Considering a 2002

Not to discredit the original, but if your budget can afford it you would be better off with a gen2. IMHO.

I've heard that the gen1's battery management system was not as effective as the gen2's resulting in far greater cell failure rates than the gen2's. I would look into this issue closely before committing.

 

Is the dealer offering a warranty for it?

It's worthwhile to pay a different dealer to thoroughly check it out. If it is a salvaged car run far far away from it. Otherwise $6900 could be a reasonable price, especially if the high-voltage battery pack has already been replaced.

 

I am afraid Bikr357's opinion may not be entirely correct. The battery management system on first and second gen and even 3rd gen operate on very similar principles and are not markedly different. And they are never really the cause of any battery failure I have heard of. I have a 2002 and have had absolutely no problems with my car, and it has 90,000 miles. Toyota gave the 2002 Prius an 8 year/120,000 mile warranty (so does the emissions system!), so you are covered still. The original Prius is still my favourite, and I find that it has more trunk space than the gen 2. We went camping recently, and we were trying to decide which Prius to take. We laughed when he could not fit 3/4 of what I could fit in my Trunk. Plus his was dangerously packed over the top of the back seat. While my trunk has a subwoofer and still had room to spare.

This is not to say that you will not have any problems with it. I have a good friend who has a prius with way over 190,000 miles on his, and its been very good so far. In my opinion also, the Gen 1 is a slightly sportier drive too, and I drive both generations several times a week. But in the end its personal preference. If you need any other help or advice, I would only be too happy to answer.

PS. As a condition of sale, I would make the following demands: Make sure of the condition of the tires. If they are too low, tell them you want the tires changed ($280). Also tell them you want to have the CVT transmission fluid replaced (Cost is $95). Have the 12V battery condition checked (make sure its over 11.5-12V with the car off, you can check this out yourself actually! it will save you about $120!!!). Also ask to have the inverter radiator/engine radiator fluid changed as well ($140). Trust me, they will do it for you at no charge to yourself, they already factor this in to their markup costs. In all you will have saved yourself a lot of money and ensured the reliability of your Prius for quite some time. I assure you that I did it when I bought my Prius, and they were only too happy to do so after a little bit of prodding. In fact I demended this too when my pal bought his 2006 too. So it can be done. I wish you all the best and hope you buy a great car!

 

Our 2002 we bought in new 2001 was the best car We have ever owned.
Only repair we ever paid for was replacing a rear wheel bearing for $211, The car gave us 135K of trouble free miles. We traded it in to the dealer for $5500 in June. They put it on their lot for $8999, it sold in 2 days I do not know for how much. Our car was like new only wear that showed was on drivers side floor mat. It was the Lavender. Had CD, DRL, WL and SAB

A friend of mine just traded his in it is on the lot in Evansville In
http://www.kennykenttoyota.com/used...tm?vehicleId=5b17f7b27f0000010035ee495ac58234

 

As mentioned above, you should always seek out the service history. You should never go for their price. Below retail is whatever you say it is! These are used car salesman after all.

Most of the classic Prius have been extremely satisfying, and a few have been quite vexing. The trick is to find out which kind this one is -