Buying used Prius 2006 from private 96000 miles. What should I expect?

$1,000 over what blue book? Private party or Used car retail? It may be priced too high. What's the price?
Also you might have potential battery problems if all its service was in a extremely HOT area.

 

are you in a carb state? i would expect a great car that gets incredible mpg's, needs very little maintenance, but in a very tiny percentage of cases can have a four figure repair bill. all the best!

 

The service life for a Prius is 180k miles, according to Toyota. Most people love to drive these when they buy them. At 170k miles, you might want to consider one with fewer miles.

SM-N900P ?

 

I have a friend in CA with 2006 Prius III and bought it new. He had to replace the battery pack at 180k. Dealer told him it will be $4500. He found a 3rd party vender for $1800. He currently have 226k with no issue. I also was shoping for a use Prius. At the end I decided to buy new because my daily commute is 120 mile round trip. I did purchase my 2013 Prius $5000 below MSRP.

 

I am not familiar with US specs, but I had a 2007 Gen II (T Spirit) which had covered 96,000 miles without problems. Your 2006 would appear to be a better buy than the later model as long as it has a verifiable and full service history - preferably by a Toyota dealer. This would be further justification of a higher price. For peace of mind why not take it to your local Toyota dealer for an assessment, maybe the seller will cover this cost if he is genuine? Also, why not try and negotiate a reduction in the price and at least you will have a bit of a buffer against any future expenses!
Good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

it has been established in the electric vehicle world that high summer heat can be detrimental to the longevity of the battery. and some ev's even have active battery cooling systems due to this, but the prius does not, except for a small ventilation fan which blows air from the interior of the car over the battery. but it also depends on how the car was driven and if it was parked all day in the sun or shade. these are things which you have no way of determining. if you are in a carb state, and it was a carb state when the vehicle was purchased, and the vehicle was purchased and has been registered there the whole life, you have a 10 year 150,000 mile warranty. this is worth determining before hand.

 

Funnily enough, I'm also looking at a 2006 pkg 3 with similar miles. The guy will take $8,500 but will not pay any repairs that might come up in an inspection. Depending on the inspection, obviously, does that sound like a good deal if all is in good shape?

 

I would get it checked with CarFax. It's cheap insurance - it might have been in accident. Or worse.
Ask the owner if he has ever changed the transmission fluid (even though Prius's transmission is not really a transmission). If the answer is NO then make a face and say "transmission is probably all gunked up and going to die soon... you need to come down in price". Same with gas engine water pump - it often dies around 100k, and would cost 300 to replace.
Ask the owner if he ever heard the Traction Battery fan to come on (next to the back seat). If the answer is YES then make a face and say "battery probably have been overheated... and going to die soon... you need to come down in price".

- Alex

 

Unbelievable

SM-N900P ?

 

???

 

Just FYI.
I just sold my 05 Prius pack5 white (97k) to private buyer at $8800 just last Xmas at Bay Area. I bought this Prius when I was in Albuquerque New Mexico in 2005. This car is really amazing and only regular oil change at jiffy lub. I took this car for skiing every winter around nm and CO. Not a single issue and really low maintenance cost in my opinion.

Before I sold this car, I have took it to the dealer and replace the 12v battery $300 and the tires are also new - only a few months old from costco.

I guess buying a used car is really hit and miss so good luck. By the way, I sold my 05 in 2 days under craigslist. I think this car is still in high demand. Also, never buy any used car at dealer in my opinion because their price is always so high.




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