Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - What to look for when buying a used Prius

Cd · 10-03-2016, 06:22 PM

Hello everyone ! It's been ages since I last was on Ecomodder.
My parents just bought a 2008 Prius from AutoNation for around $9,000 - maybe more.
( $6,999.99 and nine tenths of a penny, plus another $2,000 or so for a 2 year warranty )
I found out after the purchase. They wanted to surprise me.

> The car has over 150,000 miles on the engine.
> The guy at the stealership said the battery pack was checked 'several times'* .
> I know it is not enough miles to make a good diagnosis of the MPG of the car, but A trip in city traffic ( max 45 mph and several stoplights ) gave 41 mpg over a distance of 14 miles with 50 Wh regenerated.

> The trip home driving at 70 - 75 mph gave 51 MPG. I thought city MPG was supposed to be better. ( 120 + miles )

>

> I drive a really slow automatic 1993 Civic, and the acceleration seemed as bad as my car.

Based on this info. , how badly did my parents get ripped off ?

I'll re-read the entire thread and some on PriusChat, but in case it wasn't asked here, let me ask you guys some questions that are worrying me right now.

> So a prius is dead in the water when the battery runs out. Even if my parents kept this thing in a garage and never drove it again, they are still looking at a several thousand dollar battery bill on top of the cost of the car when the battery dies, correct ?

> Does the car just die one day,or are there symptoms that begin to appear when the battery starts to go bad ?

> One thing that puzzled me was that I noticed that the gasoline engine was going when the car was backed out of the driveway. Is this normal ?
I thought the car ran on battery alone up to like 30 - 40 mph.

I had them stop while I listened, and sure enough it was the engine going. I had them put it in park, and then they drove off.
I noticed it then drove in EV.

I'm just really worried my parents got ripped off.

(* Meaning it went something like this -> Walks to car ..looks at battery ...yep - almost dead. Repeats again. Yep ...almost dead )

Thanks guys ! I've missed coming on the forum.

Here is the car next to mine. Just look at all of that FRONTAL AREA on the prius !

10-03-2016, 06:22 PM	#45 (permalink)
Cd Ultimate Fail Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Austin,Texas Posts: 3,585 Thanks: 2,872 Thanked 1,121 Times in 679 Posts	Hello everyone ! It's been ages since I last was on Ecomodder. My parents just bought a 2008 Prius from AutoNation for around $9,000 - maybe more. ( $6,999.99 and nine tenths of a penny, plus another $2,000 or so for a 2 year warranty ) I found out after the purchase. They wanted to surprise me. > The car has over 150,000 miles on the engine. > The guy at the stealership said the battery pack was checked 'several times'* . > I know it is not enough miles to make a good diagnosis of the MPG of the car, but A trip in city traffic ( max 45 mph and several stoplights ) gave 41 mpg over a distance of 14 miles with 50 Wh regenerated. > The trip home driving at 70 - 75 mph gave 51 MPG. I thought city MPG was supposed to be better. ( 120 + miles ) > > I drive a really slow automatic 1993 Civic, and the acceleration seemed as bad as my car. Based on this info. , how badly did my parents get ripped off ? I'll re-read the entire thread and some on PriusChat, but in case it wasn't asked here, let me ask you guys some questions that are worrying me right now. > So a prius is dead in the water when the battery runs out. Even if my parents kept this thing in a garage and never drove it again, they are still looking at a several thousand dollar battery bill on top of the cost of the car when the battery dies, correct ? > Does the car just die one day,or are there symptoms that begin to appear when the battery starts to go bad ? > One thing that puzzled me was that I noticed that the gasoline engine was going when the car was backed out of the driveway. Is this normal ? I thought the car ran on battery alone up to like 30 - 40 mph. I had them stop while I listened, and sure enough it was the engine going. I had them put it in park, and then they drove off. I noticed it then drove in EV. I'm just really worried my parents got ripped off. (* Meaning it went something like this -> Walks to car ..looks at battery ...yep - almost dead. Repeats again. Yep ...almost dead ) Thanks guys ! I've missed coming on the forum. Here is the car next to mine. Just look at all of that FRONTAL AREA on the prius !