Did I just miss out on a prius deal?

You can check battery life with Dr Prius and also look at the battery to see serial number or if it is refurbished

 

You can read the the date code on the battery case, but it won't necessarily tell you whether the pack has been refurbished.

The traction battery consists of 28 modules, each of which is individually stamped with a date code. Refurbishers will typically combine modules from multiple used packs that are similar in capacity to form a new refurbished pack, and a refurbished pack will therefore likely have modules with very different date codes. Getting to the modules requires a fair bit of disassembly, so I don't think there is a realistic way to get to those in a vehicle someone else is selling. I would insist on a receipt.

 

welcome!

sounds like a decent car, but you would want to be sure it was an oem replacement.

not sure about australia, but here we can log in to toyota and see all work completed by dealers.

even though 2009 prius is a great car, you should be aware that there are several systems that could fail, and are very expensive to repair, unless you can seriously diy.

all the best!

 

A gen3 with 195,000 miles for $6k would sell here but I would only recommend it assuming the buyer is advanced diy in terms of engine work. Otherwise the car could easily cost you an additional $5k us or more in repairs at any time excluding the hybrid battery.

The worst issue is head gasket fails that can be concealed by temporary sealers by the seller. That could cause an engine replacement.

This post is on a very similar gen3 wagon: Potential 2012 v Level 5 Purchase | PriusChat

 

A gen 2 is getting too old but a new (not rebuilt) hv battery in a low mile example might be lower risk. Their brake boosters also fail. I like a Corolla or Camry for a budget purchase. At least any mechanic will work on a Corolla.

Avoid:
Primarily Low Tension Rings

• 2007-2011 Toyota Camry HV (Hybrid)
• 2007-09 Toyota Camry 2.4L (07 Camry is the worst, best 13-15)
• 2009-2011 Toyota Camry 2.5L 2AR Engine
• 2009-11 Toyota Corolla XRS
• 2009-13 Toyota Matrix 2AZ Engine
• 2006-08 Toyota RAV4
• 2009-2012 Toyota Rav4 2.5L 2AR Engine
• 2007-08 Toyota Solara
• 2007-09 Scion tC
• 2008-15 Scion xB
• 2010-14 Prius 1.8L including international 09 gen3s
• 2005 Avalon V6 (vvti gear)
• 2007-10 Sienna (vvti gear)

 

2015 will for sure have revised piston rings, less prone to develop oil consumption, but I don’t think they’re any less susceptible to head gasket failure.

 

Take a breath and try to relax.
There are people on here that always like to complain about the Prius.
Like ANY other car, they have their issues.

I only have 318,000 miles on my Prius and it's still working.
Original hybrid battery, brake booster/pump......

I burn about 1.5 quarts in 5000 miles depending on how I drive. Staying 65mph or under
it stays lower.

It would be better if you looked for a 2015 model year.

If you are able to repair the car yourself, you won't have to pay the huge labor costs
for repairs, just like any other car.
Just try to one that has service records to prove they've don't the work needed.

 

The gen 3 has a couple of significant engine issues:

1. until partway through model year 2014 (VIN at which the transition happened in attached) low tension piston rings were used, that have proven prone to promote oil consumption, starting somewhere between 100k~150k miles. Toyota’s stance that 10k oil changes are acceptable, coupled with owners never popping the hood, likely increases the odds.

2. a new EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system was introduced, and has proven to be prone to clog up with carbon, which in turn has (hotly debated here) led to excessive and unevenly heated engines, and head gasket failure. Toyota’s been less than forthcoming about the issue, and a solution.

What shakes out: the cars that make it through this mess, say to 200k miles and beyond, are those with savvy, hands-on owners. The cars for sale tend to be “religiously maintained by dealership”…

 

Just realize old hybrids are expensive to fix, especially gen3s or their derivatives. If you are a mechanic like Dogman, doing a head gasket over a day or two is reasonable, which he has done. Others spend weeks as diyer's repairing their head gasket or spend $2,000-$7,500 US with a shop depending how bad it is and how reliable the result will be.

Any hybrid over 10 years or 175,000 miles will need a $2,500 battery in your ownership but most will have a used battery installed which will cause trouble in a year rather than enjoying 8-10 years with a new set of modules.

When the head gasket goes some will throw sealer in and sell it before the sealer wears off in a month or two and the engine is worse. Same when the used hybrid battery shows symptoms again. They throw a high voltage charger on it and replace the worse modules and sell the car. The low tension rings are a big problem during this time period and cause massive oil consumption, carbon and eventually clogged catalytic converters.

When someone is smart enough to ask before they buy, a few of us take off our fanboy hats and use a little shock treatment to quickly educate the first time hybrid buyer. The gen3s are still petrol engines and not the best examples because Toyota pushed the envelop to get increased mpg over the gen2s.

Some of us who benefited from $10k of gas savings and good reliability for the first 175k miles can justify $2,500 several times in the next 125k miles using diy and independent hybrid mechanics to soften the blow. Others buy used and are shocked when their good looking gen3 Prius ruins their day.

If I needed a local shop to keep my high mile used car running I would choose a conventional car. Your experience with a ten year old gen3 hybrid might be better. Or you may get to change a $2,500 brake booster or be stranded by a no warning inverter fail, additional real gen3 risks.

 

sometimes we have to live in reality and not fantasy land, unfortunately.

thehycam doesn't have the ring problem, afaik. we have had an 08, 13 and now a 24. all great cars, but none over 100,000 miles.

 

That must be a very early model 3? You probably have to be aggressive in searching until the right one comes up. For the money that one may be good, if you spend low you can’t expect a new car.
All older cars with nearly 200k are prone to some issues. As you see someone casting doubt based on the negative samples that have had trouble has made you leery of what the vast majority of owners are happy with. Hard to find them here too, so bad they aren’t. People want those. But they could have something, like any used car.

 

In my humble opinion and not knowing you personally and since you used the phrase peace of mind, if you are financially capable of buying new, that is the way to go.

Car prices are ugly, as are prices of many things. This is reality. Finding a deal on a good used car is unlikely unless it’s from a close trusted friend or family member. Others have said the rest better than I could.

So, no you likely did not miss a great deal.

 

So true that car prices are currently ugly. I love my newly purchased 2013 Prius 4 (deluxe solar roof package, garage kept, pristine condition, 59k miles, pleather, heated seats) and had to pay $16,500K after months of searching for a private seller. The seller had financed it and still owed money, thus lost $1k. He’d unfortunately, purchased from a BMW dealer after the owner traded it in for a new BMW, and he found it to be too cramped for his large frame on long commutes. I bought my previous 2013 Prius new, and it had only the solar roof panel. I’d paid about 30K drive-out in 2013 but sadly, deer hopped on my hood twice when it had 139k miles and it was totaled out by Progressive for $13k in 2018. I doubt used car prices will go down.