Buying prius w/ blown engine??

IF you had experience with this, and wanted a DIY job, maybe OK. If you have to pay someone else, you will not come out ahead, and there are possibly other things wrong that you won't uncover until later. Don't take the risk.

 

what else does the car have.. in 04.. side impact, fogs, and rear wipers were optional. there were a few other things.... (no backup camera)... tape deck (i love my tape deck)...

if i could pay only 8k for my prius (i have nav though).. i would have saved THOUSANDS.. because i financed. at least you're not going to finance. if 8k is all you want to spend in the end... you probably won't hit that target. at least you'll know it has a new engine in it though!

what's the mileage? how long has it been sitting? has the hybrid battery been removed or tampered with?

 

No. That $5k car will turn into a $10k car before it ever goes a mile. (A "hole in the engine"? How did *that* happen? and just imagine what else could be wrong with it.) Continue your original plan, which is a good one: save up until you can buy something that actually runs.

 

Hi Camil,

Its rare for Prius cars to have the engine go. Its more likely to have a motor short as an untimely cause of somebody selling it short of its usual life. That is not a terrible job, but its allot of work to replace the transmission with a used one. Both the drive motor/generators are in the transmission.

Battery failure is not going to result in junking a car, as they are relatively cheap, and very easy to replace.

There was one guy who did is own tranny replacement and its documented on Prius chat here.

If your capable with body work, then getting a salvage car might be the route for you. The insurance companies have been salvaging readily repairable vehicles, simply because they cannot be sure to have the car repaired in a timely fashion, in my opinion. Minor corner damage which is repairable, but takes Hybrid Car knowledge cars are out there. One guy on here, also meticulously detailed, went that route.

 

BTW, leather was not a factory option in 2004. So if the car has leather, this would have been an aftermarket addition.

I agree with your decision to avoid this particular vehicle. Since Prius engine failure is unheard of unless owner abuse is a factor (i.e., failure to change engine oil/filter timely), who knows what other problems the car has.

 

Patrick speaks wisely. Buy used and cared for. Somebody must have abused that car to blow the engine.

 

I am not suggesting purchase this vehicle.

A hole in the oil pan from road debris could kill a Prius (or most any other) engine in about a minute. In such a case, the only owner abuse would have been missing the (dim) oil warning light. Could happen.

I am not suggesting purchase this vehicle.

 

MY 04 IS MINt AND will take payment 9K

 

...the 04/05's don't have an oil light.. for that matter.. i'm not sure if any other models do either.


9k.. good deal for an 04.. that's only a few hundred dollars over what i owe on my 04.