I'm looking at a 2005 Prius with almost 64000 miles on it and the list price is $6000. The car fax showed that it was regularly serviced at a Toyota dealership and the 12v battery was replaced in 2015. I'm planning to go test drive it but was looking for some input first. My two biggest concerns are that the price seems low and I'm not sure what the condition of the battery is. I plan to have it inspected by a Toyota dealership but when I talked to them on the phone they told me that it's hard to tell if the battery is bad and they told me if it is then a remanufactured one is $4800!. From what I've read online, a mechanic, or I see there is an app, can test the battery to see check its condition. Is that correct? Also, from what I've read $4,800 sounds extremely high for a replacement battery. The dealership I called also said it's a bad idea to replace bad cells instead of getting a new battery. Any thought would be greatly appreciated!
Sitting isn’t good for these batteries, so it will need replacement before too long, especially since it’s 16 years old. $4800 is wayyy too high. It should be about $2500 from the dealership from what I’ve read, and some people have had even cheaper. They did tell you right about replacing modules in the battery, it might last for 6 months or a year, but it will turn into a game of wack-a-mole. $6000 isn’t high, some people here might say they are asking too much it being such a old car. It just depends on how much you like it. Old gen2’s can still make great cars, just make sure you have some money saved for repairs!
Thanks Aaron! That price sounds more reasonable and is something I am way more comfortable with. It would still be nice if I got lucky and got a little life out of the battery. The dealership told me that when they test a battery they can only tell if it's bad if it is actively failing. Does that sound right? From what I understand, you are able to test the battery and get a good idea of the condition it's in. Last question, since I am going to need a battery, what is your opinion on just spending more to get a newer model? Thanks again for the reply!
call around dealerships you're willing t drive to. the best price you can find is the amount you have to be willing to spend if the original goes bad. you've got a great find there otherwise, with a lot of miles left in her check kbb.com for the value
Yes they don’t have the time, care, or skill to tell you how it’s doing, they’ll tell you if it’s good or bad. A hybrid expert could fully test it a comb through the data and tell you. Honestly, If you were to buy a newer one, still stick with the gen2. Older high mile gen3s are nothing but trouble with the oil consumption, rattles, egr, and head gaskets. Id show around for other prices on a new battery. I can send you some links too. You could possibly get a few more years out of this battery, you never know!
BeeMax™ Hybrid Battery for Toyota Prius | Bumblebee Batteries these people have been around for a long time. Their new replacement battery is $1749 and outperforms the oem Toyota pack.
A 12v battery @ 5 years is on borrow time. How much time? A load test would help. $200ish installed A HV battery @ 15 years is at end-of-life. Expect imminent replacement. $2000-3000 installed. $6,000 + $2,000 (on up) battery for a 15 year old car? I can find LOTS better deals. If the HV battery was replaced with an OEM recently (with records), it's a reasonable deal but consider brake accumulator and inverter pump costs; especially if you're not a DIY type person. GOOD LUCK!
Thanks for the advise! How much would you say brake accumulator and invert pump replacement costs? Since this vehicle has low mileage I plan to drive it for a long time so I don't mind putting some money into it.
