2004 Prius.... Is this a good buy???

Hi guys, I'm still considering purchasing a newer car, mostly for delivery, and general transportation. Something reliable, good on gas, and low maintenance costs. I've got it narrowed down to either a Prius, Echo, or Corolla....

I've come across an '04 Prius with low mileage, all records, and in very good shape with the one exception, wait for it.... It's in need of a new hybrid battery! It would cost me about six k$. The local Toyota dealership gave the owner a quote of about five grand to put a new battery in. (this is in Canada). So, hears what I'm thinking.... I buy a used battery from the States have them ship it for free to a border town where I can drive across the border and pick it up, then put the battery in myself and save about five hundred bucks labor. I found a used one on Ebay for about $850 with 33k miles on it. I'm wondering will any '04-'09 battery pack do or do I have to look for a certain serial number? Does it make a difference if I put a battery from an American car onto a Canadian market Prius? Is this too difficult for a non-mechanical individual to swap batteries?

I'm also thinking there might be a sliver of a chance that all it needs is a new 12v battery put in. The local dealership said it needed a new hybrid battery but they were somewhat stumped by the car, as they said they've only seen a couple of Prii that have ever needed a new hybrid battery, and that they only had one or two tech's that specialized in hybrids. Maybe they missed a 12 v battery diagnoses? If I buy the car the first thing I'd do is change the 12 v battery and reset all the codes. The dealer said that used batteries were nearly impossible to get a hold of because so many taxi companies buy them up before the dealers can get a hold of any. I asked the service tech if I could still drive the car and they said the computer might limit the speed to 30 km/hour and that it might die on me, so I can't drive it to the States I guess.

One more question how common is a major repair bill to occur such as a brake accentuator or a computer. I've heard these are quite expensive to fix.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Thanks Toaster... The service counter lady told me that I'd have to check the serial number on a used battery to make sure it would work in a specific battery swap. They probably didn't know what they were talking about. I just had to make sure. I wouldn't want to buy a used hybrid battery only to find out it wouldn't work in this specific Prius....

 

140 000 kms, or 87 000 miles...

 

So, I ended up taking the plunge! I bought it for 6k. It has most options for an '04 except the navigation. Brand new tires (Hero 668, probably a cheep brand?). It's grayish green in color. No accidents. The Toyota dealership said there's nothing wrong with it except it needs the hybrid battery. I drove it off the lot today and am very impressed with it. It's fun to drive and am looking forward to getting more acquainted with her. The Smart key is awesome.

I took it out today on a temporary insurance permit assuming it wasn't going to run properly because it needed a traction battery. To my surprise it ran great. No warning lights, no problems at all. I drove it for over a hundred miles and it responded perfectly. On the highway I consistently got between five and seven bars on the battery display. I drove up toward a local ski hill, driving for nearly fifteen minutes at a fairly steep incline of over a thousand feet. I did this twice. The fist time the battery never went below four bars. On the way down near the end it had a completely full battery display. The second time I made this run I had the ac on max, fog lights, and radio going. It hit three bars three or four times but only briefly for about a minute. On the way down, again a full battery display.

I don't know what to think. I'm going to swap insurance over and drive it and see what happens. It wouldn't make any sense to put a battery in it right away. It's a mystery. Maybe the dealership made a misdiagnosis? One other thing, the dealership put a brand new 12v battery in it a few months ago. I tested it by holding the display button and turning the lights on and off three times, it seems good.

Thanks to all the posters on this forum who have contributed. I made my purchase based on customers reviews and much of the info I got here....