Looking at Prius w/176k miles bad idea?

I'd look into why the car had a new engine and new HV battery at those mileages. That sounds rather fishy and very unusual to me. Perhaps it's is indicative of how the car was taken care of (or not).

 

It sounds like gasoline engine oil changes were frequently deferred, since the engine required replacement at 176K miles. I am concerned that the current owner didn't install a replacement engine with fewer miles than 97K. There are many salvage engines from low mile Prius available, due to the accident rate and lack of demand. This implies that the owner bought the cheapest available engine.

See this link for example. $400 plus shipping for a 2008 engine with 52K miles:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4cf3f5bb48

I wonder whether the replacement engine was correctly installed? If you are serious about this car I recommend that you take a long drive, at least one hour duration, with a mix of highway and city driving, to make sure the powertrain is completely exercised.

It's fair for you to be concerned about the remaining lifetime of the transaxle, front struts/rear shocks, brakes, catalytic converter, etc. Most likely the car will require substantial repairs to be brought up to a safe standard. Budget $3,000 for repairs unless you can DIY.

Good price: $4.5K. See kbb.com for one source of used car pricing.

Regarding the static in the speakers, the car probably needs either a replacement JBL amplifier or the stereo head unit. Either can be obtained via salvage yard, plan to spend $300 or so to fix that problem if you can DIY the work.

I agree with this relative to the engine. It's unlikely that the short traction battery life was associated with lack of maintenance.

 

Walk away from this deal. IMHO if I could not afford a Prius with a factory warranty still in effect, I would consider a new Accent with a 10 year 100K warranty and drive the wheels off of it. If you cannot afford 10K for a new car then perhaps a used car with the factory warranty still in affect. Love my Prius and I am convinced it is a quality product in every way and beats everything on the road so far. But I would be very shy about buying a used one (any car with over 80K BTW) unless I knew the owner and the full MX history or I was a Prius mechanic. These cars are very expensive to fix for major items as all cars are these days.
The problem with the Prius is that beer belly Joe down the block cannot fix it for you.


All of this reminds me I need to change my oil. LOL

 

Several years ago my son was looking at a van with 97K.

I told him to walk away that the tranny was bad even though I had not seen the car. He bought it anyway and in two weeks he paid 3k for a rebuilt tranny. it was not the original owner and it smelled like a reseller that buys high mileage vehicles and quick turns them for a profit. You will give away a 100K car on a trade BTW. The dealer then sells those to a broker.

 

sounds like a fun project car or for experimenting. daily driver? better get triple a!

 

I wouldn't touch it. I would rather have a well-maintained car with the original engine than a poorly-maintained one with a "new" engine. There is way too much opportunity for problems down the road if that swap wasn't done perfectly, not to mention whatever existing issues are waiting for you.

 

I agree with what others have said. As far as major components, the engine is the most reliable, followed closely by the hybrid battery. Now, perhaps they did blow the engine, and then let the car sit for several months before completing that repair to make the hybrid battery at too low state of charge to restart the car, so they just got another one from the junkyard rather than getting the original recharged. That's about the only plausible scenario that could explain why both of those would be replaced at nearly the same time.

That leaves the transaxle as the most expensive component yet to be parts-changed. You can expect to pay $1500-$2000 to have a salvage trans sourced and installed.

Given all of that, if you have a good independent hybrid shop in your area, AND the owner can produce receipts showing proof of having the transaxle fluid changed at least twice, THEN start your negotiations at a hundred bucks over trade-in value. If, on the other hand, your only recourse is a dealership for service and repairs, it would be better to see a car that has lower mileage and good service records.

 

Whoops... I misread/misinterpreted the original post post about when the engine was replaced. :redface: :embarassed: The need to replace an engine due to low oil doesn't give me good vibes about how well the car was taken care of.

 

You don't need us to tell you what you already know. Go to www.toyota.com/owners where you can register the VIN & see the dealer service history.

This may be a fine deal if you want a project car. If you want a reliable daily driver look elsewhere.

 

Hmm...going totally on unseen instinct? Flipping The Magic 8 ball over....I see...Try Again Later....

I'd back away slowly....

 

Survey says RUN don't WALK away from this steal.

 

If you're a DIY'er, offer $4000. If you're not and price is an issue, do as suggested above and get the newest hyundai accent you can afford.