Bought Used Prius - Crazy?

Crazy like a fox.

Most "old" Gen II Prii that have never........

1) Been in a serious accident
2) Been driven daily on mountainous roads
3) Been used exclusively in Southern states with HOT summers.
4) Missed scheduled maintenance

......are worth the risk of purchase.

My 05 Prius has 400 fewer miles than yours - LOL!

So far so good after nearly 40K miles and nearly 19 months.
Not one problem so far - zilch (that wasn't already present but was waiting to be found).

You will probably be in the majority of satisfied Gen II owners.

Bravo!

 

Poke around a bit, you'll find that there are plenty of very high mileage, very active users on this forum. I believe that at 173,000 you may be a little closer to some of the long-term wear items like shocks & struts, if these are still original, as well as the 12v battery, but if it handles well and doesn't squeak, you should be golden. Check that it's had the Toyota recalls / TSB's done on it, well worthwhile. Keep up with the maintenance, oil changes, fluids, and you'll be fine!

My wife and I bought one a year ago with just over 100k on the clock for $8400 (poor condition interior, Massachusetts level rusty bits drove the price down) and it's been a great car. We get 50 mpg avg, 52-54 during the summer, and on the 30 miles between my last fill up and home, I averaged 63.

 

On a car with that high mileage, a better determinant of reliability will be how the car looks and drives. If it has obviously not been taken care of, drives like a dog, and looks like cr_p..... well, you get the point. If it looks and drives great, it will probably last a long time. High mileage cars that have been looked after can give excellent service (better than low mileage cars that haven't).

 

The HV battery is not the most expense repair you can have, just the most publicized. Keep tabs on the 12 volt battery as incorrectly attempting to jump start it can be twice as expensive as a HV Battery. If yours is the original, you may be ready to upgrade it.

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html

 

Another expensive repair you can avoid is shorting out the Motor Generators. They are cooled by the ATF in the transaxle, and Toyota regards this as a 'lifetime' fluid, but metal particles build up. Replacing the WS ATF with new Toyota fluid is an easy DIY project for 2 people, or about a $100 service item. I would reccomend it every 60,000 miles.

 

Ah man, I feel like the crazy one. I sold my '04 with 58,000 miles for only $1,200 more than what you paid. :doh:

I think you have a good handle on the car. As others have said, there are a lot of much higher mileage Prii out there. You should be comfortable in getting many years of service out of yours.

 

Not at all crazy. We just got rid of our 2010 Scion xB due to Eh gas milage to get a 2005 with package 6. As long as they are taken care of they'll last just like any car.

 

I have a 02 Z06 corvette which gets 26 mpg, a 41 willys with a LT1 motor thats gets 22 mpg and my 05 prius with 115,000 on it and I will get in the prius before anything else. I have friends and family with 7 prii and one has almost 300,000 with no problems at all.

 

I would have waiting for prices to come down. A prius with that kind of mileage will go for about $2k less in about four months or so. That said, I doubt it'll give you that much trouble, and used parts are reasonably priced for a DIYer.

Don't blame yourself. CA is a crazy market, and gas is at least half a buck per gallon higher. On top of that the ETV calculator is now showing las month's gas scare price premium, even though gas prices are pretty much falling (or will fall) everywhere.