Looking for 2 cars - considering my first 2 gen

I have a nice 2009 (135k miles package "5" with navigation) I'd let go under $8k, but it is located in Southern California
Good luck

 

I buy mine for 700 to 1200 in pretty nice clean shape usually leather . Etc might need brake actuator or a battery . At that money it's expected. I don't have 2500 in any of them..can be had easily. Towing lots now call me at times.

 

In Lexington Kentucky you should have no problem The above poster with the GPS '08 model that he would sell for under $8,000 You should be able to find in Kentucky for about $3,300 if that's what you wanted to do but a lot more of them in tow lots and holding yards. Depending upon what it takes to get a title in Kentucky it may be easier or less easier than where I am here in North Carolina some states make it real difficult they want old cars off the road but generally HEV and p h e v cars they shouldn't be dinging you for trying to bring back to life as well that should be bringing back a 64 Cadillac is another story. And the story above for the under $8,000 with GPS 2008 that's everybody's story everybody who has a Prius thinks now it's worth $9,000 and they're not going to do anything battery failing break actuator gone rips in the side bolster of the driver seat leather or that ugly velor tan color blah blah blah everybody now thinks their car's worth nine grand and herein is the problem I go look at these cars in the most ignorant people come out of the house and start spewing that garbage and I look at them and yes ma'am you sure do You've got a gold mine here drive off a year from now that car will now be moved to the side of the shed blah blah blah and I stopped there again in the same people come out and now they're ready to let me get it for $500 because at $9,000 gold mine that everybody told them all their friends said blah blah blah was absolutely a pile of poop. Their friends are the kind of people that sold their generation to to buy into the generation 3 and now are back in their pickup truck because well you know the story with the Gen 3. So most people spewing this nonsense have no idea of anything they're talking about they just want eight or nine grand because they saw someone else advertised for it somewhere and then there are stupid people that will come out and pay this and then they are all right here on this or other list the next day with a list of purported problems of their $8,500 car that they just purchased in mint condition from the marketplace yeah exactly.

 

A Gen 2 would make a good first car, especially if you're going to be teaching them how to do their own vehicle maintenance. It's been my experience that a Gen 2 is a very friendly DIY vehicle. There are also a few lessons learned about driving a car. Unless you're planning on teaching them more than a little about doing their own maintenance, or have plenty of time to work on your already existing Gen 1 and Gen 3 maintenance too.

$4K each may be stretching it a little. At that price, there's probably at least one issue with the "clean used cars" you'll probably have to address. After that, not too bad, up to a point. I've seen quite a few Gen 2's that look fairly nice from a distance. But when you get close you see a lot of neglected maintenance - yellow/foggy headlights, missing plastic fender liners and body panels, trashed interiors...

 

You can do all that mess yourself without much trouble The brake bleeding issue is the big deal but now you can get scanners in the $300 range that will net you a good job so if you're going to own one of these cars you'll probably be needing a scanner that's capable of doing that but yes all of this is doable in your driveway even in your apartment complex because most of these jobs can be done like on a Saturday when the ladies not around boom

 

As I understand it (never having done one), yes, but software is needed to bleed the system properly. Toyota's Techstream or as stated above, a "midrange" or better scanner.

Any gen 2's you may find that still have the original battery you should budget to replace that. Not too hard to do but it helps to have a buddy when wrestling the somewhat heavy but awkwardly shaped pack into and out of the car. If the battery is not the original one then you may still need to replace it, as it could be anything from an OEM replacement to a fly by night module swapper special.

Check underneath for rust. Probably not a problem for KY cars, but how do you know it didn't spend 10 years in MA?

 

if you need cheap cars for your kids, why put them in old priuseses? Over the long term they could save a lot more in Corollas or Matrixes or Yarises or tC's or iAs or...

 

The Toyota Prius Gen 2 is a very good choice but a similar Corolla might be easier and cheaper for DIY. The issues with Gen 2 are well documented with plenty of info definitely easy/moderate DIY.

• Inverter pump $
• Combination meter $$
• 3-way valve $
• Brake actuator $$$
• Wheel bearing hubs $$
• Water pump $
• HV battery $$$