Buying Used

I had a 2007 that I traded in Dec with 116k on it. Best car I ever had and I never had any reason to believe that there would be battery issues. It was a one owner and meticulously maintained by Toyota. I found out last week that the new owner had to replace the hybrid battery at 124k less than 6 months after I traded it.

You never know but if the price is right I would snag it.

 

welcome! it's a crapshoot. will you really save money? have you done the math?

 

check with @prius_noob, he's on your side of the pond, and just went through this iirc.

check out his thread: 'engine light + problem warning + red triangle' in the gen 2 prius care, maintenance and troubleshooting forum.

 

Yeah. I had an oil leak. It was plugged for around £100 or so, which isn't too bad really, though my car is running on 5W 30 oil instead of 0W 20

The engine management light is on, but according to the service history, this was taken in to Toyota themselves and it is just a software glitch. It could be a sensor that's gone dodgy but the engine itself is fine and works as it should.

My car has done 160K! I reckon you'll go quite far with the Prius really. My only real gripe with it is that, if you wish to put an after market stereo in there is a bit of a big job, which requires soldering in order to keep climate control....

 

The Parking sensor isn't really a "parking sensor" It is a rear view camera, and tbh after being a passenger with people with parking sensors, I think that the rear view camera is far far superior!

The sat nav is a bit shit. I don't like it. I've tried to like it. I use my own instead. The bluetooth is really quite nice, but it took forever to pair my phone originally...

Go for the T-Spirit. You won't regret it

Oh and I had a Honda Civic hybrid. I bought it at 80K. I sold it at 110K. It was a fantastic car. The only issue I ever had with that un was that it needed an oxygen sensor. They're a lot cheaper than the Prius' though I have to say I do prefer the Prius over the Honda Civic hybrid. I do miss the heated seats (and leather), ease of after market stereo and manual transmission, but the Prius is soo much better otherwise.

You can replace the seats
You can't really do much about heated seats, but I found I didn't use it much any way
You also get used to the auto, and find it actually pretty enjoyable

 

Mine cost... £3K and did 160K! I reckon you'll be fine. I think so long as it has a full service history, you'll be fine really.

Have you considered this un?

Toyota Prius 1.5 Hybrid T Spirit CVT 5dr

There's this un from 2008 too

Toyota Prius 1.5 Hybrid T Spirit CVT 5dr

 

don't you chaps get extended battery warranty with a paid health check every year?

 

Ahhh. I didn't notice that. I'd prefer full service history personally, but I guess there is that!

That's fair enough I guess.For me it's a case of "well it costs me no more than £45 to go from north to south"

BTW, if you've sold your car off, consider using:

Share your journey with BlaBlaCar - Trusted ridesharing | BlaBlaCar.co.uk

When I bought my Skoda, I paid someone to take me up north. It was half the price of a train journey. I wouldn't worry about the engine size really. I had a Honda Civic hybrid IMA, which was 1.3L. It was definitely more powerful than this Toyota Prius I have now, though on the flip side, auto cars are quicker to get up to speed Engine size isn't every thing. I reckon that the Honda Civic hybrid I had, is probably about as powerful as the 2010 Prius engines, which are 1.8L

Just had a look see. the 2010-2015 Prius' have a bhp of around 134, and the Honda Civic hybrid is just under that. So yeah, the 1.3L Honda hybrid is about as good as the 1.8L generation 3 (2010-2015) Prius' in terms of actual power, though the auto transmission means that the Prius is more efficient

I'm with you regading the interior. The Honda Civic hybrid has a nice interior. They stopped making those in 2009 though. I think the "EX" model is the pricier, more loaded one. If you're used to your BMW, and want just to save fuel, I'd at least have a look at a Honda Civic hybrid. Your only issue will be selling it on again afterwards

 

Not that I'm aware of Besids, I tend to go for the independent garages as they're a lot cheaper. The warranty seems to be a bit of a carrot really

 

My partner owned a 2001 Prius since around 2006 until it was totaled a few weeks ago. Despite being incredibly boring to drive, I was really impressed by the reliability. It only had about 140k on it which is about the lowest mile car I've ever owned but the battery was still the original, still going strong after 15 years. The only thing I ever had to do to it beyond fluid changes and brake pads was replacing burned out bulbs in the console. The thing was rock solid reliable and never gave us a bit of trouble. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one with 200k or less as long as it looked well taken care of. These should go 300k easy.

 

Just part-x my 2007 for a 2016 with 152,000 on the clock. It had plenty more to go. Zero issues with model b (this was my second)

 

So far, the problems I've had with my car (purchased in May) is:

Oil leak (fixed)
Punctured tyre (Replaced)

The tyres were replaced really cheaply. Sure, it might not be as good as say Dunlop, but they cost a mere £35 each, inclusive of fitting. Sure, the others are more efficient, but this cost...£35