Rookie here- looking for a little insight. Several years ago, my wife bought a 2002 Mazda Protege5 wagon. Got it paid off, and she really enjoyed the little thing. 5 speed, 32 mpg on the highway, etc. We drove it on all of our long distance trips, and ran it up to almost 200k, before she got hit by a college student and it was totalled. Now she just started law school, and we are wanting to buy something with primarily just the insurance payout, and not take on a payment right now. After research, we determined a Prius just wasn't in the cards due to our price constraints. A high milegage Prius is bound to need a new traction battery before she finishes law school. So our budget is about $6k. The things I am seeing in that budget are early 2000s VWs (maybe a diesel), Outbacks, Camrys, Volvo V50/70s, etc. Enter our friend, who is getting rid of a 2005 Prius because she is moving to a city where a car isn't neccesary. She has had it for a few years, it has been meticulously cared for, and it a package 6, with a leather interior added on top. Downside- 225k miles. Upside- she just put a NEW (dealer installed) traction battery in, along with a A/C blower motor, tires, and brakes. She says she'd sell it to us for $5500. Looking at blue book values, that comes in $500-1000 below the going rate, and I would trust it's maintenance record. Now I am a confident mechanic, have done all of my/my family's auto maintence since I was a teen. Imports, domestics, German, Japanese, new, old, classics, etc, I have pretty much done it all. I have never dealt with a hybrid though. My primary concern is the ECVT, I haven't dealt with one of those directly either, and am not fluent in their tendencies. Can I have enough confidence to buy this thing, and have it last the next 3 years (while she's in school) without putting another $5k in it? I understand freak, unexpected things and am not asking for a fortune teller. But given our budget, and our other options, am I wrong in assuming a Prius is no greater a liablity than any other car under $6k? Thanks folks, D
welcome to priuschat! yes, and if something does go wrong, you can pick up a piece from the salvage yard for cheap money and diy it. there is nothing on these cars that can't be fixed/replaced by a good wrencher. however, if you want a little insight, you'll have to go to a honda dealer. all the best!
I caught my unintentional pun pretty quickly, and figured I'd leave it for a laugh. Thanks for the knowledge.
It sounds like a good deal to me. I wouldn't worry about the eCVT; there's not much that can go wrong.
I think it might be good, but hopefully you use it. I tend to think Prii like to be used as opposed to sitting for long periods.
Here is my post about drivers who should not own a Prius. considering a Prius | PriusChat Far more folks total their car than wear out their battery, do consider used. As a good mechanic, you should be fine all over the car, but bleeding the brakes needs software only the dealer will have. (It is all that regen stuff)
We bought it. We had pretty much decided to before my post here, but I was curious to see if there was any negative feedback on here. I had read other threads started by people like me, and while none of them had new traction batteries, the overall concensus was to not buy a $6k high mileage Prius. Our friend had already left town, so we take possession tomorrow, really looking forward to playing with it a bit. I have been doing endless reading on getting the most effecient economy from the Prius. Unfortunately, it won't be seeing a very long commute to allow that efficiency to shine . As for our use- my wife and I until recently shared a car, and the cars I drive are antiques and projects, so this thing will be getting put through it's paces. My guess is that we will both use the Prius daily, and let the toys simply be toys. In the last two years we put 40k miles on her Mazda, which isn't an obsurd amount, but it is a good amount of usage.
My 'commute' includes Clarksdale, Marks, Charleston, and Tunica; all just to the west of you. I have had good experience with Kirk Toyota in Grenada for service.
Can I give you a bit of advice from a former Volvo 70 series owner? (You mentioned Volvo 70 series as an option) I used to own a 1999 Volvo S70 (the V70 you mention is just the wagon version) The 1999-2001 Volvo 70 series used a technology that controlled the speed/throttle using a hard drive. That would fail constantly causing the car to accelerate or decelerate without warning. I had to take mine in about every six months, and while it was a covered repair, who has that kind of time? The repair parts for the 70 series are horrific. If I were you, I'd look into the Prius. Its a Toyota, which means its going to last, and there are a million of them on the road, which means more easily accessible repair parts. Look, Volvo's are great, but the 70 series.....not so much. Too much of a niche market, and very specialized mechanics to repair them as well. Good luck either way.
Congratulations on the new car, way better choice over the Volvo, they are not the best. The Subaru would have been a good choice, I have had 5 and all great cars. But when it all comes down to it, no one can beat Toyota, I have had 6 over the years and I am sure I will have more in the future. Toyota may have had recalls over the past several years, but when you consider the amount of cars Toyota builds in a year, it is not that many being recalled, media likes to blow it up. Treat it well and it will treat you well.
