Considering buying a gen 2 Prius. Need advice.

Found it: 2G Prius (2004-2009) Standard and Optional Equipment (Some Countries) | PriusChat

 

Btw I'm in the camp of the Prius being the best car I ever owned. I've owned something like 27 cars over my lifetime, and as far as reliability and cost of ownership this one takes the cake. Best $8200 I've ever spent (back in 2013).

 

WOW, I counted up ours and we have also had 27 over the years, only two new.

Of those, the lowest CPM was the 2004 Grand Marquis - we put 165k on it over 10 years for a total in depreciation & repairs (not oil, tires and brakes) of about $2500! It only required one "repair" due to a crack in the coolant passage in the intake manifold, which was (is) a well known issue with them and we expected it.

It is *possible* we will put 160k on the Prius over the next 9 years, but I doubt it will have lower repair bills. That Marquis was an unusually reliable car and it got decent mileage for a 6 passenger RWD; granted only 1/2 of what the Prius gets

 

That's impressive about that Grand Marquis. That could explain why so many taxi cabs in the past were Crown Vic's/Grand Marquis..low cost per mile. And could explain why we now see a lot of Prius and Camry's now.

You must have gotten a heck of a bargain on that 04 Mercury when you bought it! Did you factor gas expenditures on the Merc? Prius might close the gap in that department, but costs to repair can get high as an HV gets factored in.

 

Yup, we "stole" it due to minor hail damage and high (65k) mileage at 18 months new.

 

caused by insufficient maintenance

 

Not really. It inspected fine thru 2001 and MNDOT is known world-wide as progressive, they do a comparatively good job of maintenance.

 

Touring is basically suspension/tire/wheel differences to improve the ride - IMO TOTALLY worth it.

HIDs were in their relative infancy at this time, I wouldn't purchase a car with them based on the experiences of other PC members. That being said, if the car was WELL maintained and no one jacked with the headlight system (different bulbs, aftermarket ballast, wreck repair), they should be ok.

 

Congratulations on your new car!

Most auto parts stores (Napa, Auto Zone, O'Reilly, etc.) have a configurator on their website where you can select parts for specific vehicles. If you list your vehicle as a 2007 Prius, the correct parts should come up.

Here's a link to a PDF of a 2007 Prius maintenance schedule: https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/07ToyMS_MS0003/pdf/07ToyMS_MS0003.pdf

 

Should being the operative word.

As a low volume buyer of car parts, I have no way to verify whether a 3rd party part is equivalent to (or better than) the OEM part, so I just buy the OEM. I don't buy many parts, so even if the OEM part is more expensive (which it isn't any time I have done comparisons) I am prepared to pay the additional amount for peace of mind that the part is the correct one. Further, if any issue was to come up in the future, and I need Toyota to fix it, I know they won't be able to wiggle out of it and blame me. Only genuine parts used on this car, sir.

Just my two cents, take it or leave it.

 

EXCELLANT! Condition, condition and maintenance are the trifecta of value.

Rip them out! Get some replacement HL assemblies from the salvage yard, cut the wires off them as far back as you can and then install. typically retrofit jobs cut the wires at or near the headlamp connectors, so matching everything up should be mostly painless. I advise you remove the bumper cover for this project and plan on a day-long deal once all the parts are in hand, JIC.

I think the Owner's guide lists NGK and DENSO numbers, I used NGKs, they had been replaced previously. Yes, they are Iridium, both electrodes.

 

I used Denso brand from Toyota dealership in my Prius that had 185K miles the plugs looked shot --- but I didn't notice any improvement in performance except the gas mileage went up by about 3-4mpg (but my case is very rare --- it is a gen 3 that was getting 35-36mpg!).

Anyways, on your gen 2 I would highly recommend spending the $5 on PCV valve while you do the spark plugs...The valve is pretty much just to the right of the furthest to the right ignition coil. You'll have to take the windshield wiper assembly off to get to plugs/valve but it's very easy.

The other thing that you should do is drain and refill the trans fluid...Parts are $50 and doesn't take long...I think the dealership only charges $160 parts/labor. It's a 30 minute job if you are taking your time.