Purchase help

I'm not sure if anyone really knows for sure, but my opinion is that age is worse for the battery than mileage. Especially if a battery is old and has been used very little (very low miles). For this reason if you bought this one I would have the cash available for a new traction battery just in case. Of course for that price you might could buy a newer one. Then again, if you replaced the battery on this one you could probably get a lot of use out of it since the low mileage would favor other parts of the car. I am leaning towards no, but without knowing your financial situation or any other info about the car it's hard to say for sure. I am going to say need more info before voting. Maybe you would get the HV battery money soon but don't have it yet and it would work out. Many here will probably tell you to look into a non hybrid since you have a low budget.

Then again, if it has already had the battery replaced, it would be a great deal!

 

welcome! if you're going to buy a 10 year old or high mileage car, you need to be prepared to deal with costly problems if they arise. can't really tell you any more than that. as they say, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. all the best.

 

2006 w/ 60,000miles = 6,000 miles/year. Sounds suspect, unless owned by granny church lady who only drove to the doctors office, grocery store, and church.

As an urbanite, I have a hard time believing that mileage.

The Combo Meter (gear indicator, speedometer, odometer & trip odometer) could have been replaced with a used combo meter that had a low odometer reading on it.

There is no magic formula to predict battery life/longevity. The one trend that seems to hold true is the HV Battery does not seem to last long in hot/humid areas or mountainous areas.

 

I agree. And for all practical purposes, that car is 11 years old, almost 12 years old considering it was likely manufactured in 05 as an 06 model.

I looked at 06's, 7's and 8's. I got an 09 for just a few hundred more. Still under 8 year battery warranty.

If you browse the forums, you'll see many of the problem threads are emerging when these vehicles are about 9-10 years old.

For 7,500 you should be able to find a 2010 for that price.

 

What is the trim level of this Prius?

KBB has a base 2006 w/ 60K miles in SoCal (high demand Prius market), in Excellent Condition, for $6700.
2006 Toyota Prius Hatchback 4D Trade In Values - Kelley Blue Book

Demand for Prius in New Hampshire vs California is a large, and so should the price.

If that car truly has 60K miles, one owner, excellent maintenance, no major accidents, I would consider it if the owner were to drop $1500-$2K off the price. Reason being, a new OEM HV Battery can be had for $2071, if you find a dealer willing to beat/match, and sell to you. 2007 Toyota Prius Parts - Toyota of San Bernardino Online Parts Store
You realistically could count on 8-10+ years of trouble free operation, in terms of HV Battery.