need help buying first Prius

welcome to priuschat! i'm not qualified to answer your questions, but i'm sure someone who is will come along. all the best with your purchase!

 

Are you sure there's no aux input? Look inside the center console, toward the bottom of the front panel, near the second cigarette lighter.

I think the component of the Prius that has the hardest time with being seldom-driven is the 12v aux battery. Ask/check to see if it's been replaced. The Optima Yellow Top is a popular replacement (deep-cycle design) that holds up much better to being seldom-driven and usually has a much longer overall life span than the stock, lead-acid aux battery.

***edit. I've been made aware that most original 12v aux batteries in Prii are AGM...my parents and I just ended up with some of the few flooded ones. Me aculpa.***

One thing to check is to make sure the engine water pump isn't leaking. Look down the left side of the engine, near the bottom, for the large, black water pump pulley. Look inside it for pink, crusty buildup that indicates coolant seepage. The pump can be replaced by a DIYer for about $100, or dealer service departments charge about $390. That's the only repair I've run into so far.

There should have been a few recalls performed, such as the inverter coolant pump replacement, steering shaft, and accel pedal trim (not all cars qualified for all the recalls). Inquire about them.

Otherwise, just check up on the maintenance, test-drive, crawl around and check for leaks, inspect the fluids, check for strange tire wear...the usual stuff.

Good luck!

 

Oh, I guess they didn't get the aux input 'till 2006. You can use an FM modulator or install an aftermarket head unit.

 

Or if you have a cassette deck in it like my 05 does, LOL, you can use a cassette adapter - which is what I use. But only the top end stereos had both a six disk CD changer and cassette deck in them, I think.

 

An 05 with 35k, wow. Has it been well cared for? In reality, these vehicles are very reliable. Start it up in the dealer parking lot, leave the heater off, let it run until the engine shuts off automatically. Get in, right after it shuts off, (don't turn on the heater), reset the main display (MFD) and switch to the Energy screen, drive a combination of about 20 minutes of combined city/hwy driving (don't exceed 70mph and maintain a steady speed on the hwy, use cruise if necessary), observe the MFD looking for rapid increase and decrease from full charge to low charge. Ideally, the battery will stay at 5 or 6 blue bars but may go down lower or up higher. The key is, no rapid swings from low to high. After 20 min, switch to "Consumption" screen and not the average mpg. It should be around 38-48 but no less than 35. If you want to drive some more and you got good readings, turn the heater on now and drive. The car may act differently and get different mpg but if it passed the earlier test, your ok.

Other than that, check the oil, look for the right level and brownish/black color (not black). Check all the other fluids. Look it over, ask for maintenance records etc, the same thing as with any other used car.

Good luck

 

"An 05 with 35k, wow. Has it been well cared for?"
In particular, has it had engine oil and oil filter changes at least annually? Sometimes, very low mileage cars don't get the periodic maintenance they need. A low miles car needs an engine oil change at least annually to get condensation out of the engine crankcase.

 

I came from a truck to a Prius as well and have NEVER looked back. 15mpg to 50mpg FTW.

 

Same here. The money savings is amazing! I should have bought one of these long ago

 

Best of luck. Hope all goes well and hoping to welcome you to the Prius community.