Just wanted to introduce myself. I picked up a 2004 Prius last month at a bank repo lot in Ogden, UT. It was pretty clean and looked well maintained, with only 65,000 on it for $8k. The previous owners had it for 4 years, and only put 20k on it. I love this little car, but I bought it to replace my girlfriends 2003 Mazda 5, so I wont be the daily driver.
Nice clean car! With an 8 year old car, watch for a dead 12 volt battery. There are a number of accurate tests, or you can compare the speed of the power windows in ACC to the speed in READY. Next oil change, ask that they drain and fill the transaxle with Toyota ATF WS. You are about half way to spark plugs and PCV. Here is a maintenance manual: http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/MSTOYALL04_MS0011/pdf/01omsour/2004/schedmai/04w1smt.pdf
Thanks for the heads up. I'm a stickler for maintenance, so I'll make sure I get those items done and do the window test. I think from poking around that the 12 volt is in the trunk, and looks pretty routine.
Yes it is an odd 12 volt battery but a couple aftermarket batteries fit safely. Optima DS46B24R Optima battery direct fit replacement for Prius 2004 + Toyota Prius Starting Battery - Exide Edge 51JIS Flat Plate AGM Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat
