Hello, My wife and I are looking at a high mileage 2004 Prius to use for about 70 miles of driving per day. Because of the miles, we're looking for something very inexpensive and good on gas. The Prius has been on our list for quite some time. I found a 2004 with north of 250k miles on it. It looks decent and the owner has a handheld OBD2 scan tool that is showing 7E8 and P0A80 codes (Red triangle on dash). From what I've read so far, it sounds like 7E8 doesn't really mean much but the P0A80 could mean a bunch of things. I'm not against servicing battery modules or potentially replacing the entire battery if needed but I'd like some education on this code and whether or not I'd be buying a car that I can't drive without spending a pile of money on it first. If I can pick the car up for $1500 or less is it worth the risk or is this a pandora's box of no thanks?
No thanks unless you willing to change the battery with new cells ($2400) and won’t be disappointed if your brake by wire system fails ($2500) and perhaps the engine turns out to be an excessive oil burner ($5000). Oh yes, you are very likely to have the Catalytic Converter stolen ($1000-$4000 depending on state requirements). Plus normal maintenance like electric water pumps, wheel bearings, suspension and tires due to miles. Many if not most local mechanics won’t work on hybrid problems, often leaving you at the mercy of dealer rates. Budget Oldies But Goodies (w Lower Miles) 2000-04 Avalons (no rust) 2004-06 Camry V6 2005-08 Corolla (very good)
What he said. NOT a good plan. Not even close. But then any 20 year old vehicle with 250K miles on it probably wouldn't be a good choice either. You need to adjust your sights a little.
Pandora's box. A new or young Prius can save you a lot of gas money. An old Prius has the potential to cost you a lot, as rjparker relates. Everyone is hanging on to the good ones and trading in their problems. Not every old Prius is a disaster- but your odds aren't good. I'd honestly expect a car with that description to eat about $3500 before I'd trust it to carry a family member 70 miles.
if you can't wrench and rely on shops to do the maintenance/repair then don't think about buying a high mileage hybrid. I have a Camry Hybrid that's over 210k miles now but it has gone through AC compressor and evaporator failures, ABS pump/accumulator leak and HV battery replacement.. if I relied on a dealer/shop to fix it then all the gas savings are gone, worst is I'm upside down. Luckily I was able to replace the parts myself (used) and got the cost to keep it really small. I paid $1700 for the HV battery replacement though from Greenbean 5 yrs ago. IMO Hybrid or EV purchase needs some real thinking because although you're saving gas now, the cost of repair will basically wipe that off in an instant. Even for a Tesla, say you bought it for $45k and then after 10-15yrs the battery needs replacement, will you recoup the 16k battery replacement? I'm even worried that the battery will be fine but the cooling system (leak) will be compromised as it becomes older and the other electronics (which I find useless or gimmicky stuff) which are dealer-only fixes (and costly) As EVs or Hybrids go past the life of the battery they become disposable items like your cellphones (buying new is better than fixing it)
It's less than $1000 to buy 28 refurbished Modules and swap them out yourself. Chances are there could be only a few bad ones in there. I would offer $500-800 for it. This video by ChrisFix shows how easy it is:
