2nd gen Prius a safe reliable buy?

While some problems exist, I'll point out a few things.

1. Toyota sold 181,000 Prii in 2007. You're looking at one review of one car by one customer. Yes, HID headlight versions can be problematic but even though I paid a mechanic to replace one of mine a year ago (water got into it; it never showed any signs of the haphazard shutoff problem) my 2008 Prius is still clipping along at a rate of costing me less than 47 cents a mile. That includes every penny including purchase price, registration, insurance, repairs, fuel, tires, Prolong battery conditioning system, etc., etc. That figure has gone down every year as the purchase price gets spread out over more years. I bought mine three years ago so a lot of the price per mile is still the purchase price. Take that out and it's under 30 cents per mile.

2. It wasn't too long ago I saw something from ISeeCars.com indicating that among cars still being driven by their original owners after 15 years, the Prius was #2 (behind the Toyota Highlander) with 16.2% still with the first purchaser. Actually, Toyotas dominated the top 15 on the list. Older Prii are obviously still reliable enough and still cheap enough to operate that people hang on to them.

3. One thing I've found is that although people complain about Toyota's interactions and lack of customer support on some issues, there is a great community here and a wonderful network of people who are more than willing to help with tips, physical help repairing things, warnings and the like. They more than make up for direct contact through the manufacturer.

 

welcome!

there is no such thing as a reliable $3,600. car

 

That's just not true. There are plenty of cars that are reliable at that price point as long as they're taken care of.

My wife and I purchased an '07 Kia Optima with 105K for $3,500 miles three years ago. I sold it last year with 178K and had nary a problem with it during that time. Tires and brakes for over 70,000 miles of otherwise trouble-free operation. Nobody can say with a straight face that it wasn't a reliable car.

I paid $3,800 for my Prius in immaculate shape back in November, and it's easily the best-driving 170K car I've ever been in. A review of the maintenance records shows that it's had one mechanical failure in its entire life...a water pump at 120K. I have no reason to expect it not to be reliable...I'm a picky mechanically-minded guy, and I can't find anything to fix on it.

My 2017 Pacifica has been in the shop more than both my Kia and Prius have combined over a 3-year period. And I paid $25K for it.

 

It can be, if you know cars. But I'd hesitate to recommend something as complex as a Prius, with the warts of a 12-year old car, to an internet stranger who appears to want to gas n' go. That's as much as I'd hesitate to recommend a conventional car past its warranty period-- too much "nurture" vs "nature" at this point.

Read this site, know what to look for, empower yourself. There will more than likely be a shake-down period as you get to know it and its quirks. It'll be similar to but different from a conventional car of similar vintage and price.

Getting techstream from ebay ($15 now) will let you run a health check on the HV battery and some other stuff. If you stay within the Toyota/Lexus/Scion universe it'll be useful for that stuff too.

IDK how objective a dealer would be doing a used-car inspection. Would they overshoot the car's problems so you'd buy one of theirs instead? Would they point out a couple little things hoping you buy the car that would then become a money pit to their benefit? I haven't been in the situation of having to rely on a 3rd party evaluation.

The cars themselves are nice-- you'd like that the AC runs as fast at idle as it does on the highway.

 

a guy just took my daughters 08 prius she is trying to sell to a dealer for an inspection. they came up with $1300. worth of work, none of which needed to be done

 

I think in terms of sheer number of cars affected by the headlight issue it's most likely a blip but if you happen to be one of those unlucky souls who gets one of those cars it's quite significant. As for paying that much extra for a Gen 3 with similar mileage, I'm kind of torn. Given the reliability of the 2007, 2008 & 2009 I definitely wouldn't go Gen 3 if the Gen 3 is a 2010. I'm always leery about the first year or two of a new model or new generation as they tend to have problems and the upgrade kinks need to be worked out. The 2010 is no different from what I've read. If the Gen 3 you're looking at is 2012 or later I would probably get the newer car. It's 5 years younger wear-and-tear wise and has a battery system that's still under warranty.

 

Did she forget to fill the blinker fluid .

Didn’t realize the price for that had gone up so much .

How could she possibly drive it with that much expense being required .

 

Hmm....

I have to say, as a generalization, it's probably fair to say there is no such thing as a reliable $3,600 car. Even though I myself have owned vehicles I paid far less for, that turned out to be very reliable.
One of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned was a $600 Toyota Corolla I bought, that was far, far past it's prime.

But in general? All vehicles are machines, and age, condition, and upkeep catch up with all of them. And the truth is once you are looking at vehicles a decade or so old, and for under $5000, there is no way to guarantee reliability.

Prius...have a very good reputation and I think reality, in regards to reliability.
In this case? You could buy the 2007 or the 2010, and possibly get many more years of operation and reliability, but obviously it simply can't be guaranteed.
So maybe more precisely I'd say, at $3,500, at a decade or more, and with 150,000 miles, there is no way to guarantee reliability.

With either choice that would be my biggest concern. And even with sincerity, once a HV battery reaches 10 years old, I don't know how anyone assures the future reliability of the battery. IMO...10 years on the Hybrid Battery, it could be excellent today, and need replacing tomorrow. Or you could get several more years of operation,- really impossible to predict.

 

I soon will be selling all my reliable gen 2 for $3000 each. But I can't guarantee them to be reliable once they leave my hands

 

2 things stand out to me. First is the battery, if it’s the original no one here is going to guarantee it’s going to last 5 more years. It might but it might not. You mentioned dogs, what kind? The Prius traction battery is cooled by air in the cabin from a vent next to the passengers rear seat. Dogs that shed can cause reduced airflow and kill the battery.

 

2 large shedding labs? I would say no myself but others have more experience in these matters. I defer to them.

Also a 500 dollar battery is a waste of money. My motto is “new or nothin”

 

The shedding issue is easily overcome. For a couple of dollars you can buy a package at Home Depot of a light foam home air conditioner filter. It's very easy to cut many small sections out of them that fit nicely behind the fan intake cover in the back seat. I change mine every oil change and am still working on the original $2 package I bought a couple of years ago. For your dogs I would change that filter more often than I do for my pugs.

Heat is tough on batteries but if the car is garaged most of the time it's all right. I run through the Mojave Desert or down to the Palm Springs area at least once a week all summer. Mine winds up parked outdoors there while I play a round of golf or visit my son. Granted, the car is not showing the strength of battery numbers I see from people in less extreme heat but the car is still going strong. It is important to keep up with the cosmetic, mechanical and electrical maintenance. Cosmetic and mechanical is standard with any car and I use the Prolong battery maintenance system to keep the battery in as good shape as I can.