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Is there anything I need to be aware of before buying a used Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by hemingways, Jul 31, 2015.

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  1. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    I'm looking at a used 2005 Prius with 180,000 miles on it. It's 1 owner. It had a new battery installed from Toyota a couple of months ago and a transaxle also installed from Toyota last month. The car seems perfect. The price is good, at market price. I do not see anything wrong with it and it drives great. I'm ready to buy it but wanted the experience of all of actual Prius owners, is there anything else I should be aware of or look for before purchasing it? I know it's a used car and it's not bulletproof, no used car is, but the piece of mind and wallet knowing the battery was replaced is good. Is the fact that it had any problems with the CVT at all something to be concerned with? The dealer showed me the receipts for both and I talked to Toyota and verified everything is on the up and up. I forgot to ask Toyota if the new battery has any warranty though.

    I'm sure there are a lot of posts like this, I appreciate any responses. Thank you.
     
    #1 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You have a receipt from Toyota for the HV battery and transaxle? That should be around $8000

    I'm not sure what the market value is, but if both items replaced by an official Toyota dealer. I would buy it in a heartbeat
     
    #2 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  3. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    I have a copy of paperwork for the battery and the receipt for the transaxle. The owner traded it in and the dealer performed both after the trade in. I do not have a receipt of the battery replacement, just a print out showing it was replaced along with other work and the service records from Toyota online show it was replaced as well.
     
    #3 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    there are 2 batteries in the Prius, one is just a $200 12v battery, the other one is a $3000 HV battery
     
    #4 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  5. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    I know, this is the main battery, not the 12v.

    The service records on the Toyota owner website shows exactly what the paperwork at the dealer shows:

    MISC, PERFORM MULTI-POINT INSPECTION AND PROVIDE REPORT, BATTERY NEW - HYBRID: BIG ONE UNDER REAR SEAT (169580027), DRIVE BELT (169581780)

    and

    REPLACED THE TRANSAXLE
     
    #5 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The dealership must've gotten the car for free to invest that much money in it. How much is the market price?
     
    #6 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  7. Kate Harvest

    Kate Harvest Member

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    Those are the two main things that can be a costly headache if they fail on you. Take a moment to verify you can see movement in the Inverter cooling reservoir when the car is on and that there aren't any huge pink coolant stains near the engine coolant pump indicating leaks (just look near the lower pull on the one belt on the passenger side)... Check the voltage the 12v is putting out...

    But even if both coolant pumps *and* the 12v were on their way out, that'd at most be reason to get a few hundred bucks knocked off the price, not reason to avoid buying a car with a brand new HV pack and transaxle.
     
    #7 Kate Harvest, Jul 31, 2015
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  8. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    $6000. It's 180k. Nice condition. The battery being replaced was a big plus for me but the transmission being replaced, and with a used one, kind of has me wondering.
     
    #8 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    if the car drives good, it's worth $6000.

    Yes there can be failures of BOTH hv battery and transaxles at that mileage. Everything else seems pretty minor compared to those 2 repairs. Keep in mind the car was only designed to go 180k miles. But....the 2 most costly failures have been replaced.
     
    #9 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  10. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    Thanks I'll check those. With those two things replaced this seems almost like a no brainer to me, just wanted other opinions, especially with the transaxle. From what I understand, that's not a terribly common thing to have issues with on the Prius?
     
    #10 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  11. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    Thanks.
     
    #11 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Older Prius cars tend to burn oil, so you have to pay attention to that as well.

    I replaced my transaxle on my 2005 at 150k miles....so it's not unheard of
     
    #12 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
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  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The more likely scenario here is the dealer got the trade for next to nothing. Then the service manager pulled some strings to have the items replaced under some type of warranty.
     
    #13 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  14. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    You're probably right.
     
    #14 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  15. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    So what model Prius is this? Does it have smart key and backup camera?

    There should be a standard 1 year warranty on all replaced parts
     
    #15 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  16. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    Smart key, no backup camera. Toyota owner service website only says 2005 Toyota Prius STD, Carfax only says 2005 Toyota Prius. Which model number would that be?
     
    #16 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    actually 2005 doesn't have a reverse camera.

    if it has a smart key (where you don't have to put it in a slot to start), that's at least a Prius II. Then there's the audio add on, navigation, curtain air bags, etc to add to other packages.
     
    #17 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  18. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    It has navigation. Radio seems fine but I have no idea what to look for it it's an upgraded package version. Seems like a really nice car.
     
    #18 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I have a chart at home that identifies the models and equipment. If the car has Navigation it's a pretty nicely equipped model. It drives fine? Do you get a 30 day warranty with the car?
     
    #19 JC91006, Jul 31, 2015
  20. hemingways

    hemingways New Member

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    No warranty, it's as-is, just a small dealer. And the miles are too high to buy any extended warranty anyway.
     
    #20 hemingways, Jul 31, 2015
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