Buying a used gen 2 for $4,000

welcome!
of course, battery is number one. you may spend a lot of time learning how to rebuild, and you will need some tools.
a/c is an expensive repair if the electric compressor goes, and should be done by a professional.
brake actuator is expensive, but diy and salvage will help reduce cost.
you will need mini vci and old windows laptop.
the tranny or engine may go, but if you can handle it, salvage is reasonable.
some have great luck with hundreds of thousands of miles and few repairs, and some don't.
all the best!

 

Don't you want to pay towards the car that's going to be repossess? You have $4000

There are many pitfalls to a 13 year old hybrid, maybe you should buy a newer one

 

File bankruptcy and learn from mistakes...
So your life after that start with simple rule what my father use to say
If you buy car make sure that you have 2 times more on the side...car's are luxury
Try to learn living on 33% of your income after all normal expenses deducted
Learn how to save
And believe me once you do all of this you will be different man
And have some day to become independent ....

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Welcome fellow Seattleite! I bought a used 2005 Prius base model from my coworker 2 months ago for $3000. It had 169,990 miles. I posted a similar thread asking for opinions. Many members are super helpful in here! Be sure to ask if there are service records. If not, ask if the Prius was mainly serviced at a Toyota dealership. If they mainly got service at the dealership, you can load the service records using the VIN # on the Toyota Owner's website. My coworker did most of his servicing at the dealership so I was able to see the work that was done. I posted that info in a thread and received good recommendations and what to do next after I bought it. Considering a 2005 Prius | PriusChat My Prius is still on the original traction battery and I know that I will eventually have to replace it. See if the used one that you are looking at already had the traction battery replaced. If so, ask what kind of replacement was done (refurbished, modules replaced in original, or new Toyota battery). Not all refurbished batteries last long according to what I have read from other members on here. Modules replacement is also hit-or-miss. Some recommend to go the new Toyota traction battery route but that can be pricey depending where you buy it. I have started a traction battery replacement fund after another member recommended me to start one. You should too if you buy a used Prius with original traction battery.

Here is the 2005 Prius Maintenance Schedule: http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/05ToyAllMS_MS0012/pdf/01omsour/2005/schedmai/51w1smt.pdf

Important services to handle:

• Every 60,000 miles it is recommended by other members here to do transaxle fluid drain and refill.
• Per schedule at 100,000 miles: Replace engine and inverter coolant
• Per schedule at 120,000 miles: Replace spark plugs. (I would change out PCV valve at the same time as a preventative thing)
• Brake flush is not in the maintenance schedule but was recommended by members here. Per @Mendel Leisk: "Toyota Canada says tri-yearly or 48,000 km's (30K miles). Honda, fwiw, says tri-yearly regardless of mileage. For decades. I'd approach DIY brake fluid change with caution. I've done our 3rd gen, it is possible without Techstream, and outlined in the Repair Manual. And @NutzAboutBolts has a video on it. But 2nd gen may have some variations."
• Throttle body cleaning would be a good preventative maintenance.
• Mass air flow sensor cleaning would be a good preventative maintenance.
• Per schedule every 30,000 miles: Replace cabin air filter and engine air filter.
• Change the 12V battery if it has never been changed.

Also higher mileage Prius are known to burn through more oil. I am not sure if I hit on most of the things but those are the things that I have done after buying my Prius. Good luck and maybe I'll see you on the road along with the millions of other Prius in Seattle.

 

The biggest overall problem for Gen 2 Prius models on Car Complaints is the high intensity discharge (HID) headlights on some cars. The base headlights are fine, but the HID (upgraded) ones can randomly go out for no apparent reason, and they're expensive to replace. So I'd try to avoid a Prius with HID headlights.

Biglew8 gave a lot of good advice for maintenance. Another good maintenance tip is replace the 12v battery every 4-5 years. A bad 12v battery can cause a lot of problems, so be sure it's not too old and has enough voltage.

 

Just curious...is this you? Looking to buy Toyota prius

 

biglew thinking of selling lol

 

Lol Nope. I am enjoying my Prius. I was looking on CL to see if there are some good Prius listed for sale.

 

I know you said you have $4000 to work with but maybe these sellers are willing to go down in price?

2005 Toyota Prius 4cyl 1.5L Hybrid Great Gas Milage!! We Finance
2006 Toyota Prius
2005 Toyota Prius 4cyl 1.5L Hybrid Great Gas Milage!! We Finance
***2008 Toyota Prius 4-Cylinder Cranberry***
!!!2006 Toyota Prius !!!

 

To be perfectly honest I would look for a dependable, less complicated and lower priced used car if I were you. Find a decent Corolla/Yaris/Honda Civic and hang on to some of that money for any maintenance or repair issues that might pop up unexpectedly with your new ride.

The Prius is great but I don't think you are in a financially stable enough position to take a chance on a well-used one.

 

MT GEN 1 Insights are cheaper and easier to maintain than a Prius if you disable the traction pack correctly.
Highway FE is higher than a Gen II PRII as well

A few are over 600,000 miles on the original motor and XMSN

 

Time is the KEY.

I searched for MONTHS before locating our '05 that had the right combination of condition, maintenance, price, defects and seller motivation. I POUNCED! One water pump and two tires since we bought it and the tires were factored into the price because they were bad.

 

Congrats on the purchase! Does the records show engine and inverter coolant replaced at 100,000 miles? Spark plugs replaced at 120,000 miles? Around 150,000 miles, the engine and cabin air filters should've been replaced. Check to see if transaxle fluid was drained & refilled. Also see if the front & rear brakes were replaced. Brake flush would be good idea if it hasn't been done yet. As a preventative maintainence, replace the PCV valve too. Best time to get that done would be when the spark plugs get replaced (if it hasn't been done yet). Has the 12v auxiliary battery been replaced? Still on original traction battery? New tires?

 

all the best!