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Newbie - do I need a warranty on a 2004 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by hkmb, Sep 27, 2010.

  1. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Hello everyone,

    I'm considering buying a Prius: I want something with a lot of space inside, a 5-star safety rating, and good fuel economy, and this seems to tick all the boxes. And from looking through the forum, you all seem very happy with yours.

    There are a couple that I'm looking at. Both are 2004, with about 100,000km / 60,000 miles on them. One is at a dealer, and is a basic model. The other is a private sale, and is the i-Tech version (this was the top of the range in Australia). The one at the dealer is around US$ 2,000 more expensive than the private sale one, but it comes with a three-year warranty for all non-service parts.

    Is it worth paying the extra for the dealer version warranty? Will parts be starting to die? Which parts should I be worried out (if any)?

    If I could trouble you with a couple of other obvious questions, that would be lovely:

    - The i-Tech pack apparently contains side curtain airbags. Are these just for the front windows, or do they cover the rear windows too?
    - Is that unintended acceleration problem relevant to the 2004 model? If so, should the logbook show that it's been fixed?
    - Does the car get very hot in warm weather? It gets pretty hot in Sydney in summer, and there's an awful lot of near-horizontal glass.
    - Is there anything else that I should be looking out for?

    Thanks very much in advance,

    hkmb
     
    #1 hkmb, Sep 27, 2010
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Overall, the Prius is a very reliable car. There are some issues to be aware of, such as the fragile auxiliary 12V battery (if it runs down once it may never recover), the inverter coolant pump from that year is prone to failure, and HID headlamps (if equipped) being rather expensive to replace. But the sum cost of replacements is well under the $2000 warranty premium at the dealer. I'd go for the private sale i-Tech.

    It does get very hot inside. Try to find a good shade for the windshield.

    Which unintended acceleration "problem"? There is the issue where the pedal can be trapped under a floor mat. This can happen with just about any car. If you are worried, make sure there is no floor mat. There is also the issue of the dynamic radar cruise control (e.g. Steve Wozniak doesn't know how to use it) but that is not a problem with a 2004.
     
    #2 seilerts, Sep 28, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  3. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Ah, that's brilliant. Thanks for your help. I didn't realise the unintended acceleration problem was so simple - that's good to know.

    I'll stick with the private sale one, then. And if I miss that, I'll hang on for another i-Tech.
     
    #3 hkmb, Sep 28, 2010
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