Would you buy one with 190,000 miles?

Paying cash is almost always the best plan when buying a car.

It will probably need a new battery someday but probably never need a new transmission. 2004 Prius have gone well over 200,000 miles, so if the price is low enough it would be worthwhile. Awfully hard for me to say what "low enough" is... In any case you must have the car thoroughly inspected by a Toyota dealer before buying to make certain that it was never in a major accident and that it's in good order.

 

There's no specific name for it that I know of; your suggestion sounds pretty good.

 

190k seems like a lot but consider the engine doesnt run all the time and the engine mileage varies considerably with city vs. highway driving as done battery pack usage. I would not be worried about it. Also the battery doesnt just die and ne'er work again. It slowly looses capacity. So even when it is toast, the car will still work fine. You will get worse mileage though. But still "horrible" prius mileage of mid to high 30's with a dead pack sure beats every other car out there...

 

I think some things to keep in mind that I know of (still a n00b myself):

* The inverter coolant pump should be changed at that mileage. A busted inverter is close to $6000USD to repair. To check I think you have the car on and open the inverter coolant resevoir and check for movement of the fluid. Something easy to do before you buy.

* The MFD is known to have a bad solder joint, it may go out. Easily fixible if you are an engineer, otherwise others will do it for you.

* With 5 years, the 12v battery if original is probably on its last leg. I would put some money away for a replacement (~$150 to $250)

* You also might want to check the brakes. They can last 100k miles easily, so who knows if it is the second set that almost needs to be replaced or if it is the first set that REALLY needs to be replaced

There is something else I think I am forgetting specific to 04/05 models but who knows. I have an 06 so I didnt pay enough attention...

 

Everything i have learned has tought me that a prius will not run without a good battery pack.

 

The symptoms of a bad traction battery do not include a car that doesn't move. It is a car where the bars are going to extremes very quickly and a large drop in efficiency since the motor runs more often. I wouls call that a working car that doesn't perform very well. Like a car that burns oil. yeah it is broken, but you CNN drive it...

-- Nick
Telstra HTC T9193

 

i do not know man, it's one thing to put 190K on your wheels, and a totally different thing to buy someone else's. all the best!

 

If the inspection from Toyota is positive and the car is dirt cheap, I would.

 

I would try to find out why the car is being sold, and ask about maintenance. It would not take much to turn me away, and I would want a price low enough that if the car turned out to be junk I would not lose too much sleep. Any future expensive repair would be reason to junk the car. It would also help immensely if OP is a DIY'r.

Does the car have a HOV sticker ? If yes, and the owner is not moving then my suspicions would increase.

 

I sold my 2000 Insight with 261,000 miles and it was still running great and got 70 mpg. It went to the first looker for $3,500. So I would trust these hybrids. But do take it out for a drive first and run it up a long hill and down and see if the battery holds pretty constant. Then ask for the maintenance records and make sure the required maintenances had been done. Then find a local toyota dealer and get it inspected as a used car for trade in. If that all works out ok , Why not?

 

It's one thing to keep a car that you have put 190K miles on, you know its history. But a car that others have put 190K miles on, no way.

My recommendation would be to keep looking and whatever you decide to buy make sure you get a complete service history showing all maintenance that has been done, a vehicle history report, and an independent inspection.

Good luck and congratulations for paying cash, that's what I have learned to do also.

 

190k by anyone doesnt matter as long as they did oil changes every now and then. These cars are built like tanks. You can floor it for 190k and drive like a maniac and nothing bad will happen to it. It is designed so that the most abuse you can give it without modifications is within tolerance specs and within it by quite a bit.

I would buy it even if a nascar loving 16yr old owned it previously. A different car brand, I would be hesitant. But Honda/Toyota/Subaru, no problem. My subaru I got as my first car made it to 300k miles before the cooling system died.

 

Any car with 190,000 miles is a candidate for the usual problems. Brakes, struts, 12V battery, water pump, all that sort of stuff is going to need work about as soon as a Corolla of the same mileage. The traction battery may die, but there are plenty of Prius in wrecking yards with half that mileage. $700 for a good used traction battery is easy to find. The inverter is going to be the high ticket item, even from a salvage yard.

The next big item is that there are few independent mechanics who will touch a Prius. Dealer's don't use salvage parts, so you could be looking at a $3000 new part that is available at salvage for $500. A high end scantool, preferably the Toyota Techstream, is required to diagnose many of the problems on a Prius. Even something as simple as bleeding the brakes requires the Toyota scantool.

I think you need to check out your available maintenance options at least as carefully as you check the car. Ask local mechanics if they can service a Prius, and if they don't, is there someone they know who does. Dealers can be a good option for relatively new cars, but their policy of not using salvage parts on an older car is a killer.

 

^^ *very* good point

 

Yes, if you are handy. You have this community with very supportive and knowledgeable people.

 

So lets say down the road my battery pack gets weak, and i'm getting 35mpg, are you saying i can keep driving it for another 30k?

 

You should be able to. Your mileage will get worse and worse. The ICE will run more, and the battery pack will go from full to empty just when accelerating then braking. It will be like a regular car hauling around an extra heavy pile of junk.

The limiting factor of how long you drive a trashed battery is the inverter. It depends on the minimum input voltage required for the dc-dc part of it before it goes to dc-ac. I am not aware of anyone but Toyota that has this information. At one point the battery voltage will be so low, that the inverter cannot make the required output voltage, throw some codes and shut down.

You should be able to drive it without a battery pack even installed with the correct CAN network spoofer. Tell the system that there is a battery pack, but with 39% charge. The car *should* then try to run the ICE constantly "recharging" the battery that isnt there. But actually having no battery makes for some questionable situations such as startup. I am sure it can be done with enough spoofing electronics, but really it would be for fun and not practical.