I want a 2004 but it has too many miles on it

It totally depends on who owned it and how well it was taken care of. Properly taken care of Priuses have great chances of hitting 250k+ miles.

You must inquire more about its maintenance history and previous owner.

 

Just check the "car fax" and make sure the previous owner took care of it and got the required maintenance at the right time. I bought a 2006 Prius last year and it had 230k miles on it. These cars will last a LONG time if you take proper care of them.

 

If you have time to wait it out for a while, you should be able to get an '04 Prius with a lot less than 176K for around $6000.00. Have you checked the usual sources (eBay, Autotrader, Craigslist, etc.)?

 

I would take the 2004 Prius to a reputable mechanic who can thoroughly inspect the vehicle prior to purchase. They will probably charge you an hours worth of labor, but it will totally be worth it. How many miles does the 06 civic hybrid have on it? Depending on the mileage, $6,000 would be a good buy!:rockon:

 

This one came up locally the other day. It looked clean, and sold pretty fast, too.

2004 TOYOTA PRIUS HYBRID - 4DSD - SOLD!!!!!

172k is alot of miles. I would look for something with less.

 

Sorry but how would that be worth it? If the mechanic finds a host of problems then suddenly you just wasted money on the mechanic. Make the seller pay to get this done.

 

He can tell you what the condition of the car is and keep you from wasting your money on something that has alot of obvious problems.

 

Any time I purchase a used vehicle with higher miles from a private seller, I pay a mechanic I have worked with in the past to inspect the vehicle. Yes it does cost me $100.00 to have this done, but I get the peace of mind that I am not purchasing a vehicle that may need expensive repairs. The mechanic also describes to me items that may need replacement in the near future. The inspection helps me decide on whether to purchase this specific vehicle or not.

 

I had an 07 HCH for a little over 2 years. Getting rid of it for the Prius made me happy. Not that the car was bad or had issues (it did a couple, though). My biggest complaint with the HCH was its lack of power. Now, I'm not saying that the Prius RPM isn't getting high sometimes, but with the HCH, staying at 75mph on the highway almost seemed like a struggle. The Prius does a much better job at these speeds. I always said before, I wished the HCH had a 1.5L engine vs the 1.3L that it has. Running the A/C in the summer really killed the MPG and caused the battery pack to deplete really quickly in stop-and-go traffic. Then you were really using that little 1.3L to keep the car going and charge the battery pack. The G2 Prius has the 1.5L engine and does quite well at highway speeds. I think that would be the better option if you go that route.

Personally, for $6k, I think you can get a much newer vehicle with a lot less miles if you look non-hybrid. Any vehicle getting aged at 7+ years and 100K+ miles is due to have some upcoming maintenance. It's the nature of the beast of a mechanical device.

Sometimes you have to determine which option is better for you. I agree with some others, be patient and look around. You might find an 07/08/09 pop up somewhere for $12-15k and you could finance possibly half of it.

Best of luck on the search!

 

Price seems good for only 91k on the odometer. I have not heard about the issue of overheating of the battery. I have a friend who is a service advisor at a Honda dealership in Wisconsin. He says they rarely see customer issues with the Civic Hybrid. The temperature does not get extremely hot here is Wisconsin so that may be a reason they do not see overheating batteries.

 

At the moment 41.7 is my average on screen.

 

Do you need a Prius, or do you need a car? And how soon? If you need a Prius, you may need a lot more time than you have searching for the right one. I'm thinking you'll never be happy buying an unknown high mile Prius.

If you need a car, maybe you could get a lot more car with a lot fewer miles if you looked at other models with reasonable mpgs.

As always, you'll get all the FREE advice you need from PriusChat.

 

Well, based on what you just said, I think you just made a decision. Good job! Scope out a nice Honda Civic in your budget and GERD (get 'er done).

 

i have 2006 for sale, $13,000 offer to PC members only. (must mention this or it $14,000 to anyone else. offer good till gas hits $3.50) only has just over 60,000 miles on it.

ooh u a bit out of my area. maybe not good fit

 

I think that you would be better off buying my Son-in-law's 2005 at 100k miles for just a little more. At least I know that it was maintained properly (all at a dealer so all maintenance is on record at Toyota). The car is in New Jersey/NY area.

JeffD