Prius noob about to go look at a used 2008 Thursday. What should I check for?

Congratz on your soon to be car! Im excited for ya! I just got my new to me prius a few weeks ago. Have them confirm that all recalls have been fixed. I found one that had not been fixed a day after I bought mine. Luckily they went ahead and replaced free. I wish I had noticed that the electric locks and the 6 cd changer were not working. Somewhere on this site is a very simple way to check your 12 volt battery yourself..
My advice is do all the negotiating, get to the absolute lowest best price, then investigate these things and say "ok ill take it at that price but be sure to fix these things first.." Good luck!

 

You can check the 12 volt with the MFD. Here is the link.

Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

A NEW FULLY CHARGED 12 volt will read the following

Accessory Mode: 12.6 volts or higher
Ign On Mode: 12.4 volt or higher
Ready Mode: 13.8 - 14.2 volts

If you see Accessory Mode around 12. 1, the battery is weak and should be charged overnight then retested after standing at least 12 hours.

Also if you see Ign. On Mode around 12.0 or below, chances are the battery is on it's last legs or very weak.

It is normal to see these batteries under charged if the car has been setting awhile. However when the battery gets low, the plates get sulfated. Once they sulfate the battery won't perform well and you may have trouble down the line. There are a lot of reports of folks who have electrical weirdness that goes away once a new battery is installed. Of course there are the naysayers here too that claim the 12 volt thing is all hype.

For the record, the Prius takes a JIS AGM type battery. It has small posts on it and is also vented. The batteries at NOT cheap and there are only a few alternatives to the OEM battery. Some have converted to a standard flooded battery. You can do that at your own risk, however I do not recommend that practice. In case of a rear end collision, the battery could be crushed and battery acid could escape. A AGM battery is built differently from a standard flooded battery which is found in most cars today. If you have any doubts about the battery, have the seller install a new one before you buy the car.

Also, make SURE you get TWO WORKING keyfobs. Again, those things are expensive, and they have to be programmed to the car. Again, have the seller take care of this before you buy the car.

Best of luck to you and welcome to Prius Chat!

 

Check the vehicle history on the Toyota owners website and CarFax, look into the recall replacements, drive the car and see what kind of current MPG you get at 55mph. Is the engine cycling off at stop lights? That's a good thing. Driving below 41 mph with the cruise on does the engine cycle off and the MFD show electric only for about a mile? Another good thing. As a not so great indicator but may be interesting, what does the Average MPG readout say?

I wouldn't worry about the miles. The car typically has many more miles of reliable use with reasonable care. At around 15k a year, in 3 years you'll have 150k. You may or may not want to consider selling and replacing it then but it will still have a great resale value while you saved lots on gas. Repairs? No one can foretell the future. But statistically the car is one of the most reliable and maintenance free on the road. The incidents of large repair bills happen but they are rare. 1.5 million of these cars in America today. A few have had large repair bills. 1% of 1.5 million is 15,000. But that is still a relatively low number. And the cost of many of those repairs is continuing to go down with the use of salvaged and remanufactured parts and more hybrid capable mechanics.


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If I bought a used Prius I would change the 12 volt battery immediately. Wouldn't even bother checking it.
It prob sat on a car lot till the battery went dead. Most likely has been jumped started a few times.

If you buy a Prius make sure you never ever ever let the 12 volt battery go dead and have to jump it. Hundreds of posts here on this forum where owner's incurred $ XXXX.XX amount of damage with a simple jump start.

Also make sure you buy a Prius with smart key. That's the best feature. If it has a black plastic button on the outside drivers door handle you can press with the fob in your pocket to lock the car it has a smart key. Don't buy a Prius without it.

SKS and Camera are package #2.Like mine.

 

Good luck. These cars are really great and reliable IMO

 

Congrats on your purchase!! And welcome to the Prius community.

 

That is a very clean 04. Congrats!! How much did you have to pay? Is there a scratch or a ding anywhere?

 

Nice. I have noticed the hood paint on these cars get dinged over time. Probably needs more or better clear coat in that area. But that is one nice looking 04.

 

LOL, looks almost like ours. Difference between the two your and ours. Ours has the plastic wheel covers, your doesn't. Lot's of folks pull them off anyway. Some think they look bad, other's don't

Congrats on your purchase.

Try to figure out if the coolant has been changed in both loops. Also try to figure out if the spark plugs were done. You might want to drain and refill the transaxle also. No flush is required.

Welcome to the club, I am sure you will be happy especially when you fill up. Until you get used to the bladder and the guess gage (fuel gage on dash), I would suggest you fill up when you see two pips (blocks) left. FYI, the bladder holds less fuel when it is cold and more fuel when it is warm. Another tip is to fill up with the slowest setting on the handle. When the pump kicks off, hang the nozzle up. Don't top off or overfill. It also helps if you will let the tank breathe a little bit before you start filling up. Also, be certain the oil in the engine is in between the two marks on the dipstick. Overfilled is not good and causes problems. Normal oil change with a filter on a Gen II is 3.5 quarts. That will put the oil just below the top mark on the dipstick. Maximum is 3.9 quarts. Fours quarts is TOO MUCH and will overfill! Check your oil regularly. Older Prius are known to use oil. At the bottom mark, it takes 1.6 quarts to bring it back up to the top mark.

Expect to fill up at three pips about 6.5 gallons. Two pips about 7.2 One Pip about 8. If you see the last pip flashing buy gas NOW. You don't want to run out of gas. Finally, learn how to jump a Prius properly. If you don't do it right, over 4K damage can be done.

Not trying to scare you, just giving you a heads up.

 

hmmm, got me scared!

 

Congrats on joining the Prius family, and on a great looking car.

 

Good looking car man, I just bought mine a couple weeks ago and is almost same mileage as yours... Yours looks much cleaner. Guy above mentioned hoods of prius get dinged up over time, that's very true for mine. I ordered the stock gold touchup paint from Toyota for 10.01$ just an fyi. May our "new" cars carry us over the roads for another 200k miles! Congratz!