05 prius
 

so my wife asked me about getting this car for her
its a 2005 Toyo Prius hybrid with 166k for $4500.0
that is about all I know at this time

chances are the batts are either dead or close to it, and I know from reading these forums those will be pretty expensive to replace, not really an issue as long as the car will run fine with just gasoline ?
also, what problems might I need to look for ?

Im pretty familiar with looking at used cars, but not a hybrid.

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

The battery might be under warranty. According to toyota that is under warranty for a longer time than the rest of the car. A Prius without a HV Battery probably wouldn't work.

Search the forum for discussion of recharging these. I remember someone, MetroMPG maybe, describing cheaper ways to fully and properly recharge them. Still pricey, but maybe $1K instead of 5.

thanks, both of you, I will do more research on those things and contact toyota about the warranty of the batts.

wow, my timing just sucks...
they literally sold it 5 mins before I called.

Yeah, I would have snapped that up asap. Hybridbatteryrepair.com will refurbish a pack for around $1k to like new condition if you even have a problem with it which I highly doubt. I was just reading an article today in Automotive Engineering magazine about Ford's hybrids. Out of the 42,600,000 cells they've put into hybrids since 2004 only 5 have failed! Thats 5 cells, not 5 entire packs, 5 cells! The article likens those chances to getting struck by lightening twice. I don't think Toyota's battery record is quite THAT good, but I know its really low, under 1%. Then again, they have a LOT more hybrids on the road than Ford. Unfortunately, Honda is the one stricken with the bad rep for hybrid packs. Their battery management isn't quite as strict as Toyota's and Ford's apparently and also heat kills them (I know this from talking with the hybridbatteryrepair.com owner at a car show).

yea, I was ready to drive there, take a "quick" look at the car to make sure there wasnt anything major wrong with it, and hand them the cash :)
now I'll just have to wait for another great deal like that to come along, plus it will give us a little more time to save.