Need Prius Buying Tips

Batteries should last the life of the car. If you want an idea of price, go to http://www.kbb.com/ and put in all the data.

BTW my 2004 Package 7 cost me $22,949. According to KBB, the trade-in value is $20,650, the Private Party value is $22,545, and the Retail value is $24,450!!!!!! And this is with 37,000 miles on the thing!!!

 

I had an '01 and '02, 100K mi. total, loved them both. Replaced one light bulb, that's all! The '01-'03 ("Gen 1") had a wildly misleading gas gauge, both when full and nearly empty;
always gas up when you think you've used about 8-9 gal. or less. The MFD (gas mileage readout on the screen) was generally more inaccurate than on the Gen 2; it was about 3 MPG high (e.g., it would report 47 MPG when you were getting 44).

There were no common, "typical" breakdown/repair problems, if that's what you mean. BUT: 1) cruise didn't come standard (though many buyers added it); 2) a CD player didn't come standard (again, many added it); 3) rear seat doesn't fold down; 4) top of center console was too low to serve as an armrest; 5) no climate control/audio system buttons on steering wheel, as Gen 2 has; 6) generally gets a few MPG less than Gen 2 (I averaged about 44-45); and 7) not quite as powerful as Gen 2 (but still adequate for me.

IMO the Gen 1 had better interior dash colors (mine: light grey, didn't get so hot); I LIKED the dash-mounted shift lever; the 32-ft. turning radius was amazing; the MFD screen was recessed into the dash and smaller than Gen 2, and I liked it better (most probably like the bigger "outie" on the Gen 2).

Since you're in NY, the battery is warranted for 150K mi. Very few battery packs have failed yet; they may be good for 200K or more (if not abused, such as running out of gas and then depleting the battery trying to drive farther to get closer to a gas station).

No one has any problem selling used Priuses. I sold both mine for above "high retail" book value (Kelley) to the first people who looked at them.

IMO the best actual indicator of what they're selling for in various parts of the country is autotrader.com, which carries more listings than any other and carries both dealer and private party sellers. You'll find a surprising range of prices on each model year Prius, largely reflecting the odometer mileage and condition, and with dealer prices usually far higher than private party.

Any more questions? Good luck!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ghostofjk @ Jun 15 2006, 01:35 AM) [snapback]271560[/snapback]</div>

Are you SURE the Gen 1 battery is warranted for 150,000 miles??? I thought that was only when the Gen 2 went to AT-PZEV. I think the Gen 1 is only SULEV, which would be 8 years/100,000 miles. Still, the Vancouver taxi went about 200,000 miles, and the only reason he didn't keep it is because Toyota gave him a new car so they could study his old battery. Cool!!!

 

Like the shoe commercial says, "Just do it!".

 

The battery will last the life of the car. I can't offer any help with your other questions, since I drive an '04.

A resource might be http://john1701a.com. John drove an '01 from the time they first came out, until the '04 came out and he switched to that. He documented everything and his web site is a wealth of information.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mcbrunnhilde @ Jun 15 2006, 09:20 AM) [snapback]271675[/snapback]</div>

mcbrunnhilde is probably right; my bad. Check with a dealer service dept.

Geez, SOMEONE in the world should be nearing 300K by now...