Possible new, old 2001 Prius, owner?

Possible new, old 2003 Prius, owner?

Hi all,

I am not new to forums, so I know the protocol when it comes to posting new threads, when searches can be more efficient... with that said, I don't have a lot of time (need to decide by Monday morning) so I just thought I'd try starting this thread (while browsing previous ones to soak up as much info that I can).

I am not very familar with the Prius, other than knowing that it is a hybrid and can get awsome MPG numbers. I have the opportunity to buy a used 2001 with 97K miles. The starter battery, water pump, and tires were recently replaced, but the hybrid battery has never been replaced.

They are asking $6500.

What kind of questions should I be asking for a prius with this many miles? What kind of things should I look for when it starts up? While driving? Any areas of the engine to pay special attention to when doing a visual inspection?

For a normal car (non-hybrid) I would normally ask about the timing belt and such... but I heard the prius does not use a timing belt (it is a timing chain)...

I must admit, that a lot of these threads in this forum (Gen 1) are kind of freaking me out (lots of problems), but I also understand that there are so many people out there driving these things around with no problems, and that usually forums are where the few people with problems come to (so it looks 100x magnified).

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your feedback, as well as contributing in the future (if everything goes well on Monday).

Cheers!

 

Hi All,

Sorry for the late reply... I have been really busy (still am!)... I found a 2003 that a dealer is willing to part with for $7k. It's got 112k miles on it. We are about to check it out soon so I gotta run...

I've printed all of the feedback you've provided and will study it as best I can. Thanks everyone!

 

My search for a used car is over.... I ended up going with the 2003 prius with 112k miles.

Bought from an independent car dealer for $7k out the door. Clean title, but no real knowledge of the service history other than a recent oil change and new tires . He obtained the vehicle from someone that traded up to a newer Prius.

Seemed like an honest enough guy (but don't they all!). Full-time fireman that runs the carsales biz to supplement his income. Said he's been using the car since he got it in December and has had no problems with it whatsoever.

He was actually asking $6500, but of course, with tax and license and all that, it's closer to $7300... He adjusted the selling price so that we were much closer to $7k.

I am planning to take it in to Art's or Lucious for a full inspection (as suggested by a couple people here). Hopefully nothing too serious comes up.

My wife has been driving it these last couple days and she enjoys it. It also has the carpool stickers, so that should make her commute a lot easier.

Thanks again to those of you that chimed in! Especially Bob for taking the time to provide a detailed response!

 

I think you meant 1/1/2011, but that's okay too... at least we'll enjoy the carpool lane for the rest of this year.

Also, a 2nd gen prius would have been way out of our price range. The reason we were even in the market for a used car was because I was rear ended about a month ago and they deemed my 97 Montero Sport a total loss. I had about $3800 of insurance money to work with and decided $3k'ish was what I felt comfortable with taking out of pocket. I did not want another car payment.

ETA: I would have preferred getting an inspection beforehand as well, but we were a bit pressed for time. I only had the rental for a few more days and there were only two 2003 prius vehicles I found that were in my price range. Believe me... my fingers are crossed going into this inspection

 

Thanks for the site recommendations! I know I still have a lot to learn here, so please keep the tips and suggestions coming!

I will try to have pics posted by this weekend (I wanted to give it a thorough wash myself beforehand ).

My 2003 supposedly has everything but nav

I have a friend that works for a Toyota dealership and he was able to pull the service history on it for me. I have all of the details for the services within the last 5 years, but there are several services (no details) that go back to the day it was taken off the dealer's lot.

The thing has been dealership maintained since the day it was bought.

The spark plugs were replaced in April 2008, and the AUX battery was replaced in March 2008. Other than that, it looks like all of the oil changes and 5k-15k-30k services were done with the dealer.

There was this little tidbit from a recent visit (Dec 2009):

*DIAG CHECK ENG LT ~|~CUSTOMER REPORTS THE MASTER WARNING LIGT IS ON THE RED ] INSIDE A
TRIANGLE, CHECK AND ADVISE ~|~INSPECTED AND FOUND MASTER AND HYBRID WARNING LIGHT IS ON.
HOOKED UP SCAN TOOL AND GOT CODES P3000 AND P3009. PRINTED OUT FREEZE FRAME DATA FOR
BOTH CODES. LAST MONITOR TEST ON VEHICLE SAID PASS IN ALL SECTIONS. P3000 BATTERY CONTROL
SYSTEM(CURRENT CODE)( ~|~GOT INTO VEHICLE AFTER PUTTING NOTES ONTO RO AND FOUND MASTER
AND HYBRID WARNING LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. =============================
============================= == I HAD VEHICLE IN READY MODE AND PARK.​

============================= =========================

Not sure what it all means yet, but it the dealer covered the costs for this visit. I assume everything is okay now (it's been almost 6 months now), but I guess I will find out for sure when I have the full diagnostic performed.

 

Hmmm, thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to bring this info to the attention of the mechanic.

By the way, I got ahold of Art's and they price for the full diagnostic inspection (bumper to bumper) isn't too bad ($98). The deal breaker for me though is the appointment availability. They need me to drop it off in the morning (M-F only) and leave it there all day. I live/work in Santa Clara and I just can't swing that during the work week.

I have a friend that is a mechanic for a Toyota dealership and he is going to do the full inspection for me at the dealership. Aiming for Thursday afternoon.

 

- If you're not familiar with the Bay Area, CA, then you won't know how much of a pain it would be to get from Santa Clara (Southbay) up to Berkeley or SF by 8am... then head back down to Santa Clara for work, then back up to the shop (during the evening traffic)... ugh! Just thinking about that commute is giving me an ulcer! LOL!

Anyhow... on my way home for lunch today I saw this Prius and was wondering what the heck that was on the roof and attached to the driver's side rear tire. The part on top was spinning non-stop (even with the vehicle stopped). I just had to bust out with my camera phone at the light to snap the pic!

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8267/pri2p.jpg

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/8818/pri1r.jpg

 

Haha! I think that is exactly what it was! On the top, at least... I didn't get a good picture of the driver's side rear wheel, but there was definitely something mounted to the rim (not sure if this is part of the google cam or not).

The thing on top was continuously spinning so I thought it was some kind of generator to help with battery juice, lol!