Everyone says don't buy an old Prius!?

dump it, you have nothing but expensive repairs in your future, what you save in gas will never cover the repairs.. youcan find many regular cars getting mid 30's mpg that anyone can work on

 

This is strange to me. This is a Japanese car. How do you know the bearings are from China? I have my third prius now, the first two had 210k with no bearing issues. My third has 120k. Still have my second. Do you live where there is rock salt on roads?

 

I live in PA - road salt for sure, but I don't think bearings should need to be replaced every 60K! Mine were official Toyota replacements, installed by a dealer (of course the originals were original).

Of course, who knows where Toyota has their parts made anymore . . .

 

This is more along the lines of what we did. My first and second Prius my son and husband put over 50,000 mile on them in the first year. (they are in Real Estate) When I ordered my Prime I decided I didnt like the idea of having that many mile on my new car so we opted for an older model prius for them to drive. We found a 2007 with 101,000. miles for less than 4000. It seemed to drive great when I test drove it. Unfortunately the battery failed 2 days later. We knew going in that there was a chance of the battery failing and had budgeted for it. We replaced the battery and its been great so far. My son has put probably 20,000 miles on it and it still going strong. Knock on wood.

 

Bought a 2008. Had to replace the combo meter (~$500, out of warranty) and the 12V battery (~$200) in the first month or so of ownership.

 

Lots of folks will say it's a bad buy. Well, you have to figure that depreciation on a new one is a bad buy, too!

It's like buying a 16-year-old $300,000 house with all original HVAC units, water heater, sump pump, plumbing fixtures, and kitchen appliances. You know something is going to go, soon, but to build a new house with similar features would cost 420,000! If you go into the deal knowing you might have to spend $20K to 25K to replace some things, it's still a better deal. You just have to enjoy the journey. (Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.)

We just bought a 2010 Prius IV with 53,600 miles, and a 2015 Prius v with 49,000 miles, and gave our two 2009s to our twins.

So far, the only thing I have done to the 2010 is to vacuum out the 12-volt outlet in the center console to remove a penny and pill left there by the previous owner. I will have to add a cargo cover and cargo mat, and I'll need to repair the satellite radio if I want to use it, but everything else works fine. Someone upgraded the wheels to 17" and put Nexen tires on them, which has given the mileage a little bit of a hit, but I'm getting 43 to 48 by calculation, so I can't complain too loudly. Most of the driving has been at highway speeds above 70, or around town in traffic with the A/C on. I WILL have to replace the 12-Volt battery soon. It seems original, and tests marginal.

The Prius v needs a cargo mat, but everything else is working fine.

We bought my wife's previous car, a 2009 Gen 2, in 2012, with 49,500 miles on it. It has 153,000 on it. I think we have put a water pump in it, along with tires, a 12-Volt battery, a MAF sensor, wiper blades, and a few light bulbs.

My 2009 Touring Edition with 167,000 needed the same things, minus the MAF sensor, plus new HID headlamp assemblies, because both the old ones leaked and shorted out. BOTH 2009s get better mileage on an annual basis than they did when new!

Drive them frequently. Change the 12-Volt battery when it is 4-5 years old, or sooner if you leave a door ajar for a couple of days. Change the oil and rotate the tires on schedule. Change the filters early. Change other fluids on schedule. Keep them locked. Garage them if you can. They will last a long time. We see dozens of Gen 2 and Gen 3 Prii on the road around here! There are even a few Gen 1s on the road here.

 

Since the thread was bumped up...
In a nutshell, this is why potential Prius owners are warned about older models (10+ years). IMO, many older Prii are quickly sold because of a failing or failed battery. The cars are extremely reliable but many of the extremely reliable ones aren't for sale. And most owners aren't going to warn potential buyers that their battery is dying. Or the original owner traded the Prius in and a used car dealer purchased it at auction without knowing the traction battery is on it's last legs. Buyer beware all around.

If someone buys a Prius with an available OEM battery budget, like Hayman66, that usually works out well. That's why 1st time Prius buyers looking for an older gen2 are advised to have a repair budget of a few thousand dollars.

 

I am the original owner of a 2004 Prius with 215,000 miles. I do my own maintenance for the most part and use synthetic oil. The gas mileage has slowly decreased since when it was new. The local tech training center has an auto mechanics shop and a hybrid shop. The hybrid shop renovated my main battery for $5.00! They use a process to restore the cells back up to 90% of when it was new. I didn't see a big improvement in gas mileage until the days started getting warmer. I am also lucky to find 100% gas in my area. With a new 2018 Prime, I think it is time to keep non-ethanol gas in the tank. (I understand not all parts of the country have access to straight gas.) The hills in Tennessee and slower speed limits are something that makes the Prius shine in fuel economy. My greatest expense was $600 for a new FOB and a new 12 volt battery from the dealer. I did learn the hard way that with some tires, it is important to watch the rear struts and rotate the tires. For a buyer of a used Prius, I suppose there are countless things about the car that you wouldn't know.

 

I have owned my 2007 Prius since 2013. Only issues werr replacing front struts in 2016 for $1,500. Then same issue 2 months ago for $450. Just the front shocks. Other than that it is rock solid and the best car I ever owned. If you put the right tires on it it does great in snow and ice.

 

I don't know if I agree.... My first Gen 2 2004 went over 220K miles for over 13 years of driving... Bought another Gen 2, 2005 in 2015 with 60K miles, only had it 3 weeks and big @$$ truck rear-ended me and totaled it!!! But we decided to buy it out/back for a couple grand from the insurance company (after fighting with them to cover the cost of the sales price, as it was only 3 weeks since it was purchased) and it's still going strong, albeit not the prettiest 2005 Prius, but we pounded out the dents and seeing it's winter now, no-one will be able to tell what the body looks like because it will be covered in snow or salt until Spring most days... but I digressed... Readers digest version is that my auto mechanic says the Gen 2 Prius is the best one they've ever made! And from what we have seen and experienced, I'd have to agree with him... Altho I do agree that if something goes wrong, it will be pricy and it might be best to trade it in at that point... but for the right price a Gen 2 could still be worth it... Just my 2 cents...

 

Wow! that is awesome! Where is this training center? (It might be worth a road trip if it's ever needed!)

 

Hi. My 2004 Prius has about 220,000 miles. I change the oil and oil filter once a year and use Amsoil Signature Series 5W-30. The brakes have never been replaced (and because the I use the "B" engine compression to slow down they will probably not have to be replaced for a few more years). It's 14 year old battery was refurbished by a local technical training center for $5.00. I will try to get them to adjust the mechanical lifters and replace an EGR valve next year. An upcoming expense will be to replace the broken plate which is a part of the hatchback lid assembly ($461 from Toyota). The mileage is in the 47 - 52 mpg range. I can give some maintenance tips if anyone is interested.

 

Sorry for the delay . . . I'm in London England with grandkids. The tech center is in Crossville, TN. There are only a handful of hybrid shops across the U.S. with technical center automotive departments. Naturally the students need hybrid cars to get the hands-on experience they need.

 

Yep, that hatchback lip assembly was not one of the better engineering design features... the better question is how many people with Gen 2 hatchbacks still have one intact!

 

When you buy parts from the dealer the tag on the bag usually says where they are from. When I changed the clutch on my wife’s 4 runner the rear main seal was made in mexico

 

Stay away from the old Honda Civic Hybrids. Lemon lawed one for piston slap.

That is a new block in some cases if not caught soonest.

 

Would you guys pay $900 for a 2008 with 440k miles?

 

mine is intact but rattles something fierce.

 

He has now put 44,000 miles on our 2007 after the battery replacement.

 

I dont know about that, 440k is an obscene amount of miles! Hopefully your in Canada and that is 440k kilometers. How does it drive? Any trouble codes? What was it used for? I would ask if they would just give it to you!