Considering on buying a Prius?

$1400, final answer.

 

Mostly, a third gen will have a newer hv battery which is a plus. 3rd gen motor is beltless I think. 2nd gen has water pump belt. A common belief here is the 2nd gen motor is better than 3rd gen. I have two 2nd gens, both with high miles and original batteries. Both run great with minimal oil consumption.

 

second gens are great and the differences are minimal. look for a low mile 2008 or 9, and keep 3 grande aside for a new battery should you need it.

 

I recently bought a 2006 Prius with 144k on it. A little high but it was a 2006 model so it was expected. Got a good price on it but unfortunately about a month after I bought it, the HV battery died. I purchased a rebuilt one from Electron Automotive here in SoCal for $1k installed.

Not trying to scare you off from purchasing one. I knew the HV battery would go eventually, it just went sooner rather than later. Good luck in your search!

LG-H918 ?

 

We are starting to find that age has more to do with battery health at this point on the Gen-2's than anything else. 2004-2006 models are starting to drop with battery failures in the 150k to 200k mile range.

If you plan on keeping the car a while, then putting money into it for hardware outweighs the insurance cost over time. I would buy as new of one as you can with a battery failure. Replace the battery. Then you'll have a high mileage vehicle where any number of other things could fail, but in reality rarely do they on a Prius if you keep up with general maintenance. Oil usage in the Gen-2 can happen, just keep in in check, and if buying used private party it would be good to check the oil level to make sure they aren't running it low without even knowing.

Stay far away from reconditioned batteries. You do NOT want to be playing whack-a-mole.

Also, the Prius is a big car. Every time I get in it, I am surprised at just how big it is. This can be a drawback for NYC. Definitely get the bumper buddies... Marquis is 212x78 inches, Gen2 Prius is 175x70 inches. 3ft shorter and 8inches narrower, but it is not a "city car" like a Prius C.

Can't say I have ever wanted a car when in the city. I've got a couple 30-day unlimited metro cards in my wallet, and use them all the time when over there. So easy.

 

I'll sell you my 2016 Prius C with only 17k miles on it...

Understand the insurance issue. My parents are now in the bracket to where their insurance is that of someone your age. But if you ever seen my parents drive, then you'd understand.

 

130k is nothing on these cars, just make sure you have 5 or 10k set aside for repairs. if you don't need it, it will be a nice little nest egg for you down the road.

 

We drove the Prius C around Colorado where potholes will eat cars and also in Toronto. Toronto is the most similar to NYC, and the C was a life saver. Able to park in lots of spots that other larger vehicles couldn't. Small enough to squeeze through things, big enough to actually be a car.

I found the Prius C to be just like the Gen-2 Prius. It basically is, just smaller. It lives in Toronto now.

Yes drivers not from urban areas annoy the crap out of you when they doddle around and get angry for "cutting too close" and stuff like that. They just don't understand, oh well.

I'll be in the city at the end of Feb, no driving for me! That's the way I like it there.

 

we drive down to manhattan once a year to visit our daughters. i swear, 3 days is like 3 years off my life.

 

Do you need drive? We traveled to New York City a few times by Amtrak train. Much less stressful.

 

not necessarily, but the one time we took amtrak, we couldn't get two seats together.

 

The one time my wife and son drove his Prius to NYC they left the fob with the valet at a parking lot. He ended up running after them wondering how to start the car.

 

yeah, never do valet.

what really rankled me with amtrak was that every row of two seats had one person.

fortunately, one of our daughters has $15./night parking in her building.

i once had to put it in one of those elevator parking garages, that was weird.

 

No, I find the Prius C more smooth. But it also has 100k less miles and is 7 years newer.

My Gen-2 Prius is extremely abused. They all ride on Michelin X-ICE III tires all year round, so the tires are equal. Actually every vehicle I have (except the DeLorean) has X-ICE's

 

You should try taking a F-250 crew Cab with a 16 foot trailer into Brooklyn.

Let’s just say it was good to see the PA border once we were done.

 

That’s better than the experience we had out here at a wine event they lost the fob.

My wife forgot the spare so they had to take us home.

They had another patron 5 days later let them know it was in their car down in San Jose. Which they picked up and returned to us .

Now when I see the same parking company manager at the same events he recognizes me and says he’s got us covered.