2009 Prius with 192k miles, worth it?

is there a way to check for oil consumption?

how often does the brake pump run, and for how long?

is cat theft a thing there?

is the new battery oem from a dealer with receipt and warranty paperwork?

 

call tampa hybrids and see what they have. straight shooters

 

Stuff to check-
Is there a catalytic converter on it? Should be under car on passenger seat side
Has the inverter coolant pump been changed?
Has the thermostat been changed?
Same for the brake pump
What condition is the HV battery in? There are stress tests and quick tests for voltage variance.
And of course the typical stuff, tires, brakes, lights.
The price is pretty fair IF there are no other problems. But buyer beware you need to learn alot about the car maintenance or be prepared to fix/pay

 

I stay away from small dealers (buy/pay here shops) and prefer private sellers. The shops tend to focus more on the profit while the private sellers just want to get rid of the car. I buy and sell cars on marketplace, there was this guy who told me that his job is reselling stuff and he wants to get my BMW 530i that I posted on facebook for $1500 (it got 220k miles) the next week it was posted for $3500. Even if the buyer negotiates for the price like $1k below he still makes a profit. Even worst was when a couple who owned a small used car shop near my area bough my Jeep Liberty for $2500, they tried law-balling me because they found issues (tires, dents, ac clutch noisy, no front cv shaft installed so it's not 4x4) the very next day it was sold for $4500 with no fixes at all (they just washed it) I could still see the smear of paint on the tire (which they didn't replace) and not even shampooed the interior.. easy money eh..

P.S.
there are also people on marketplace that are posing as private sellers but they are actually brokers/resellers. Some of them have affiliation (or acquintances) from Carmax, Auction sites, dealers who buy stuff wholesale. These are cars that reputable shops don't want to sell to their customers to avoid complaints and tarnishing their business.

 

i was in just about the same situation in 2019, i began at 180k and thought i could do 300k maybe. 3rd car i bought. turns out its probably not going to happen, because my car is an huge oil burner. that is not good for the engine or the environment, and that pollution also is quickly killing the catalytic converter. to make it to 300k i might have to spend a few grand. not sure if there is any way to check for that before buying the car.

only thing i would add to the above, is to check for water leaks. after a rain, check underneath the floormats and also under the spare donut in the trunk, and down in the battery box with a flashlight.

good luck

 

Please don't take this as a knock but you need to educate yourself, or buy something with a warranty. A gen 2 prius is old and will need an owner with mechanical skills or a good reasonable shop to service it.
Looking at the car and asking questions can be telling, even a salesman will react and give you a clue. As I typed it is a fair price if the car has no major issues. If you need to take it to a shop for anything it can be an opportunity for a lasting positive relationship (car and shop) or a drain on your wallet. Case in point, my son took his to a shop for inspection and they handed him an estimate for 2K in repairs. New wheel bearings, rotors and pads. I did the whole thing including inspection for under 500.

 

I own a bunch of Gen 2's, flip a handful, and maintain a growing number of hybrid Toyota's, so that's my bias.

I'm always on the hunt for more and generally walk away from probably half of what I look at, but here's my process for a quick initial qualification. I have a bi-directional scanner that allows me to perform lots of special functions, but for basic go/no-go evaluation I'm typically just using it to read current and historical codes.

Dr. Prius has been invaluable in helping me determine hybrid pack condition and in my experience, the vast majority of codes that I encounter on higher mileage Gen 2's are attributable to hybrid pack and 12 volt battery issues. As a result, I typically take a spare of each with me, 'because attempting to troubleshoot most of the remaining systems is usually a waste of time without both batteries operating normally. Even where the hybrid pack may not be up to snuff, having at least a fully charged 12 volt connected can be adequate for evaluation.

Beyond that I look for what I consider obvious stuff, like a missing catalytic converter (or replacements, 'because many of the aftermarket units will not pass an emissions test, if that is a requirement where you are). Open the inverter coolant reservoir and inspect for evidence of good flow. The pump is not a particularly difficult or expensive replacement, but I have encountered a few where owners have simply over-filled the reservoir and caused a kind of vapor lock that can be put right simply by bleeding the system a bit.

Oil in the engine; it's condition, level, and whether the seller can tell me what they use and how often they change it. This is pretty huge for me since my family vehicles are almost all 200k plus. Windshield stickers for Jiffy Lube, et al, do not impress, but if there are enough of them, and the interval is close to 5k miles, I consider it a win. I've replaced several Gen 2 engines, and while it's not my favorite job, it's not the worst. What I much more dread than ANY other is replacing ABS pump/accumulators!

MFD's, dash clusters, A/C compressors, coolant pumps & by-pass valves all pale in comparison to the PITA that is replacing a Gen 2 ABS pump, IMNSHO. Again, it's not beyond the capabilities of most DIY'ers with a little patience and just some basic hand tools, BUT, it is located in THE most uncomfortable place possible to work on, especially if you have big bear paw mitts like me. Swinging the inverter out of the way without completely removing it does help save some time, but you're still left working in a half bent over position while fiddling with brake line connectors on rigid lines that have to be perfectly aligned or risk cross-threading, and there are a bunch of them. Then you have the great glob of the iron counterweight attached to the bottom of the unit that requires more fidgeting and fiddling to find that one particular path that will allow removal while trying to bend brake lines without kinking... it's ultimately just an uncomfortable and tedious PITA.

The book probably says it's a 4-5 hour job I would guess, and I haven't tracked my time, but I generally don't figure to get much of anything else done on any day when I have one of those to replace. The fact of their becoming harder and more expensive to come by as functioning used units also exacerbates the issue (the only thing worse than doing the job is doing it only to discover you just installed another failed unit) but I recently met someone who built a test bench for them that I can't wait to duplicate. Final word on these; the first time I looked under the hod of an older Camry hybrid my hatred of Gen 2 ABS pumps was elevated even further, 'because the Camry assembly was beyond simple to access. It was located right up front, with all of the brake lines connected directly on top with absolutely nothing in the way. I haven't replaced one yet, but I swear, if it takes more than 15 minutes to remove I'll eat my hat. Oh that the Gen 2 only had such a thing, but I digress.

With the exception of bleeding the brakes, pretty much everything suspension, steering, wheel hub, and brake related is very affordable and pretty simple to repair for the average DIY type, so don't let that stop ya. I have however walked away from a couple of cars where someone had tried jump starting directly to the 12 volt battery, AND they "think" they might have reversed polarity, just before everything went screwy, and situations where they attempted to bypass something within these discrete systems (that still have to communicate with each other) and started cutting and splicing wires... yeah, that's a hard no for me.

They aren't speedsters, they aren't slot car cornerers, and they ride just a tad better than a buckboard on a hard clay road, and the self-closing doors sometimes drive me to distracton, but they are still my favorite, although I'd rank the older Camry right up there with them. Keep the best quality synthetic oil in them, change it often, and they just seem to keep running and running. I would add that I'm also a huge fan of Liqui Moly products, especially their newer Moly Gen oil, engine flush, and fuel system cleaner. That, a new PCV valve and quality air filter (nothing Fram) and a new set of NGK ruthenium or iridium plugs and I've seen improvements in compression ratio, mpg, and overall engine performance for what I consider a pretty modest expense, but to each his own.

If you find a car that's accident free, the A/C blows cold, hybrid pack checks out, and the ABS system isn't laboring, it's had to go wrong. Not sure about your market, but parting and scraping out a Gen 2 can yield over $3,000 in my area, so for a runner that meets the above criteria I won't let one go for less than four grand, and that's with a crazed clear coat and cloth interior, so generally not the greatest looking, BUT, the cars that I go through I do make sure that they're getting at least 50 mpg for a full tank, and I can't think of anything else out there that'll give ya that for that kinda money.

Good luck.

 

No. A high mile car is a huge risk when its a Prius. 98% of "new" batteries are used batteries that are just better than the one they replaced. Anyone who replaced with a new Toyota oem battery will show you the $2500-$4000 receipt. Plenty of guys buy old disabled Prius', make them run, put a $50 clean on them and flip them as is. Buy a conventional Corolla or Civic if this is your price range. You will thank me later.

 

congrats, all the best!

 

Good find. Now keep reading this forum and learn about keeping it in good shape. Or find an independent shop that you can trust.