There's a car on craigslist for $2,800 it's a 2006 prius with 271,300 miles. Has a new hybrid battery, well maintained, new oil change, a full tank of gas, a clean title, and new tires. They say the only thing that's ever gone wrong was the tire pressure sensor needed to be replaced which they did when they got the oil changed yesterday. I really need some advice from prius owners who know better than I do about this kind of stuff. This car is perfect for me in every way except the miles. What can i expect from a prius this old and with this many miles? Thanks.
So, this owner claims the HV battery is new. This has been stated nearly as many times as "the check's in the mail". Unless the owner can prove a HV pack was purchased "recently" with a receipt, you're flying by the seat of your pants so to speak in making this decision. The seller always has more information than the buyer and so much so for the Prius. See if there are any pieces of tape covering the MFD display or combination meter. I'm not joking. An owner claimed that the master warning light aka the red triangle of death had been covered with a piece of black tape when he bought it. Check the obvious stuff that you would check on any car: And: Check the inside of the tail pipe. Is it covered with soot? Prius' with lots of miles typically burn oil. Are there any warning lights on the displays (that havent't been hidden with black tape LOL). Listen for fan noise behind the back seat on the passenger side. Unless it's really hot, you should not hear any sound from that fan unless the HV pack is about to fail. Listen for unusual noises when turning. If you hear a growling noise when you turn that indicates a bad wheel bearing which can be a costly repair. It might need new struts and shocks. New tires? Nice, but unfortunately this will hide alignment problems. Check carefully that the car tracks straight when you release the steering wheel. If it wanders off track quickly that isn't a good sign. Perfect except for the miles? New HV pack? Why then is the owner selling it?
Is the battery new or remanufactured with used cells? All remanufactured batteries have deviously used cells and could fail at any time. A new Toyota battery has a 3 year warranty when installed by a dealer. It has a 1 year warranty if purchased from a dealer and installed elsewhere.
would you buy a used taxi? god NO! $2800 for any 12 yr old car is insane forget it has almost 300,000 miles.. look up the value yourself on websites like KBB.com or see what people are paying on e bay for a car with the same miles.. I would not give more then $1500 for it. if you had to trade it in or repair it in a year you would have a worthless car common problems, battery $3000 ABS brake system $2800 digital dash going out $1150 water pump $400 hybrid pump I think is the same $400 a new battery (most likely rebuilt) is meaningless when the rest of the car has 270,000 miles on it..
when you say a car with almost 300,000 miles is not perfect for you, you've answered your own question. unless you need it for parts. and i'm not sure you want to be grabbing many parts from a worn out car.
