Good deal? $4600 for a 2006 Prius.

If carfax and the Toyota website when fed the VIN don’t put up red flags, great.
Obviously the traction battery needs replacing, 2500$ installed by a Toyota dealer for a new factory battery, five more years of like new mpg’s.

If the 12v is older than four years replace it.
I’d replace the struts, change the brake fluid and run great rubber.

 

To get a no interest loan on a used car is great, but not the best idea for friends. If the car breaks, you would have a hard time paying your friend because of car repair costs, and that's where the friendship gets affected.

The price is reasonable but you are looking to get another hv battery in the near future. With a new battery, the car can probably go many years without major issues.

Avoid the refurbished batteries, they are not good unless you are just looking to buy a little time

 

Couple of things.....feel free to skip to the Reader's Digest version below:

1.) In my never to be humbled opinion, borrowing money from friends is a non-starter....and I never ever never EVER lend money to a friend.
Ever. If somebody who is a friend needs money....I give it to them.

B. If you're short on cash, a 2006 G2 in immaculate condition will either be the best car you've ever bought, or your worst nightmare.
The determining factor will be your ability to maintain and troubleshoot the car....which is super easy for the G2 given the number of YouTube videos and free advice on friendly forums like this one.
If you have about $200 worth of hand tools, a set of car ramps, and a multimeter...and a place to work on a car, AND you already perform all of your own car maintenance, I would go for it in a heartbeat.....BUT....
I have some familiarity with basic automotive maintenance, and I have a basic working knowledge of many things Prius, AND I have backup transportation.
More importantly, I can write a check for a heart-lung transplant on the car if anything goes bad including the battery.
(see below.)

III.) Batteries go bad...but it's usually the bus that you DON'T see that turns you into an organ/tissue donor.
Priuses also have regenerative brakes, Inverters, strange motor-generator windings in the [sic] transaxle, in addition to all of the normal things that a teenage car has that might leave you walking down the road with your thumb out.

IIIa.) The battery is really not a big deal.
If you've ever used a multimeter and you have exactly $5 worth of Harbor Freight tools, and you are physically capable of lifting/moving about 100 pounds, then you can tinker with the battery.....IF(!!!)....you are comfortable working around large batteries.
I've read....in this very forum, recently, where somebody has spent 400 bucks for a battery pack from a bone yard and gotten a good replacement. Even if the replacement battery pack is "bad" it very VERY likely has some good cells in it which you can use to breathe some life into your car.
If all else fails, you can get a remanufactured battery for less than $1500....sometimes MUCH less, which would be less than the cost of ANY major repair on any 12 year old car.

Four.) You live in the California, which have these curious places where a VET is not someplace to take a sick pet.
Make sure that your dream car isn't a drinker or a smoker!
The reason for this is that if you own a car where you have to fill up the oil and check the gas instead of the other way around...it's only a minor problem in 49 out of 50 states because Toyotas seem to be able to run for an additional 100,000 miles when they're smoking like John Wayne used to...but if you trash your catalytic converter in Caly, it can get a little more complicated.
That's a rather esoteric Prius problem, but it's indicative of some of the pitfalls that might sneak up and bite you on the backside.


Reader's Digest version below:

I would buy the car in a second....but I had the patience and the experience and knowledge write everything I wrote above.
Opinions may vary about some of the things that I wrote - understandably, but if you skipped to the last chapter of this particular book, then G2 Prius ownership might not be your thing, because YOU ARE going to have to read and digest all manner of information and decide on which course YOU need to plot to operate and maintain this particular car.

Good Luck!

 

Sounds exactly like my car....miles driven and all.
Aside from battery going, there are a couple of other costly generic issues with older Gen2, including Brake Actuator issue and Combo meter issue, and recently my Inverter Water Pump just died (we are recently thinking maybe 80,000 miles could be an approximate life of those)...also my MFT (video screen does not respond to touch anymore - funny I have a friend with a 2009 and hers is also same behavior). Turns out you don't need video screen too much but awful nice to have...

Unfortunately we do not have statistics on the %frequency of the above failures to be able to calculate your chances of success. I am thinking for me to trade up to a new vehicle soon. $4600 sounds good...let's see what Virginia thinks my car is worth as we get taxed on the car value every year - they had me at $4800 in 2016 so gotta believe down to approaching $4000 this year.

If I thought I had a good chance of minimizing impact of those potential repairs. for example if I lived near Lucious Garage in SFO, then that helps. It is really a super duper car, but at that age of vehicle you need to be a little careful.

 

welcome!
how is your piggy bank for multiple thousand dollar repairs?

 

Those guys just scared the hell out of me, and my Prius is not even 3 years old yet.