Buying a Used Prius / Battery Advice

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by c.ortiz108, Oct 7, 2021.

  1. c.ortiz108

    c.ortiz108 Junior Member

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    Hi all. I've owned two Gen 2 Prii, and am looking for another (or possibly a Gen 3). The only ones I've been able to find locally (in NM) are high mileage - like 180k (2008) to 245k (2010) - and with the original hybrid batteries.

    Having experienced a failed battery with my 2006 at 116k miles (after I bought it with 95k), I'm a little wary....

    I'm thinking I just need to factor in a battery replacement cost in the price I'm willing to pay for a car. The various Toyota shops in my area charge between $2,600-$3,000 or more for a new battery installed. Considering that the cars I'm looking at are around $4,000, this doesn't seem like very good economy: ultimately getting a car priced at $4,000 for more like $7,000, and still with high mileage.

    But might it be worth it if I were to go with one of those mobile refurb installers, like GreenTecAuto, or Green Bean? (or someone else)? I've read other posts about them here, but nothing recent. Maybe things have improved?

    Also, is it better to buy a Gen 2 with lower miles, or a Gen 3 with higher?
     
    #1 c.ortiz108, Oct 7, 2021
  2. nancytheprius

    nancytheprius Active Member

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    i bought an 06 prius 1 year ago with 63k miles and now have 83k miles on it. no issues (other than an oil overfilling experience, but that was avoidable) still original hv battery and everything has been great. mine was well taken care of and garage kept tho. id root for getting the low mileage gen 2, but only bc my experience has been pleasant! let us know what you find/get
     
    #2 nancytheprius, Oct 7, 2021
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  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    #3 rjparker, Oct 7, 2021
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  4. c.ortiz108

    c.ortiz108 Junior Member

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    Yeah, waiting for something with lower mileage might be the best option - it's just that I need a car and so little has come up in the 6 weeks I've been looking. The lowest mileage I've found so far is an '09 with 123k and original battery, from a dealer who wants $6,300 for it. Can I ask what you paid for the 06?

    Why is that? Do you think the Gen 2 was generally a better car?
     
    #4 c.ortiz108, Oct 7, 2021
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Gen2 is a more reliable car. Older gen3s have excessive head gasket fails, oil consumption issues, brake booster problems, inverter fails (still on special warranty for some gen3s), a high maintenance egr system that gen2s don't have and a problem where the intake manifold fills up with oil and condensation. Battery issues are equivalent.

    A low mile gen3 might be ok if you punt before 150k miles. Otherwise stretch and get a gen4 with significantly better engineering.
     
    #5 rjparker, Oct 7, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2021
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  6. c.ortiz108

    c.ortiz108 Junior Member

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    Oh, good to know. I didn't realize there was that much difference. Reliability is the most important thing for me.
     
    #6 c.ortiz108, Oct 7, 2021
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's hit or miss with refurbs. mostly miss, but you might get lucky.
    there's nothing guaranteed reliable unless you can find a reliable rebuilder like texas hybrid batteries, but then the price starts getting up there because a good rebuild is labor intensive.
     
    #7 bisco, Oct 7, 2021
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  8. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    I still have my 2006 Prius that I bought new and I sold another one. I have also a Lexus hybrid. All 3 hybrids had excellent reliability.

    However, after 15 years now the Prius reliability is lower than a 7 year old Camry, Corolla, Mazda 3 or even a Civic.

    I wouldn’t worry much about reliability on a Japanese car but hybrids like the Prius and electric cars have a fatal economic flaw. The price of replacing the traction battery with a brand new OEM is about 60% of the value of a 12-15 year old used car. This is a much higher economic risk than buying a non hybrid Japanese car with proven reliability.

    So in other words, you can keep buying used inexpensive parts to keep any car for 20 or 25 years but for hybrids or electric cars the cost of replacing the battery would always be expensive compared with the value of the used car especially since used batteries do not last long.
     
    #8 Aegean, Oct 7, 2021
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