Hey everyone, looking to buy my first prius and right now I am looking at a 2010 prius 1 (was a taxi). This car has 305k miles, doesn't leak almost any oil. BUT it has a bad hybrid battery pack. The owner has been driving across the country with it like this and he just resets the codes and keeps driving along. PRICE: 3600, talked him down from 5k. I have worked on and installed a new battery into a Honda Insight before as well as a grid charger for it. I am hoping to just be able to fix this prius with a grid charger. The car is a little beat up. Very dirty, missing some paint, a dent, big scratch. ect. Looking for a project prius that I don't have to tow in my price range (about 3500) that I can clean up and make reliable for my pregnant wife. Our lifted toyota truck just wont cut it. Basically the question is, is this worth it?
I would do it if for yourself and just using to get more experience but you stated for the wife. In that case you can get a more reliable gen 2 if you look around for that price but it would be close to 200k. I have gen 3 and gen 2. My gen 2 was reliable at 180k. No battery failure. Hope this helps Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
That's a lot of miles. You are better off buying an older Corolla in the $3,500 price range with maybe 100K miles or so.
I appreciate the feedback. Is there a price where this would actually be a good deal? I can do all mechanical work myself (short of pulling the engine)
That's hard to say, as it was a Taxi and more then likely has had a HARD life. The engine more then likely is using oil, as this tends to be the case with older GEN III. A clean and well taken care of GEN II makes more sense, if you have to have a Prius. Otherwise there are clean alternatives like a Corolla that will be get decent MPG.
IMO, no more than $500 and the seller should pay you to drag it off for him. Asking $5000 for something like that is just ridiculous. Not worth the $3.6K you are willing to pay IMO. Think about your wife who is pregnant. Put her in something better than this deal.
welcome! i guess it depends on what all is available out there. to think, i sold my 2004 w/ 100k in 2012 for $5,000. and hybrids were selling pretty well back then. are you familiar with hybrid repair and have the correct diagnostic tools?
FWIW, Kelly Blue Book values this Prius Private Sale at $3,392 at "fair" condition. When you consider the battery being bad that price should be discounted accordingly. 2010 Toyota Prius I Hatchback 4D Trade In Values - Kelley Blue Book
TWO WORDS: Fahrvergnügen NO! Can't believe you are: 1) asking the question. 2) seriously even considering to buy it. Let's go over the negatives, in your OWN words: #1) #2) #3) Pris are prone to burn, not leak oil. Far more posts of oil burning than leaking. I would put money on this car BURNs oil, like the vast majority of other Pris. #4) $2071 a new OEM HV Battery pack. 2007 Toyota Prius Parts - Toyota of San Bernardino Online Parts Store #5) I will call him a fool. He must enjoy gambling. Easy to say he did that. I want proof. #6) Too Fahrvergnügen high. Price should be $100 MAX. #7) Everything about what you want is wrong. This scream oxymoron to me. You want to make a beyond beaten car, reliable for your wife, and soon to be delivered child? What the Fahrvergnügen is wrong with you? If I'm pissed at you, and I don't even know you and have absolutely no vested interest in your well being, what do you think your parents and her parents will say? That's great that you have some automotive aptitude and skills. This will help you keep repair/maintenance costs down. By towing, are you referring to having an official tow truck tow a project Prius to your house? Consider borrowing a friends truck that is strong enough to tow; hopefully this truck has a hitch. You can always rent a full size or bigger truck from Enterprise. You can rent a 2 wheel car dolly or a full length car tow trailer from Uhaul, etc. This would be far cheaper than a tow truck, esp if towed a great distance. READ: 2006 Prius Rattle Under Acceleration | PriusChat This is why $3K is out of the question. OP (Original Poster) reveals purchase price in post #15. OP reveals why/how he was able to get so cheaply, post #18. You should pursue a Prius w/ a dead HV Battery or one w/ a used battery [Doorman, Fraudtech (Greentech), others] installed, as this will likely fail soon. The older the Prius, the greater the likelihood the HV Battery will fail. Inspect the modules for sequential serial numbers; non-sequential serial numbers indicate a module swap was performed. This type of repair is not a long lasting repair for most people. A new OEM HV Battery can be had for $2071, if you get the dealer to sell to you or other Toyota dealers to price match and sell. Since you want reliability for your wife and future child, you should be leaning towards a new OEM HV Battery. Gen2s seem to have lasted 8-10+ years. Should you get 10years, this is what your amortized cost would be: $2071 / 10years = $207.10/year / year/12months = $17.26/month As an added bonus, you could always swap this pack into another Gen2. Or into a Gen3 by swapping all the modules into the Gen3 HV Battery case. Good luck.
Alright as an update, I went with the suggestion of trying to find a Gen 2 prius in the same price range that wasn't beat up and has more like 200k miles. And as it just so happens today someone posted a 2008 prius with 220k miles, working battery, really good condition. Nav/back up/ interior was nice. One headlight bulb is out (he didn't know). All good tires. ect. for 3k and I got it for 2700. Basically I saved about 1k! And this will hopefully be more reliable for the wife. It is in the gross green color (I am not a big fan) but it will work for us! Now to decide if I should grid charge it to hopefully have the battery last longer...
I helped a friend of mine a few months ago buy a 2008 with 200k miles. It is also that light green color. That color is actually why she bought it! The car runs great, and she recently took it on a 1200 mile road trip with it!
