Is Buying a Gen 2 Still a Viable Option?

Sounds like you might not be driving enough for Prius .? You should really think about that is the Prius going to spend all its time sitting until you go see Mom and Dad or Mom or whoever and and groceries locally? So your yearly mileage would be under 5,000

 

I have four generation 2 and I have friends driving the three I can't . Only have one rear end ya know. That's how bad it can be if they sit so I try not to let them . So ya might consider.

 

Might work out well for you I'm easily putting 10,000 a year on mine and everything seems more than reasonable

 

It sounds like most of that 8K is in big trips. The car cannot just sit unused for weeks at a time, it will trash the 12V battery quickly and the HV pack slowly. It needs to be driven, not sure exactly, 30 minutes a week? I think 60 minutes would be safer. Although on a Prius "driven" isn't really needed for the 12V, the car just needs to be in READY. If you want to sit in it for an hour reading a book that will work. That might be true of some other hybrids. It isn't true for "regular" ICE cars, where if you want the 12V to charge the motor needs to be spinning, and the faster the better.

I used to live in SF and most of my driving in town came to around 5 miles a week. I kept the car mostly so that I could go visit my parents who lived elsewhere in the Bay Area. At that point in time I could get anywhere in the city easily on public transit, but going anywhere outside of town that wasn't near a BART stop was a PITA. This was decades ago, and that old Toyota didn't have any parasitic draw, because it had power nothing (not even power steering). Modern cars with all their ECUs and fobs that open the doors remotely and even alarm systems all have some amount of parasitic draw and it isn't really a good idea to let any of them sit too long. If you have a garage with a power outlet (not at all a given in SF) the car can be put on a battery minder to keep the 12V topped off and then it can sit weeks at a time without damaging anything. If the car will be parked on the street, any modern car really, you will need to take some action to keep the 12V charged, as deep discharges damage them.

 

Shiet I have and 02 Corolla in almost perfect shape drive it anywhere rt now . One of the cheapest cars on the planet to keep for the last 45 years the Corolla . if I tried to sell it even in the perfect shape that it's in it's not but a $2,000 car if that just for the year and the mileage this car has 535,000 miles on it doesn't use a drop of oil seriously original auto trans fluid serviced maybe twice .

 

My '06 is still performing excellently, just did a same day 1,000km round trip in it. Besides the rattle and squeaks that a well experienced earns (344,600kms on the clock) can't really fault it.

I also have an ex taxi '08 Prius, 700 and something thousand kms on the clock, it only became a parts vehicle because I couldn't drive both of them and needed the battery and front brake pads for the '06

Unless you put an LFP 4 cell 12v battery in it, you will always be cursing the flat battery, yet the 12v LFP battery, even though mine is built out of very exhausted EV cells, never lets me down .....

T1 Terry

 

Personally I think you're kind of nuts for considering almost-20 year old cars for that kind of duty.

It's one thing if you owned the car all that time and aged it yourself- you'd know where the bodies are buried. But to take it on fresh when it is that far used up? If you have substantial cash reserves then maybe? You buy the car cheap and maybe you don't wind up spending a lot on towing and repairs and being stuck far from home- you'd be playing the odds, and you might come out ahead. The key is to realize you're buying into significant uncertainty. Sometimes gamblers win and sometimes they don't.

With your mileage requirements so low, I really think you ought to look into rentals as a solution. Sign up for the frequent renter club, avail yourself of the discounts they offer, and enjoy safer and lower-stress travel when it is time to take those long trips.

 

The second 08 for like 3888

 

Drain issue isn't squat .

 

Sometime in model year 2014 they finally revised the low-friction piston rings (implicated in runaway oil consumption), that's about the limit of "better". All years are prone to head gasket failure, ditto for brake booster.

 

If you said I am an experienced hybrid diy guy and am willing to try junkyard parts to keep my 20 year old hybrid going, then go for it.

A single parent woman I know "loved" her 2008 Prius until the refrigerant leaked requiring a $3k evaporator job. Then her catalytic converter was stolen while parked next to her son's police car. Car was sidelined for three weeks and the high deductible insurance bottom line was -$200 along with a rental car. The ac fan later failed and she could not afford the independent shop's $450 and it was going to be another two week wait. The big stuff is starting to hit and she wishes she had sold it a year ago when it was still worth something after she learned her well regarded local shop won't work on hybrid specific problems.

In your case, buying a gen2 Prius for $5k or less will not result in low cost of ownership even with good mpg (which fades with an old hybrid battery).
You will end up spending more than $2500 when the brake booster or hybrid battery goes out. Each. Then there is the catalytic converter people love to steal and you need oem to be legal in California. A $1k repair in Texas will be $4k or more in California.

Add in the annoying stuff like the special coolant valve, engine oil burning, dashboard failure, clear coat peeling and two cooling systems.

Almost all "new hybrid batteries" in the ads will be used batteries where some of the weakest modules were replaced with slightly better used modules. Result? Recurring hv battery problems every year or less. Even if you spend $2k for a "new" aftermarket version the problems don't stop. Only oem will give you ten years or more.

Most mechanics won't work on hybrids, forcing you to the dealer or one of the few hybrid aware shops. Almost all low cost scanners don't work on hybrids eliminating free scans at auto supplies.

Of the current choices I would go with the Corolla after I spent $200 for a complete inspection.

Prius c if forced to choose one of your hybrids. No Toyota hybrid is quiet. Believe it or not, a Corolla is often a better road car, can be repaired and scanned anywhere and still gets 35 mpg.

 

if you're interested in one that already had a replacement battery, make sure it is oem, and get documentation

 

What about it big guy all of those are little tiny problems that can be worked out in one afternoon in driveway. Easy fixes newest battery and no body damage . Body and paint is costly and ugly when it's bad. All the lightweight mechanical stuff on these cars is doable by videos to be honest . You'll have to buy a few tools harbor freight . Or pay . But not to dearly . These cars are part of the Corolla family which has been one of the number one selling cars for over 50 years so. That's why they still sought after . You think 20 is old for a semi garaged Toyoda ?