Buying Gen 2 Prius/Advice/Help

Hello everyone. In May of 2017 I'll be coming off of my 14' Nissan Leaf lease. I've only got 1 year & 4 months. I really love my Leaf and it will pain me to return it. I just really want to be able to travel again and use the highway over distances. I can't be restricted anymore.

I've pretty much decided that I'm going to purchase a 2nd Gen Prius. Of course I'd like a Gen 3 but they are more expensive, so I'll get a Gen 2 and like it. However, my second option would be a Honda Civic Hybrid. My budget is $6,000. I use Autotrader to search around (100 Mile radius). Now, I've seen many Gen 2 Prius for sale in this region for $6,000 or less but they all seem to have over 100K miles on them. Prius seem to command a high price even at over 100K Miles! That seems high to me, but I also realize its an advanced Hybrid vehicle and they have been known to last.

I did search just to see what the Civic Hybrids go for under $6,000, and they are going for a slightly lower price and lower mileage. The Civic Hybrids for sale in my region are selling with 70-90K Miles on them for around $5K-6K. I really don't care too much for the Civic Hybrid though, and I'm a Toyota fan. I appreciate and love the Prius, but I would nonetheless settle for a Civic Hybrid. I just DO NOT want to go back to a pure ICE car. No way! My long-term goal is to get into something like a Volt, so I can drive EV most of the time. I absolutely love that aspect of my current Leaf.

I realize I have a ways to go until my Nissan Leaf lease is through, but I really want to get a feel for the market for the Prius. I don't want to be surprised when my lease is up and I'm out looking at cars.

I've been training, and on Autotrader I'll look at the offerings and ask myself "Which one looks like the best deal. If I had to choose, which would be best", I sorta train myself.

Is it smart to buy a Gen 2 Prius with over 100K Miles on it? What is there to look out for when buying? Should I take the Prius (before purchase) to a Toyota dealer for an inspection? Should I bring a scantool with me to pull any codes? What should I ask the seller?

For example: Is this a good deal? It doesn't provide a Carfax, only an AutoCheck report that you've got to pay for. I've seen this online for a little while now and It looks like a deal to me. I always think, "lowest mileage for lowest Price" but I don't know. I don't have any experience in buying a Hybrid, let alone a Prius.

Any help and or advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

2005 Toyota Prius 2nd Gen- 113,279 Miles
Cars for Sale: 2005 Toyota Prius in Akron, OH 44314: Hatchback Details - 412224386 - Autotrader

 

Yeah, I don't really care for the Civic Hybrid either (or any other Mild Hybrid for that matter). I agree that they underperform and don't have all the benefits of a hybrid like the Prius.

I'm just going to get a Prius. After thinking about it for a while, I think I'd rather get a Prius (along with any unforseen risks) then buy a vehicle that I wouldn't be happy with. The Prius is far superior anyhow.

 

Wow, thank you for the great information. I've never purchased a hybrid vehicle before. I've been a fan for years but the rest of my family is very skeptical (apart from a few). I just don't want to buy a Prius and have them say "If you'd have bought a regular car...". But, I've had friends and people I've know buy a used Prius and not have a single issue. So I think I'll try my best to investigate a Prius well before purchasing.

I'm not a mechanic/technician but I do no how to perform maintence items and I've been studying the Prius/Hybrids/EVs since 2008. I've just never actually went about purchasing a Prius/Hybrid. I've owned 3 cars; 94' Dodge Shadow, 95' Oldsmobile 88, and now 14' Nissan Leaf. My Dodge Shadow & Olds 88 were bought from friedns of the family. I new everything about them and my dad even worked on them too.

I never had to investigate or really plan anything when leasing my Leaf since it was brand new from the factory (it had 43 Miles on it). I'm only leasing it anyhow.

This is all new to me. I appreciate all the help I can get. I will look into other threads discussing this as well .

Wow! That's nice that you've not had any problems from it. I've always known that the Prius is a reliable car, just that things do brake down over time and age. But, sounds like you got a nice Prius. I hope I'm as lucky as you when I go to investigate and purchase a used Prius of my own.

Unfortunately, I my budget dictates no more than $6,000 and that seems to mean Prius with mileages of 100-200K. I've got some time before my lease it up (May 2017), so I've got time to save and look at Prius.

That's a lot to take in! Thank you for the information, I do appreciate it. I've never purchased a used Hybrid (let alone Prius) before, I'm new to vehicles this sophisticated. I'm not a mechanic/technician,but I do know some things (such as maintenance items). I've looked into Hybrids/EVs since 2008 online, but never personally owned a Hybrid or worked on them. I leased my Leaf brand new and didn't have anything like this to think about since it was new.

But, I have indeed decided I will buy a used Prius. I think if I investigate/research a used Prius well enough I could find a nice one. Since my budget limits me I use Autotrader to find Prius within my budget. Here in Toledo Ohio we have a very limited selection, let alone any below $6,000. Prius for sale here are pretty much only new and in expensive dealerships. We aren't really a big market for hybrids/EVs so I have to search in a 100Mile radius to find any.

But, I do see many decent looking Prius far away from Toledo. I've got time to look since my current Leaf Lease isn't up until May 2017.

Thank you for the help.

 

Well that makes me feel a little better. I have no problem replacing the Hybrid traction battery. That's to be expected like you said. I will just have to keep up on the maintenance aspect of it. I don't have a problem with that. But, hopefully the Hybrid traction battery doesn't fail right away after I get the car. I understand there is no way of telling, but it would suck if it failed right away. I hope it waits til its closer to 200K miles before conking out.

 

Yes, see that's where I'm going to have a little trouble. I'll only have so much money to spend on the whole thing ($6,000 or so). I think I could always try to talk the seller down to trim money off the price. Any money I trim off I could plan on using for maintenance & repairs. $6000 is approximate. I could go over that (possibly to $7,000) but I'm trying to retain money for other things.

Worst case scenario I could always get repairs done and charge it to make installments on it. I'll just have to do what it takes I suppose.

 

Yes, in retrospect it would have. I found that out a while into the lease. I actually can afford it, that's not an issue. Its combination of things.

Well, you see, I live with my family and pay next to nothing to live where I live (practically free). That freed up money to use towards leasing a new car. Originally my plan was to lease a Nissan Leaf and then buy it at the end of the lease. That way if I didn't like it, battery tech improved, or etc I wouldn't be stuck with it. Another big time reason for me leasing is that at the time (May 2014) Nissan offered really crazy deals on their new Leafs. I got to lease this car for $285/month @ 0% APR for 36 months (plus 497 extra miles for taking the floor model). I traded in my 1995 Oldsmobile 88 for a $1000 down payment (to reduce my lease payment) as well. My Oldsmobile was getting old and was coming up on more repairs. I actually haven't missed a payment, nor had any trouble at that. I've been sailing right through my lease without any issues. On paper I can afford it since I live with family. The thing is, if I ever want to move out of living with family I must get rid of the payments. That's why I can't keep it after the lease (it'll still have $12,000 to pay off to own). I want to move out and live within my OWN means, independently.

The reason I want to hand my Leaf in at lease's end (and not buy it as originally planned) is because I want move out of my family's house and move to Florida. When my lease is up I've like to hand my Leaf in, find a used Prius, and then drive it down to Florida. I love my Leaf but it could never make it to Florida with all my stuff loaded up, and at highway speeds (I-75). In a couple years its battery will whittle down and I wouldn't want to be stuck with a reduced range. When I decided to get the Leaf I had never planned on living elsewhere (I had planned to stay in Toledo, OH forever) but since then my life has changed somewhat. I also want to be able to take road-trips again in the future, or travel across Florida freely for whatever reason. I don't want to limit myself on where I can go and do. The Leaf is nice but I've come to see its shortcomings. I need to be able to have that freedom of travel back. Because of the very limited amount of EV charging stations around my town (Toledo, Ohio) I can't even really leave town. In Summer I may be able to get 60-65 highway miles, but in Winter I couldn't make it since I'm limited to a mere 50 miles City range (35-40 highway) due to cold temps sapping the battery.

The reason for the limited budget of $6,000 is because I have to save up money for when I want to move to Florida. I am saving money along the way to the end of my lease ($100/week). By then I plan on saving a decent amount of money and I can't spend it all on a used Prius. Of my total savings (in May 2017) I have to retain some for living in Florida and allocate some for a used vehicle. My plan is to save up $12,000, then $6,000 will go towards a used Prius. That'll leave $6,000 remaining to live off of when I get to Florida. I can adjust those values up or down as needed. I could spend a little more on a used Prius (like $7,000), but then I'd have less for Florida. I think it would be unwise to go any higher than $6,000 since I need as much money as possible for Florida. Also, I've seen what seem to be decent used Prius on Autotrader. I figure I would then make necessary repairs to my used Prius as needed (as you guys have mentioned here). I don't need a brand new car really. I now just want a nice Prius that runs well and I can afford myself.

Looking back I very much wish I would've got a small bank loan, got a nice low-mileage used Prius (such as one for $12,000), and by now I would've had it almost all payed off. But, I didn't know I would ever want to move way back in May 2014. Whats done is done and I'm just trying get back to square one here. One things for sure, I'll most likely never lease again.

 

So do I, lol. Thank you.

 

I had thought of that as a possible alternative, however I just do not under any circumstances want to downgrade back to another pure ICE vehicle. After coming this far with getting my Leaf, I just don't want to have to return to that reality. Hybrid & EVs are so much better than ICEs. The Prius has many of the same things as my Leaf. The Prius has Push button start, Keyless entry, Smart Key, Computer screen, an Electric Motor, can operate somewhat on electric power, and gets massively better MPGs than anything else on the road.

This is almost the same as my Leaf, only it has limited EV power and a gas engine too.

I would almost rather deal with maintenance/repair costs of a high mileage Prius than go back to a pure ICE. I think if I can find a good 2nd gen Prius and then even if the battery goes, I can replace it and keep on rolling for another 100K-150K miles possibly. If I maintain it well, I think I could have it a long while (as others have suggested).

I think it's important to buy what you like. It would bite to buy something I had to drive everyday and hate it.