Need help: should I get this prius?

Cameron,

I would say 'No' - basically because, if it has been a taxi previously, it's been used and abused. And yes, I would seriously worry about the battery as well. I am not sure how many documented cases we have with a Prius with that many miles and the original batteries.

My other concerns are the difficulty starting the car, and the lag from pressing on the gas. Sounds like there might be a lot of hidden issues.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Spend some time searching this site on how the prius operates and drive the car. Any number of things may be nearly worn out on a car with 250K miles, but this may still be a good deal for you.

The battery is not an item that you replace at a fixed time. If it works, it may continue working for a long time. Like any car that young (in years), replacement parts are available on ebay, etc from crashed cars.

For a used car, I like to use the formula of 70% of the cost new times the percentage of life the car has left. For a $25K car 3/4 done, I'm not interested in paying more than ~$3500.

Good luck!

 

6600? wow. kbb value, fair condition, based on generic options at 250k is still over 10 grand.

6600 is less than we owe on our 05 purchased new, i know that's no gauge of anything but i thought i'd comment anyway.

explain the hard to start issue. if there were battery problems, you'd see a light on the dash indicating a problem. the system is very picky in monitoring the batteries. and there is at least 1 2nd gen prius out there with well over 300k on the original batteries.

the prius gas pedal has a very different feeling than a regular car. i'm currently driving our other car, and the gas and brake are nowhere near similar. it's an adjustment each time we swap cars. if you have to press down further on the pedal, that's nothing new. but what happened with the starting issue? it's not like there's a starter, you step on the brake and press a button, the thing turns on. were you just not sure what to expect?

lastly, understand that ANY car purchased at 250k miles is GOING to need some work. this holds true for any car anywhere used for any purpose. expect to throw some money into it for the sake of keeping it in good running shape, that's pretty normal for a car like this. have you checked for oil leaks, axle seal leaks, cracked cv boots, all the standard stuff? tires? good tires aren't cheap and chances are for that price they're not new. how about service records?

you can't expect to drop 6600 and be done, i'll tell you straight up to plan on spending more than that. but it is a good deal provided the car has been taken care of reasonably.

 

The slight pause when you floor it from a stop is normal, when it goes after a half second it makes up for it by leaping forward.
Not sure what you mean by hard to start, if you press the power button with your foot on the brake and the ready light comes on it's started. The engine doesn't need to start.
250,000 miles seems like a lot to me but the engine has never been cold in it's short life I would assume. Don't assume the battery will die, if it feels strong it most likely is strong. Not sure where you are so hard to comment on price.

I think if a car looks straight and drives well, why not? if the price is right.

 

IMHO.. paying $6600 for a car w/ 250K miles is just silly, unless it's an old Benz or something with that "classic" look/status.

If you want to pay under $6k and get a good car w/ great gas mileage, look @ the 190E 2.3. That's just my opinion.

 

My 2 cents say 250k on a 2005 is way too many miles. Should be needing a lot of work and you will be dropping some big coin into a car that has 250k miles on it.

 

It sounds as though you weren't at all familiar with Prii before the test drive, so some of the "problems" you noted may be from unfamiliarity as opposed to this car actually having problems. I suggest first that you go to a Toyota dealer and test drive a brand new Prius - see how the driving differs, if at all.

Second, only you can decide whether the car is a good deal or not. Realize that other than the corrosion warranty, there is no warranty remaining on this car for any of the mechanical or hybrid components. That said, if it were me, I'd probably buy it (coming from someone who just bought a 2004 with 100000 miles on it).

 

Excelent idea
Yes I probably would too but it would have to be straight and run well with no smoke.

In 1998 I bought a 1992 Mazda 626 which belonged to a customer which had over 350,000km on it. I knew the history of the car and that it had done a lot of country trips, it was serviced every 10,000km and was in excelent condition.

It was stolen a few years after I bought it (Was wifes car) but recovered. Insurance paid me out for the car, more than I paid for it and the wreck was purchased by the spray painter at the crash repairers. It has since been bought from the spray painter by the crash repair shop and is being used as a loan car.(The painter now has a company car) It has over 500,000km on it now and still going strong. I know this because the spray painter lives at the end of my street and I worked for the crash repairer in a mechanical repair business he owned from 1990 to 2000 so I stay in touch.

 

personally, I would say no way, even if its a good deal. Not even looking at the fact that its a prius, the fact that it was a taxi at some point with that many miles. You never know how the previous driver drove it, but in the few times that I've taken taxis, they accelerate and brake HARD. You should be able to find a few cars for that price that get good gas mileage and that have a lot less miles on it.

 

Cameron,

Do yourself a huge favor, and pass on it. As well-built as the Prius is, any car with 250K miles on it, and in particular one that was used as a taxi, is bound to have maintenance issues before long. And when it comes to a car like a Prius, with its high-tech and expensive componentry, in many cases that maintenance is not going to be cheap. I might say go ahead and take the risk, but it sounds like the car is somewhat of a stretch for you budget-wise as it is. Even with a 30-day warranty (and it wasn't clear from your post what that 30-day warranty would even cover), you are going to be pretty much crossing your fingers starting from day 31 that nothing goes wrong.

As others have recommended, If I were you, I'd look into what other used cars are available in your price range that get high MPG. For $6,600 you will have a lot of options. And you'll be able to get something with a lot less miles on it, that will last you for quite a few years. You'll probably even have a good chunk of cash left over for gas. Meanwhile, save up a bit more, and buy yourself a Prius a little further down the line. Who knows, by then you'll probably be able to buy the upcoming plug-in version, and we will all be envious.

Just my $.02.

 

Sounds like a good deal to me! If you don't get it let me know. I need another one for the family. Any Toyota with reg. service/maint should go beyond 300K.
Ron

 

important point: does it come with lifetime maintenance records? that would be another push toward buying if you could see that it has been well taken care of.

 

As the owner of a used 2002 which I bought at 116K miles, I can tell you that it can be a good deal. But it may also have hidden issues. If you can, take a code scanner with you (any OBD II compliant scanner should do) and see if there are any DTC stored. Scanners can be had for about $100 from the store and AutoZone lends them for free (you or a friend needs to leave their drivers license at the store).

If there are no stored codes and all system status are OK/Ready this means there are no current troubles with the car. If there are no codes but the status is not ready, then this means that the codes have been recently cleaned/reset and that can mean just about anything...

If you are getting it at the dealer/trade-in value or below, then you can be reasonably assured that you can trade it in later and not lose much if anything.

Battery replacement is expensive from Toyota, but sub-$1000 from a junk yard. Cat converter failure (very common on the 2001-2003 models, not sure if it is such a problem on '04 and later) is another very expensive repair at close to $2,000 from the dealer and there are very few other options to do it (no junk converters exist it appears).

I'd worry about wear and tear of normal components at 250K miles though. Look at CV joint boots and other rubber. The transmission oil cannot be checked unless you get under the car and drain a little from it. There is no timing belt to worry about.

The transmission also should not generally fail as there are no clutches or brakes like there are in "normal" auto transmissions.

If the mileage is highway it should not matter that much to you but how can you tell...

As for the fuel economy, it depends on a lot of things. Mile for mile though, the hibrid is usually the most economical and a '04 car is not that old overall so you might get lucky. But at 250 K miles it is a lottery, especially at an auction - why whould any one sell there below KBB value if all was good??? I should know - I bougt my '02 last year at an auction house too because of the very attractive price (not via auction but at a fixed price). I paid a little below the trade-in value (and a lot below the retail value). It turned out to have so far only two major issues: coffee stains (mostly removed after may be 6 passes with a weat cleaner) and failing cat converter (not a big deal as it is still working but expensive to replace - looking for a used one or will go aftermarket when it fails completely; or will just trade it in to let a dealer deal with it ). My fuel economy is about 45 mpg now in the winter and that in my book justifies owning a not brand new car at a good price...

Make sure the warranty covers the hybrid components and the exhaust - in my case the dealer extended warranty that they initially offered to sell me did not cover hybrids at all and they said I can't buy that warranty from them...

 

if it was a trade received by the dealer, they would probably send it to auction rather than sell it themselves.

let us know what you decide, Cameron, and there's a lot of info here to get you started on prius ownership should you decide to buy.