Buying used 2008 battery level concerns

Being such low miles for 10 years old, you better save for a new battery. That being said, that 10 mins isn't a great judge, and I'd rather have the battery acting like that, then swing up to full every time you stop (like a failing battery). It's hard to find low mile gen 2, so I would buy it if you can swing a good deal. That battery might just need a little work out to get it back on track!

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I interpret the age and the low miles as two separate indications of battery trouble ahead. Age affects these batteries. Wear (usage) affects them also. A pattern of disuse can also hurt them.

A low odometer reading is okay if the car earned it a few miles per day. It's bad if it got all those miles on a roadtrip in 2012 and has been sitting ever since.

I'm still fairly new to the Prius but everything I've read here and elsewhere has led me to be skeptical of any Prius battery once it reaches 10 years of age.

 

I can speak to this directly, because 1 year ago I bought a low-miles '08 for $7200.

The question I asked myself was, "Is this car worth $10.5k with a new battery?" i.e. $7200 for the car plus $3200 for a new battery (the max price).

The other question was "When the time comes, do I have $3200 to buy that battery?"

For me, the answer to both questions was "yes".

If you answer both of those questions in the affirmative, buy the car. If not, don't.

 

If you can find a $6900 Prius that comes with a new, dealer-installed, gen-u-wine Toyota battery, go for it!

But any other replacement battery would be a no-go for me. You have no real idea what you're getting.

 

Could you talk him down from 6900 to a price you would be comfortable with? People usually ask a higher price than they are willing to take.

 

I don’t know why Toyota would say that. Techstream has a live EVBattery function that looks at the battery function. It can even record the numbers as you drive

 

congrats!

maybe start with a prolong reconditioner.

 

pleasure. there are some great threads here, and experts. the prolong owner is also a member.

 

Prolong is a way to maintain your hv battery and extend its life .

I use it and share ownership with 2 other members here. It helps with costs and using the equipment to help others.

If you have any questions, ask away.

 

have you plugged the vin into the toyota owners website to see about ownership, recalls and maintenance?

 

I wish I could do that. I don’t know too many Prius owners other than myself though. The way I figure it if I buy the prolong system and I don’t need it in the future. I could sell it here for more than 50% of what it costs.