Dear all, I've been intrigued by the Prius since I was in middle school, but now is the first time that I will finally be able to pull the trigger and buy a used model (that's all I can afford as a student!) on my own. I am currently looking at two options. One is a 2005 Prius, base everything, with a about 63000 miles on it and in decent condition- everything runs fine, but cosmetically, it has scratches, a few dents, and the interior has stains. This Prius has gone through four Northeast winters, and has since been living in the South. The other is a 2007 Prius, little higher than the absolute base model (I believe it has a NAV screen), with just under 80,000 miles. Like the '05, everything runs fine, and is in better condition cosmetically (with regards to scratches, etc.) then the '05. It is a Southern car. If both these Prii are priced similarly, what do you think is the better bet to buy? As a student with a good amount of debt, I wouldn't be able to afford too many expensive repairs in the future- do you think the hybrid battery packs for both of these would be a concern in the near future (i.e within 5 years)? I believe because it is a 2007, the hybrid battery pack would still be under warranty for the 2007 car (it's within 8 years). Thank you all so much! I look forward to your advice, and hope to join this wonderful Prius community soon.
Welcome to Prius Chat David. Methinks I'd go with the higher spec 2007 2nd Generation Prius from the South, despite it's slightly higher mileage. Check the maintenance histories of both very carefully. If it ain't up to scratch, walk away. Good luck! Gotta dash to work!
Ditto, age trumps mileage in this case. The difference between 63k and 80k is a little over 1 year of driving assuming you drive the standard 15k miles a year. Since the 07 is two years newer, then it makes sense to go with it if price is the same. If the delta were 30k miles, then you'd have to delve deeper into other qualities to decide which is better. As it is, it's an easy decision.
I wouldn't worry about the stains. have it detailed; they'll remove any fogging from the headlight plastic, remove 'most any stains out of the upholstery, clay-bar the paint to feel new, and make the car feel (and smell!) like it's new again. I did that to a 10 year old car for $120 on a Groupon deal and my car looked terrific afterwards.
Wow, the PriusChat community is amazingly fast and helpful. I'm blown away right now. This is very helpful. I haven't finalized the price on either of them, but I am reasonably sure the price will come to about the same for both vehicles. In terms of potential required hybrid battery pack replacement between the '05 with lower miles and the '07 with higher miles, which do you think will need to be replaced first? I am an absolute novice, but considering the older car has less miles driven on it, wouldn't you think that it's hybrid battery would last longer than the '07? And in general, is there any thing to really look out for; both the cars are in good mechanical condition. For example, do you think the struts might need replacing, or anything else? I know the '05 owner just replaced the 12V battery, a water pump, and the serpentine belt, if that means anything. Thanks for the heads up. By the way, the '05 Prius's left rear taillight was cracked by some teen, and the center console upholstery is coming off a bit, and there is a small dent on the passenger side. I hope these would not be considered too serious that should make me walk away from a potential deal.
It's pretty difficult to predict which HV battery would last the longest. It could go either way. Often, the life of the pack is better measured in years than in miles, but there are lots of factors that affect its life. Some factors that are theorized to shorten the life of the pack include excessive heat (something to consider in a car that came from the South) and frequent, mountain driving (subjects the pack to more charge/discharge cycles). There are also items you could run into other than the HV pack, such as the transaxle, inverter, multi-function display, etc. Reliability has been good, but there's always a chance of something expensive going wrong. As far as options and equipment, the 2007, if it's one step above the base, includes nice features such as the Smart Key System (never need to remove the key from your pocket--the car just knows it's there), back-up camera, heated mirrors...it's really pretty loaded. If the 2005 isn't at least a package 2, it won't have SKS, which is an awesome feature. All the 2nd-gen (2004-2009) Prii have the large, center touch screen, but only the upper-package cars have navigation on it. I prefer navigation on a separate device, not built into the car. The built-in ones are a pain to keep updated and often not as easy to use. Both cars probably have the AM/FM/CD with 6-speakers that many find sounds better than the JBL system in the upper-package cars. They also both probably have the conventional headlamps, which are more reliable than the HID headlamps. If the 2007 is a package 2 or higher, it includes Vehicle Stability Control--only available on package 4 and higher in 2005. The engine water pump is a common trouble spot on the Gen 2. It likes to develop leaks and then needs to be replaced. You can visually inspect it--it's down the passenger side of the engine, near the bottom, with a large black pulley. Leaks show up as pink, crusty buildup or streaks around the pump or inside the pulley, and sometimes a pink streak on the underside of the hood. If the 2007 hasn't had the 12v battery replaced, it probably will need it soon. It's not a huge deal though--about $170, and not too difficult to self-install.
That mileage difference is almost negligible. I would take advantage of the southern ownership, the newer model year, the apparently better features, and the better condition. Yes, a car can be cleaned up, but it sounds like the 2005 has genuine signs of abuse. If the owner treated the interior/exterior like that, it raises the question, how did he/she drive it? 79,000 ain't much more than 63,000. I'd jump for the 07 if the two really are the same price.
David, I'll condense your post as a question about the life of a Prius traction battery. In general, people who buy a new Prius and take care not to treat the battery poorly do not worry about it. Buying used might be a different story. So the first question to you is, do you know the history of the cars you are considering ? If you do, then pick the car with the owner who kept the car in a garage, maintained it well, and was interested in fuel economy but was not doing crazy stuff like depleting the battery for that extra 0.1 mpg. No idea of prior history ? Now you have to decide if you want to gamble. The collective anecdotes of PriusChat seem to say that harsh treatment of a Prius in a hot climate will shorten the battery life by half. This could mean that a 6 year old battery is old and not going to last much longer. What is a harsh battery life ? Daily hilly/mountain driving that drains the battery completely No garage or shade during the hot summer months Windows rolled up when parked, leading to really high cabin temperatures No use of sun-shades Immediate use of max AC after letting the car sit baking in the sun for hours rather than ventilating for the first 5-10 minutes See the pattern ? Max demands on the battery for prolonged periods, and overheating. If you are buying a car that has lived in a hot southern climate for over 4-5 years and do not know how it was treated, you are gambling. If you live in a hot climate and buy a Prius, give the battery a break by avoiding high heat stress as outlined above. You do not need to baby the battery -- just try not to torture it too often.
Check out the batteries by using the Dr. Prius app and a bluetooth OBD2 adapter ($15 to $100) on Amazon) to see if replacement is approaching. And the Torque app can be used to check for diagnostic codes with the same OBD2 adapter. These tests might take 20 minutes or so. Low mileage means the car was not driven much, and thats not the greatest thing for the high voltage battery life. Get a Carfax report ( cheapcarfax.net for around $6 each works fine) that will maybe indicate if the battery has been replaced at all, and sometimes show if there was accident damage. With the car running listen to see if the ABS pump is buzzing every 30 seconds or so. If that pump is running more than just once in a while the car may be approaching an expensive brake repair (not so much if you DIY). The inverter coolant pump is easy compared to this repair. Ask if the instrument panel was ever repaired or you may have to remove it to repair the problem of the speedometer not lighting up due to a failed capacitor. This repair can take a few hours, but not terribly costly. The A/C will probably need some charging, so check it out to see if it works ok. If it does need to be charged up make sure you have it done by someone who understands the differences between hybrids and conventional cars. The compressor oil is different and charging the system has a different procedure. These are a few things that might save you from buying a lemon, but of course not everything.
