I've been lurking around here for a few weeks now and I think I am ready to bite the bullet on a Gen II Prius. I found an 04 with Nav with 108k for $8000. It is a 2 owners car. The current owner only owned it for a few months and wants something else. I've read a bunch of stuff about transaxle issues as well as MFD issues on the 04. I am willing to take the chance on the MFD since they are on ebay for under $1k. From what I have been reading on here the transaxle issue should not be a problem as long as the fluids were changed at the right times. I went on the Toyota Owner's site and pulled the history on the car and it goes as quoted below. Normally I would not considering buying a car with this many miles but this car seems to be religiously maintained. How do you guys feel about this car at this price? Is there anything else I missed that I should be looking for when I go to see it tomorrow?
Hi SR, FWIW my opinion is that this Prius has received a lot of work. I believe its not typical to have both the front and rear brakes replaced by 93K, possibly an indication of aggressive driving styles? The seller, after 'owning a Prius for a few months' and the "03/18/11 Penn Toyota 103,746 0288598 DECLINED SERVICES" a month before selling this car makes me curious. Good luck and congrats on your decsion to buy a wonderful Prius!
Yes, one possible interpretation of this is that the mechanic found a serious problem and the owner of the vehicle decided to sell the car, rather than pay to fix the problem. Therefore the OP should exercise due-diligence by having the vehicle inspected by a Prius-trained tech, before committing to purchase that vehicle.
Agreed, and I'd be sure to take it to Penn Toyota for that inspection! Chances are the Tech will remember the car and the circumstances, and you'll know the real reason. Also noticed it had body repair done in Mar 2009, might be good to inquire about the extent of the repair to the body also.
By Dealer 10/11/10 Penn Toyota 98,063 0278919 *NY STATE INSPECTION By Dealer 09/24/10 Penn Toyota 97,307 0277827 *NY STATE INSPECTION Does this mean it failed an inspection?
Looking at this service history, it is clear that the dealer ripped off the original owner with unnecessary brake jobs, fuel injector, and throttle body cleanings. I suspect the new owner, having experience high mileage used cars, didn't bite on whatever upselling the service advisor was offering on the "DECLINED SERVICES". Or it could just be that they didn't want to leave the car for a few hours to have the inverter cooling pump recall performed, which should be done asap. Of course, we do not see any of the services that would actually make a difference, such as performing the inverter cooling pump recall, at least one transaxle fluid change, engine coolant drain/refill. The car is also due for spark plugs and PCV.
