Hi if I was looking into a gen 2 Prius, other than the pricing and trim level and cosmetics of the vehicle, what tests would you run to ensure you're not getting a car that's going to die in a month? I have a Bluetooth scanner and all my PIDs loaded into torque pro so I can check battery voltages, however I don't know what would be considered poor voltages or ranges for them. Other things would be for leaks and a test drive. However before I buy I just wanted to reach out for some expertise. Thank you.
Struts over bumps. Can't really feel it in the back when you are in drivers seat. Just normal stuff. A good indicator that it is super healthy imo is if there are 150 or more miles on the screen and gas mileage is registering 41 or better. If it's like 37 or 38 not that big of a deal (a good portion is how the person drives) but I'd be cautious if avg. MPG is showing in the 30s. They're basically indestructible cars that easily hit 250k even if abused and not taken care of.
how old, how many miles, how much? about the only thing you can predict is high repair costs, exorbitant dealer charges and and no independent hybrid mechanics in hawaii
As an experience hybrid driver/owner, I totally understand your suggestion and for the most part agree but it is subject to exceptions that newbies may not understand. For example, my 06 with only 65k miles is in excellent cosmetic shape with a NEW Toyota hybrid battery but it would fail this test because A) it's driven by a young driver and B) it does a lot of short trips with a/c blasting. Neither of those are conducive to good mpg's. Even when it was still on the dying original battery, I could move that avg. to the upper 30's/low 40's if kept on the highway at lower highway speeds (65ish). So I wouldn't use this measurement as a pass/fail litmus test. FWIW
