Buying process: '06 Prius, high mileage but good condition

I'm still kind of in shock -- we started the process to buy an '06 Prius yesterday!

It has 125k miles. We went to look at it very wary of that high mileage. We expected it to show its age on a test drive -- but instead it performed beautifully. We'd test-driven an '03 and an '09 before, and taken copious notes on our observations. This '06 rode more smoothly, ran quieter, accelerated better than even the '09. We were amazed.

The Carfax report showed:

• The previous owner was downright obsessive about maintenance. The car went to the dealer for oil changes every 3,000 (not 30,000, ha!) miles on the dot, and had all scheduled maintenance right on time.
• It had the inverter water pump changed when there was a recall.
• It had the spark plugs changed.

And following the advice in the "What every newb should know" sticky thread, we had our independent mechanic -- who knows Priuses -- inspect it thoroughly. He stated:

• The engine is very clean inside, showing the effects of the regular oil changes
• The brakes are in great shape, good "indefinitely"
• All electrical systems, displays, etc. check out great
• The computer isn't throwing any codes
• The alignment looks good; tires don't show any unusual or problematic wear patterns
• Tires aren't brand new, but will last about 15k miles

Our mechanic warned us that at 125k, we're getting into the range where it's possible the hybrid battery will go, and that's an expensive repair. Since he works on a lot of Priuses, I asked him what his experience has been -- what mileage does he see the batteries go? He said "Well, it's always over 100k when it happens. But I actually see very few of them go."

That confirmed what I'd read about the battery, particularly here. I'd been worried about battery replacement, but between you guys and my mechanic, I've been convinced that worry is overblown. It's a possibility, sure -- but there's a good chance it won't happen.

I also read here that many people notice a drop in gas mileage before their hybrid battery goes. The display of this car showed an average of 45.3 MPG over the last 300 miles; over our 30-mile test drive to and from the mechanic, it showed 52 MPG. So the gas mileage seemed to be OK.

My husband and I have been researching Priuses extensively for a while (including reading the forums here!). We looked at this car because my Corolla got totaled last week (rear-ended by a big SUV!), we needed to replace it, and we were looking for a car in the $12k or less price range. Mostly we'd been looking at used Corollas in that range, but when he saw this Prius online, he wanted to check it out.

So the miles are high, but the physical condition of the car is great. Since our research showed that Priuses tend to follow the Toyota reliability tradition, I'm a lot less worried about that 125k miles than I might be on another car. My old Corolla was a 2001 with 135k miles, and it was still going very strong (even with an owner who was less obsessive about oil changes than she should have been… ) Our plan is to be just as obsessive about maintenance as the previous owner; I think we'll be rewarded with a car that serves us well.

We made an offer on it. We were ultimately only able to knock $700 off the asking price -- $11,900 to $11,200. Gas prices are shooting up, and Priuses are flying off lots; the seller knew that someone would buy it, and we knew it too.

Yes, we could have bought a newer, lower-mileage used Corolla for the same price. But we test-drove some of those, and this Prius drove and sounded better even than they did. And 45-50 mpg will be fantastic to have -- especially this summer, as I fully expect the gas prices to hit $4.

We'll be picking it up next week. I can't wait!

 

Ha, by 30k I totally meant 3k. Got lost in all the miles there…