There is a 2004 with under 60K miles, but has original traction battery. Would I be better off looking for a newer car with around 100K miles? Assuming we are talking similar price? I'm looking to spend under $11k. thoughts? Thanks in Advance.
In general, if all other things are equal (except mileage) including maintenance and how well its been taken care of, get the newer higher mileage vehicle. By the same token, there's nothing wrong with getting that 04 if its been well taken care of. If the car's been in MN, the battery should keep going for a while (since heat is the enemy of any battery). My 01 is still on the original battery.
X2 on newer car with higher mileage. 2006 and up have two features that I love and would wan't. 1. Back-up camera with high resolution screen. 2. Aux input so you can play audio and Pandora from phone or other device I also prefer the newer style dash, door panels, headlights and tail lights that come on the 2006-2009 Plus, an older car in Minnesota with all the salt on the roads has had more time to rust. Catalytic converter could be an issue on an older car.
Just had first hand experience with a 2007 with an oil consumption problem. Dealer said leak around the timing chain cover. The car had around 170,000 miles at the time and also had the catalytic converter fail and replaced. So the above post about the Catalytic converter holds true, even a not so old 2007, dealer maintained car can develop a catalytic converter failure....which is in CA a $2000+ repair.
I just purchased a 2004 Prius with about 66k miles. My logic on picking the older model with less miles is simple. What's hard on the engine is how many miles are being driven per year. So in your case that 2004 Prius was only driven 6000 miles a year, which is great for your situation. That car has been babied. Now let's say you buy a 2010 with 100k miles. That is about 25k miles a year which is very hard on the car. Needless to say it's going to be nearly impossible finding a newer model for less than $11k. In my opinion, that 2004 with 60k miles is a rare find. Take a look at the carfax and make sure there wasn't any major accidents and make sure the car was properly serviced. I bought my 2004 Prius at a Toyota dealership with 66k miles for $9,900 plus tax and fees. I was looking awhile prior to this purchase is why I know it was a rare find. I hope this helps buddy.
Don't even consider the traction battery, my 05 had 70k on it when i bought it, but at 80k when the traction battery went on me, and I started to rebuild it, I noticed two cells were already changed out. Probably right before I bought it. Then you have folks saying they have 150k on the original battery, so who knows. Just buy a nice car, and worry about that when you have too. There are a lot of shops that replace them now if your not up to the task. Consider the traction battery like a light bulb,and you never know when it's time is up.
Just brought an 08 with 48,700 miles on it in late June, so far so good. Who knows what the future will bring, or how it will do in in snow, but I like the car. Just joined this site, also a nice find. Thanks.
Watch out for the older gen 2's with low miles. Several in my area have salvaged titles due to being wrecked and they had sat for long periods.
Thank you, the car fax was clean, tittle is good. And I got it from a dealer I have been doing business with for years. I appreciate your input.
One vote for the old car with low miles. I have a personal philosophy... from a purely mechanical standpoint (forget bells and whistles), cars aren't getting that much better, they're just getting newer. Mileage is more indicative of a car's "age" than years, as I see it. Yes, some things will become more unreliable with chronological age regardless of miles (rubber seals, the traction battery, possible rust issues if they use a lot of salt on the roads etc.), but miles are miles no matter how long it took to put them on the car... Even if a high mile car is "well maintained," not every replaceable part gets replaced over its 150,000 mile+ journey... something is bound to be forgotten somewhere.
honestly i would go with the older less mileage prius. as one member said earlier when the math is done it has averaged 6k a year. basically driven on Sundays to and from church and most likely well maintained. the 2nd gens have had a great reliability record but there are always a few odd balls in the bunch. i bought my 07 when it had 86,500k on the clock. it has not had to have any mechanical work done what so ever other than two tires for the rear, a yellow top optima battery and a block heater installed. this past winter was horrible in north dakota and killed the original to car 12v battery. i am currently at 98,433k and traction battery is still in great shape or so it appears to be. I do not have the software to test the traction battery's performance and the toyota dealer wants to charge close to 250 to check it so ill just let it slide for now but once i get closer to 100k im going to have it checked to see because at 100k the warranty runs out in north dakota. California the traction batterys are warrantied for 150k
Good find also since MA is CARB state you get 150K 10yr warranty (assuming it was orig bought and registered in a CARB state per Toyota rules). I think I would tend to get a used one with a few more years/miles on the warranty.
I personally lean towards higher mileage rather than lower as I have witnessed firsthand numerous times how much damage can come in a very short period of time when a car sits. That said, the real answer is very specific to the vehicle. I have to physically look over the vehicle to tell whether I'm interested or not. Little things like the condition of the tires, amount of rust on the brakes and undercarriage, condition of the paint, and interior all tell me whether the vehicle was owned by someone careful or not. It's amazing the difference between seemingly equivalent, even CPO vehicles when you take the time to inspect them yourself.