Looking to buy a used Gen II, questions about the battery...

I think what makes people nervous is your admission that you only have $1000-$1500 budgeted for upcoming potential repair. Because "IF" your hybrid battery should fail, that won't be enough to replace it. Your further admission that you're a high school senior about to enter college and a time when conceivably a sudden loss of an automobile or high repair expense could be devastating to your transportation options.

I think, if you could say, I'm looking at higher mileage, older Prius AND I have enough budgeted in case I should need to replace the hybrid battery, people would be less negative.

So while I obviously like Prius and support the vehicle not only as a long time poster here but as an owner, given the budget numbers you are throwing out, I'm hesitant to give a ringing endorsement of the entire situation. You're going to be a student, I speculate, but earning potential for discretionary items such as vehicle maintenance might be difficult to come by while you are going to school.

Which is about the ONLY reason I would recommend perhaps putting Hybrid and Prius ownership on temporary hold.

It IS true that you never know what you are getting in totality with any used vehicle, but I think at the price point you are at? A Corolla, Civic, Honda Fit (great vehicle IMO)...might offer a not guaranteeable, but potentially safer choice. I think 8K for a used Corolla, Civic or Fit, with 1500 set aside for potential maintenance, would give me bigger peace of mind.

This is NOT because I don't think Prius are reliable and/or that you can't own an older one, with even high miles and get many, many more years and miles. Because I think they are reliable and you can own older ones, and expect reliability.

But mostly because of the outline of your upcoming life situation, coupled with your admitted budget constraints. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Batteries are "chemistry based" components not functioning mechanical components, which makes predicting life span remaining really near impossible.

For these reasons I'm going to be a "Prius Party Pooper" and recommend you at least look at other vehicles.

If you end up getting a Prius? Well enjoy, and best of luck.

 

What's your proposed major? If it's engineering then any of those cars will be fine. All you need to do is join the SAE club at your school and your car becomes a part of the learning experience.

 

If it is a Toyota dealer have them give you a printout of the battery data.
That info will determine how good the health of the battery is.
If it is a private party then buy a mini vci cable for your laptop or other scanner option to read battery data. Maybe a PC chatter may be close by to help.

Then post the info here so the gurus here can peruse the data.

The voltages on the 28 battery packs should be close in value, (15V to 17V)and the internal resistance should be very low IE .024 ohms. You can search PC (Prius Chat) for this info.

 

I'm kinda like you ramsey. I'm going to be a sophomore in college getting my first car (I just got my license in February)

I was looking at (and test drove) a 2009 fully loaded with 105k miles for $11,900, although before talking with my parents who said I should look for something older to keep insurance rates lower (and to save some more for a nicer spring break/winter break , I'm now looking at a 2006 base with 110k miles for just under $8,900.

As far as battery reliability, take a look at this interesting read that I found that is pretty amazing! >> Search "Ten-Year Old Toyota Hybrid Priuses Defy Early Critics"

Also I found this interesting if this is your first prius of things to consider >> Search "Buying A Used Toyota Prius Hybrid: 5 Quick Pieces Of Advice"

I'm totally new here (as I can't even post links yet), but it sounds like the prius is one of the most dependable cars on the market with a low cost of ownership and really good reviews all around!

 

welcome runnels, all the best with your purchase!

 

So apparently the 06 I was looking at fell through... I found a 09 touring with nav, backup, and xenon headlights listed at 5990, however it has like 184,000. This is like the best deal that I've found yet in my area (there are very few prii in my budget). Would you go for it? I know it's a lot of miles on it, but you guys have said that there are many that have gone beyond 300,000 miles

Thoughts/suggestions (pros/cons) on this?


.... And it's sold :'( *sigh*

 

This is true. However there are many that have needed expensive repairs well before that odometer reading is reached. Are you prepared to DIY repairs such as the traction battery replacement, or the transaxle, or the inverter if your vehicle should require that?

If you are not prepared to do those repairs, do you have several thousand $$$$ set aside for vehicle repairs?

if your answer is no to both of those questions, then forget about buying a Prius until your vehicle budget substantially grows. See post #42 above as it contains great advice which seems applicable to your situation as well.

 

After market batteries can be found for under 1500k with a 36 month warranty. And with the history of these batteries being so good, why are folks assuming they will die in a year?

And contrary to what some other folks have said, I think that a good service record is important. The car I just bought, has had all the major work it might need done to it in the last 10,000 miles so unless the engine or tranny goes out, I should be in good shape.

BTW: if anyone is wondering what the service record is, all you need to do is open an account on the toyota owners site and add the VIN. All the dealer service records will come up. I found this very helpful when looking at vehicles. Also ensure you do a VIN check like Autocheck or Carfax as well as one with the National Insurance Bureau. In addition to a pre-purchase inspection.

None of that will guarantee you will get a great vehicle but it will stack the deck in your favor.

 

I answered my own question RE: Reconditioned batteries:

"Battery Pack Conditioning typically will last from 18 to 60 months before the battery pack may need additional conditioning..."

 

Obviously this is from some optimistic website and not real life.

 

Thanks! I did an auto check and it had literally nothing (just registration reported)... Saw some on the toyota site though (a waterpump replaced, etc.) ALSO another BIG thing is that you can see if it is touring edition or not (per thread # 66143)

Also, I found one that I'm hoping to get next weekend It's an 07 Touring (actually Standard, thanks Toyota!) with only 118,000 on it. Any suggestions on getting it checked out since it is a small used car dealership? Should I go into the big city and have a toyota dealership take a look at it (even though it's like 20 miles away)?

 

yes. 20 miles from earth to the big city isn't bad at all.

 

Or, if you have a local shop the specializes in Prii, that is even better. They may be able to test the HV (high volt) battery.

 

see .... the thing is, reliabily really turns on how the prior owner treated their car. If they were towing stuff for example? or hard core cranking up hills on 100+ degree days? all bets are off, as inverter and/or traction pack issues may arise. Get a prior owner that drives like I do, and BAM ... you'll easily be able to depend on the vehicle 'till 300k miles.
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