Considering a 2006 Prius with 91k miles...

No reason to suspect the prius couldn't go another 100k.

Do change the transaxle fluid if you end up buying it, though. It's due for it by now.

 

It's a great car with excellent reliability.

However nobody is clairvoyant and it is a car with almost 100K miles. It could die tomorrow. Looking at the statistics though, you should get another 60K to 200K miles out of the original battery. Heat and discharge is the enemy of batteries so mountainous terrain and hot climates are enemies of the traction pack.

The 2 electric motors will more than likely not go out. The whole PSD is very reliable with nearly zero failures in the over 5 million sold.

Many Prii owners buy another to replace the one they have or as a 2nd, 3rd, etc car. I think that speaks more.

 

When I bought my '04 back in 2009 I got the extended warranty. I paid ~$1200 for it and used it one time when the water pump went out. I'm about 4000 miles from it expiring, so unless something BAD happens in the next couple of months I figure I'm short about $600-$800 on the deal.

When I bought an '05 for my wife a year later with 108k miles on it, I didn't bother with the extended warranty. Haven't regretted it a bit.

 

I bought my 05 with 96k last October. Never looked back. I expect to get well over 200k and maybe a lot more. Visit the 200,000 mile club. I think they may have a 300,000 mile club now. Taxis are reporting 400,000 before retiring them. When you're driving it below 42mph if it goes into electric only with the cruise on and stays there for about a mile before the ICE kicks on, the HV battery is likely good to go. These batteries can now be replaced with re-manufactured or even used from salvage yards for 800-2,000. And with your mechanical abilities you won't have any problem learning how to work on most things in this car if you have to. Drive and enjoy the 50+ MPG! Welcome to the fold.

 

If warranties were beneficial to customers, they would not be sold. Warranties are sold because in most cases the amount you pay for the warranty is more than what you would pay for a repair you have while under the warranty. But you could be that one rare instance where something really bad happens and the $1K warranty will save you a $4K repair. And when that happens to you, it's invaluable. In the majority of cases, not worth it though. The peace of mind however may be worth it as there is no value that can be attached to that. The other option is if they let you roll the cost into the payments, it might be a good option if you are someone who never has any savings and if something does come up would be unable to fix it.

If you pull a used one from a junkyard or eBay the prices range from $200 to $800. They are so commonplace now that there are many that are totalled in junk yards because of normal accident damage. It is a common car with that being a common part.

If you buy a re-built battery from a company like Reinvolt, it is about $1500. The further you are from them or an installer the more expensive it is because I believe they still do core charges. They want your bad battery back so they can fix it. A "bad" battery is really a good battery with 1 or 2 bad cells. So you could replace them whack-a-mole style for $30 a piece on eBay. They do it with large volumes so they can capacity match much better.

If you buy the battery new from Toyota, it is about $2200.

It takes less than a minute. Just hold the odometer button while you start the car, and done.

Generally we recommend 0w20 in all Prii now, just so you know.

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine (Petrol Engine)
MG1/MG2 = Motor-Generator 1/2 (Electric Motor 1 and Electric Motor 2)
PSD = Power Split Device (The Planetary gearset that makes up the "transmission" but is nothing like a transmission or CVT, it truly is an engineering marvel)
HSD = Hybrid Synergy Drive

The HSD uses the PSD which consists of the 1 ICE, MG1, and MG2.

 

ICE = Internal combustion engine. PSD = Power split device.

 

Dealerships love to underinflate tires, so pump those things up to 40PSI after you get it.

Also the only truly accessible gauge is the fuel gauge. All the rest are available on the CAN bus for those that care, but the car takes care of everything. Only when something is very wrong will it tell you with a big problem warning indicator and usually a message on the MFD.

You cannot do a tank-by-tank miles driven over gallon used in the 2nd generation North American Prius. Reason is that you do not have a gas tank, you have a gas bladder. In a "normal" car, this works because you know the size of the tank and it never changes so once you fill it all the way up, assuming you fill it to the top the next time as well, you know how many gallons are in there. With the Prius, it has a flexible bladder that holds a variable amount of fuel. I find my MFD to be almost dead on. When the car says 50mpg, I am actually getting 50mpg. For GenII's it seems like there is a +/- 3% display error depending on which particular car you have. It uses the actual amount of fuel injected into the cylinder over lots of cycles.

You can verify however by doing lots of tanks, like many months worth.

As to when you need to fill up, do so when the car tells you to. 2 pips left, you should look for a gas station. 1 pip left, try to seek out a gas station and fill up. Blinking last pip, stop what you are doing and go to the gas station.

 

If you take it to a dealership with the Toyota Techstream subscription software, then they can pull the individual hybrid battery pack module voltages. That will give you the high and low voltages. The further apart the highest is from the lowest and either are from the mean, the worse the condition of the pack. Once the delta becomes 300 millivolts, the car throws a code and the pack is "bad".

 

Very expensive...if the updates are available at all. I'm talking in the neighborhood of $200 if it's even available for an '06'. For $200 you can get a very nice GPS system with lifetime updates.

 

Run away. Typical life span of the battery is 10 years. You are close to that. Large fee to get a replacement Battery from $2,500 for rebuilt installed to $3,500 for new. With the high mileage she drives you will be having some large repair bills ahead of you. The car starts burning oil at 100,000 miles. Transaxle can be a costly repair. Inverter is another. This car is an accident waiting to happen.

I suggested get a New Priuc C or Yaris or a Honda Fit. Costs low 20's and very excellent financing. She Is driving a lot of miles. New car would be best. Even if she took a 5-7 year loan she would be ahead. Just budget for a payment. A new car he will have a decade of worry free driving. The used car is an accident waiting to happen.

That is My opinion. I know if is different than the status quo.

A new Honda Fit with a warranty is $15,000. Hello that is a great deal. Not much more than a 7 year old car with a lot of miles. Go test drive one!

Yaris $14,000

 

I heartily DISAGREE with JMD above ^^^^.

Total mileage on a Prius is not normally a factor in how long it will last, rather, it's the climate it runs in that effects it the most. e.g. a Prius in Southern states is more likely to experience battery failure due to heat, than one driven mostly in northern states (e.g. Michigan). Of course, a clogged battery fan will play an important role as well.

So far as 10 years is 'typical life' for the Prius battery...the only 10 yo Prius batteries currently are from GEN I models as well as the 1st year GEN IIs. The GEN II battery is a big improvement on the GEN I version. Replacement costs will be closer to $1500 for rebuilt to $2500 for new from Toyota.

The transaxle almost NEVER fails...there are exceptions, but in general--almost none.

Reports of Prii starting to burn oil at 100,000 miles? Post links! I haven't seen any in a well maintained Prius (such as the one you're considering).

Inverter failure? Rare...not impossible, but rare.

Now, the $11.5k for an '06 is another matter. That's your call whether it's worth it or not. Is the car Certified Used? Then maybe ok.

 

Certified is less than 60,000 miles. This car will not qualify on that alone.

Reinvolt is $1,800 plus shipping both ways plus tax plus labor to install

Notes on Gen 2 burning oil

Gen II Burning Oil? | PriusChat