Should I buy it? '05 with recently replaced HV battery

Welcome back... It really comes down to how you minimize your repairs costs by tapping into DIY support on PriusChat. Or at the very least having a friend or family member or local mechanic help you out with that.

For example, if this car you want to buy turns out having a bad engine... If it was my purchase, I'd be like, cool... I can buy a low mileage replacement engine for only $500 and I'd love the opportunity to get all the right tools and techniques figured out so I can quickly do engine swaps for other people. I recently saw a youtube video with two mechanics with no experience doing Prius work who bought a Prius with a blown up engine at auction one day, and then started an engine swap the very next day at 5pm and were done a bit after midnight. I'd love to reach that level of accomplishment with expensive problems like that.

Or alternatively, if this car you want to buy turns out having a bad battery pack... If it was my purchase, I'd be like, cool... I have several packs I just finished rebuilding that I need to test and this is a great opportunity to do that because I already reached that level of accomplishment a couple years back.

In other words these are awesome cars that are very inexpensive to fix if you're all about DIY. But if you're dependent on your local Toyota Dealership or a local auto shop that has huge overhead costs to stay in business and they need you to pay way more than is fair to survive, then buying another Prius won't be nearly as rewarding.

 

Verify it was a new Toyota battery, not a refurb. It should have a 3 year warranty. Make sure it exists and is transferrable. I would try to have the rest of the car checked by an independent hybrid mechanic if at all possible. As you know, the engine can be a problem, especially head gaskets which can cause bent rods and ruined engines.

 

I'm not sure that you can say reliable and 15 year old used car in the same sentence. If you are very DIY capable- then it can be a manageable challenge. Otherwise the MPG gain of a prius will be swallowed by the repair costs. Get s Yaris or a FWD Matrix.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.