New to PriusChat but not Prius. I sold my 2006 Prius which had 286k miles and was in need of 2k in repairs. My "new" Prius was available for $4900. 71k miles, clean CarFax, maintenance records, etc and everything is excellent so far. Who else has purchased a 14 year old Prius? Thanks!
What would you do if you're faced with a $2000 repair on this car? Ex catalytic converter failure, hv battery failure, brake actuator failure, AC failure, drivetrain failure? Those are not unheard of on these cars
Are you kidding me? I've seen plenty of low mileage Prius identical to this one on craigslist every day that are more than $2000 over what this person paid... This is a great deal!!! Congratulations!!! Of course you gotta be crazy to live in Florida, which is probably why the price is so good!
A 14 year old Prius with low miles in the Florida heat, means that battery has suffered unless it was kept in a climate control garage with a HV grid charger on it... yeah right... So budget for a new HV Battery in the next year or two.
Thanks for your response! Buying older used cars can be risky, I understand. I feel Prius is among the most reliable and of course have the budget in the event of a necessary repair. Also, the CarFax showed the Prius I purchased spent most of its life in Maryland so hopefully the hybrid battery life will be ok. In general, I feel good about the purchase and like everyone here hope to get many years of service before getting my next Prius!
That makes it likely you bought it from someone who retired in Florida and doesn't drive around much anymore. That's my ideal dream car! You scored big time on this one!!! Congrats!!!
If this were my car, I would put a newer hv battery in there now. Just so I know the next 100k miles won't be an issue
These batteries normally don't last much more than 10 years. Your battery is from 2005 (it may already have been replaced). If it has not been replaced, it's already very weak, hurting your MPG and can fail at any given time. My reasoning on changing it now is because the car's mileage is quite low, should give you a good 100k miles more of somewhat reliable service (mechanically). So during that 100k miles, this battery if original, will need replacement. I would do it now so I can shop around and get some options as the car is still working. Once the car fails, your options will be very limited because you're in a rush to get the car back on the road. We have a member Jim that can source newer batteries at great prices. I think he recently sold a battery from 2015 for $900. I think if there's something available like that, it would be great to buy it and be worry free for the next 5 years.
Nice! I just purchased a 2005 with 65k. The prius adventure begins. It's my first one, hopefully it goes a long time without issues
Well if it’s the original traction battery I would put aside around 2,000 dollars for a new one. That would be issue #1. And soon.
Thanks for the advice, was on my mind when i bought it. Ive done the work myself on other hybrids ive sold, and ive found batteries for less than 2k. Chrisfix on youtube has a video showing the process and a link for batteries. From the numbers on each block, the delta soc, the temperature, the battery wont need to be replaced for awhile. It holds a charge, and i can easily go from 0 to 15mph before the ICE kicks on (after the car warms up obviously). If theres a slight downhill, which my way home has, it daily gets me all the way to 25mph.
This is a bad idea. This is a useless test. Congrats on the Prius, but when your pack fails in the next couple years, fix it properly.
I would def ignore the urges to replace the battery when yours is working fine. I bought my 2008 with 233k miles. The battery is original and seems to run great too. If the battery fails some day then replace but for now drive it and enjoy it. Nice buy!
