Prius Noob, hopefully

Hello everyone, just wanted to say hi and introduce myself, and ask a question or two.

I'm starting a new job next monday that requires a 65 mile commute, mostly highway. My current car (2004 Dodge SRT-4 with 115k miles, purchased when I was 18) is lots of fun to drive, but is not exactly practical for commuting as it averages 24 mpg, has a standard transmission, no cruise control, and ride quality is not great.

I've been looking at other vehicles over the past week, mainly used honda's, toyota's, kia's, hyundai's, and haven't been too impressed. Decent gas mileage, but they were just kind of dull.

Yesterday I started looking at used hybrids, and after reading that the civic hybrid doesn't get the greatest mpg, started looking into the prius. It was then that I found several affordable ($10k or below) Prius' in the area.

Tomorrow I'm going to check out a 2006 with 107k miles, owner wants $9k for it, I would be paying less due to trade-in.

I've checked out the VIN on the Toyota owners site, looks like the oil was changed every 5k miles or so, water pump replaced in 2010, it was in the shop because the airbag light was stuck on, caused by a short, transaxle fluid replaced at 40k miles (i think, service info says 4 qts of ATF T-IV), and has been in for several headlight bulb replacements.

I don't have the carfax yet, as I'm hoping the dealer provides it tomorrow. I also plan on taking it to a local Toyota dealership (that it knowledgeable about the prius) for a quick run-over before committing to anything, as long as the current owner allows it.

Any thoughts/concerns over this car? Anything I need to look out for (other than uneven tire wear, and low fuel efficiency that could indicate traction battery failure)?

I never imagined that I would be so excited to look at a hybrid car. Amazing how much priorities change with age

 

I've read that money can be saved by doing certain major replacements yourself, or using salvage parts. I don't think that a traction battery replacement would be an issue (buying a re-involt re-manufactured battery, installing it myself), and on that note, I could handle most of the basic/intermediate maintenance. Really the only thing that concerns me is the transaxle, but I've read a salvage transaxle can be had for significantly less than a new one.

Any thoughts on the asking price, too high, great deal, etc?

 

Bought the car today, paid $6.5k after taxes, tags and trade. Dealership said everything was in great shape for the most part. Front brake rotors have a small lip, that they say is causing uneven wear on the pads. Simple fix, and not unexpected on a car with 100k miles.

I've put 30 miles on it today, spent $25 in gas to fill it up, and averaged 60 mpg. I couldn't be happier