Looking for a reliable prius gen2 to buy this October

HI Andoo,

I live an hour south of Bellevue in Olympia... I have 245K miles on my Prius and it runs great... 90% of the miles are I-5 to California and back every couple months. Of course I doubt you want something so well worn.

But private message me and I'd be happy to help you find something... I rebuild hybrid battery packs for friends and family and have spare loaner packs, spare parts for all the most common Prius problems. I'd be happy to help you...

In my opinion, the dream situation for you is a low mileage Gen2 that's for sale from original owner and has a bad battery pack. That way we show up, put in a new or rebuilt pack and and a new 12v and an hour later you drive off paying pennies on the dollar for the best car you'll ever own. Of course those aren't so easy to find...

 

Honestly, the way the economy has been, and as expensive as new cars are, people are holding onto their cars longer than ever before.
Also, people who drive for Lyft, Uber etc want cars like the Prius because more MPG = more profit.
Before I purchased this prius, I could not find ANYTHING within 150 miles that did not:
A. Have high (Over 150k) miles.
B. Was very rusted out.
C. Have a V6 or V8 engine or otherwise got less than 38 on the highway.
Not for $3,000...but $6,000!
I ended up spending $6500 on this Prius which ended up being $7,095 with tax, title and tags.
A little more than I wanted to spend, but at least it was cash and I don't have a payment.
I figure the extra spend will be made up in gas savings.

As others have said, look at the records. If the hybrid battery has been replaced within the last year or so, your already $1,000+ ahead.
"MyCarFax" has free service record history. I also think most Toyota shops can pull records from other Toyota shops, because for whatever reason MyCarFax does not always show Toyota service records.

As far as "not burning oil", any engine is going to burn a little oil. As the more it is driven the more it will use.
In fact, Subaru calls "one quart every 1,000-1,200 miles normal oil consumption". Yes, I'm not making that up, and that is considered acceptable for a brand new car! BWM is even worse at 750 miles. Audi is somewhere around the same range.

There really is no fast way to check for oil consumption other than looking for blue smoke when the car is first started, if it's "been a while" since the oil was changed, you could always pull the dipstick out and see if it's low.

IIRC, the Prius transaxle and transmission run on the same fluid system. I do know the Prius is not sensitive to longer fluid changes. I've seen some with 200k miles and they run fine. Keep in mind the transmission is all electronic, there is nothing to "slip". It does not have clutches or a torque converter.

As you mentioned, make sure the 12v battery is good. If it's over 5 years old, replace it anyway. Batteries usually fail during extreme heat or winter and I've seen them fail without warning. I would also add $200 to how much you wish to spend if it has been replaced recently, as that is around what a new AGM for the Prius costs.

Honestly, I would rather have a Prius with 150k on the clock with a new hybrid battery then one with 100k that is going out.
The engine used in Gen II should last a long time if properly maintained. I don't think I would even worry about oil consumption unless your talking about a '10 that had issue with that.

 

Excited to work with someone who has done their homework! So much more fun that way...
A few thoughts...

-- Dr. Prius and Hybrid Assistant + Report have some really valuable features, but their tests for battery pack health are often panned and are not accepted as accurate tests... A spreadsheets of battery pack data over time is super valuable, but only as good as the amount of money you spend in diagnostic gear... I'm the under $2K DIY diagnostic gear guy and my buddy in eastern Oregon is in the $30K diagnostic gear guy. The difference in that regard is worth every penny.

-- Gen2 Prius engines have far fewer issues than Gen3. I suspect a shop with smog equipment might be able to determine oil burn, but haven't researched this enough to be certain.

-- I regularly am looking at all things Prius on Seattle Craigslist so private message me when you're ready for me to start sending you links to your best options currently available.
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