Joining the Prius family

Um, I don't want to worry you but two statements seem contradicting:

1. The car has 160k miles and the hybrid battery is original
2. The battery has at least 50k miles on it

Is the battery from the second statement the 12v battery?

But other than that, welcome! Looks like a nice clean Prius. Driving around in SF, should be easy to hypermile going down those hills. Up ... not so much eh.

 

Welcome to the fold and may the car perform well for you.

No one can say how long the batteries are going to last. Sometimes the hybrid battery will show some signs of weakening over time but there are many instances of the battery going out without warning. For someone to say it will go another 50,000 miles is either dishonest or ignorant. The battery on our previous Prius went from performing perfectly to "blowing out" so quickly it was a matter of parking the car in the driveway for a few hours and then starting it back up. Since your car is beyond the 150,000 mile warranty here in California I would suggest you start setting aside a "battery replacement fund". Then, if or when the battery goes out, you'll be prepared to replace the battery or add the money to your initial payment on your next car.

 

And if he told you his pet unicorn loved the feel of the ride, would that make sense either?

Unless the seller is clairvoyant, he has no idea. Going off of historical data and averages, in San Francisco's climate you should expect about 10-12 years out of the battery. 10-12 years with average driving. Less life with more driving (i.e. a taxi) and less life with less driving (grandma only drove it to church on Sundays). The taxi's can go 400k+ on the battery pack no problem. But that's 4 years of service.

It is is possible you will get another many years trouble free battery out of it. But it is also possible that it will die tomorrow. Be prepared for whatever happens in the future.

In San Francisco, 8+ years on a 12v battery would not be unreasonable. Heck in the cold climate here where it is cold soaked at -30C for hours, I still got 9 years out of the original 12v battery but it was super dead by that point with at least 2 shorted internal cells.

 

Good find. All good things come to the patient. Brains and luck help too. That looks like a very nice 2008, congrats.

FWIW, the big battery in my 2005 went past 300,000 miles and 11 years. The engine still isn't burning any noticeable oil between oil changes.

 

congrats and welcome, all the best!

 

Congrats! I was in the same boat as you recently after moving from the East Bay out to Tracy and extending my commute. Ended up with an 07 with 101k on it that I found at a Ford Dealer in Fairfield right after it had been traded in. I'm loving the mileage as well and also hoping to get many more miles out of the HV battery

 

Congrats and welcome. Looks like a nice clean car, which would indicate it has been well cared for. I see that it has a dealer ad plate, but you indicate you bought it from the original owner? Was the original owner a car sales dealer?

 

Hrm ... the only paperwork that needs to be done is signing the title over to you, and maybe a bill of sale. Did you see the title in person and/or inspect it to make sure its legit with no liens?