so!

 

Yes, I need clarification by what you mean by "factory installed batteries".

As far as I know, the only time you get a factory installed battery, is when the vehicle is new and has come from the factory. After ownership your options are basically,

You can have a new battery installed by Toyota.
Or a re manufactured battery installed by whomever.

But the factory ain't installin you a new battery.

 

Oil consumption would be a concern, also front suspension ($ 1500+ at dealer), try to figure how many miles since battery change.

I had 07 that used 1 qt/ 2,500-3,000 miles ( 248K miles), never changed suspension - didn't realize how sloppy it was until I bought another 07 with 111K miles.

 

Looking at 04 with 170k but...had new factory installed batteries 2 years ago. So... Would love to hear your opinions. Give it to me...good, bad, and the ugly. Thanks!

Unless they can show you a Toyota dealers receipt for that battery assume they are liars and it did not happen. Under $4K might be a good buy. Over $5K is getting high.

Brad

 

I just paid 4k out the door for my 06 with Nav. It has 265,000 miles on it. I have never had a car with that many miles, and I want to see how many miles I can put on this car. I have had a couple Gen 2 and Gen 1 Prius over the years, and have been lucky without anything other than maintenance needs. It astounds me how good it drives, and how well it was taken car of. I took it on a few test drives before negotiating the price. The only problem I have noticed is a few of the redundant steering wheel buttons weren't working ( unless the wheel was turned to the left of right ) That is a clock-spring issue from what I have read in the forums. I plan on starting with a spark plug replacement and oil change over the holiday weekend, and do the trans axle and cooling systems over the following weekends. I see where some of these Gen 2s can go well over 300,00 miles. I hope mine will be one of them.

 

My 2009 has over 200,000 miles on it and it's still going good! I bought it used with 30,000 miles on it in 2010.
Now 5 years later in 2015, I consume about 1 quart every 3,500 miles or so, but I also drive it really hard, 70-80 mph on the highway to keep up with MD/DC rush-hour traffic (That is when traffic is isn't going 5 mph...) I've only done regular maintenance, changed the sparkplugs twice, changed the 12V battery once, performed regular oil changes with synthetic oil.

I've replaced both front hubs at about 125,000, but I think that was due to driving through high-water for several days on my way to work when the highway was closed and the only route in took me through a flooded river that covered the roadway about 8-10 inches... My Prius has been really good to me, and I would recommend buying one to others.

Future anticipated repairs and/or upgrades:
I need to replace my suspension, the struts are really worn and the car is starting to float like a boat, rather than handle like a car. I plan on replacing the struts with coil overs, yes they are expensive, but I can do it myself with limited tools and it goes in as a single piece rather than having to use a spring compressor, etc or pay a garage that will charge me a lot to replace the struts. Why pay $1500 for the garage to replace the struts, when I can pay $900 for coil-overs and do it myself and end up with a better product?

I plan on replacing the Sparkplugs (for a third time), PCV and lower O2 sensor for the first time. Honestly I hope to get 500,000 miles out of my Prius. - Seriously.

When buying a high mileage Prius, I'd look into trying to do some of the maintenance yourself, PRIUSChat has a wealth of information. Trust me, I wasn't that big of a wrench turner before, I just researched and read information on PRIUSChat and started doing the work myself, it really wasn't that hard to do, and it saved me a lot of money!

Good luck with your purchase, I think it's a good decision - just make sure to get the vehicle maintenance history and carfax to make sure it wasn't a salvaged car in a major accident or something. Take a test drive, does the car pull to one side? does it shudder at highway speeds? is their play in the steering wheel? (can you turn the steering wheel, but the tires do not react.) if yes to any of those questions, you should investigate further or ask the seller why, and possibly get a discount in price.

 

i wonder what happened to the o/p, vacation?

 

I've read that Gen II has more airbags insides, especially the side curtains. I think most insurance companies would appreciate that.

 

welcome!
3 year old thread...