Hey all, New guy here, and life has necessitated a new vehicle for me, and after talking to some coworkers and friends, I’ve pretty much decided on a Prius. Most of my time is spent traveling (in a company vehicle), so I don’t need too many bells and whistles on my personal car, and I live in Southern California, so weather is not too much of an issue. I’ve found a 2005 Prius with 72k miles for right around $6k. That’s a little under the KBB value but still in the “range,” so I was wondering if anyone had any advice as to what to potentially look out for. Most of the articles I’ve found about battery life from the 2005 models are older, but they all sound incredibly positive. Is the low mileage vs. high age something to consider? Thanks for your help! John
How many miles do you expect to log on an annual basis? If you don’t plan to drive much, an old Prius is not a good choice as the traction battery will deteriorate with long periods of disuse. Further, the 12V battery also needs frequent vehicle use or it will discharge.
Welcome to Priuschat!! Run the VIN at https://www.toyota.com/owners and see what pops up, there could be missed recalls or worse.
welcome. 72,000 over 13 years is an average of less than 6,000 miles a year, which is not good for the prius battery, but great for everything else. just plan on $2,500. to $3,000. for a new battery and you'll have a great little car. all the best!
So I figured it out...after running the CarFax, it looks like the last reported service was at 299,999, then the mileage started over! Sounded like it was too good to be true...thanks for the input! BTW I ended up with a 2013 Prius Plug In.
