What to look for when buying a used Prius

[MetroMPG]

I'm still actively watching my area ads for a Prius. Prices have gone looney tunes (way up) in the past couple of weeks. Spring fever?

A few weeks ago I was ready to go look at an '03 that had average kilometers and a bunch of non-hybrid issues (exhaust, wheel bearing, etc.) for a good price ($1200), but the seller was TERRIBLE at returning calls & messages and it sold before we could connect. That's three now I've missed that I probably would have bought (one 1st gen, two 2nd gens).

Originally Posted by Cd

1) Battery pack health: How can a person check the battery condition of a car when buying from an individual seller ? Can a standard garage do this check, or must a dealer visit be scheduled for this?

One thing the seller said was he had a Toyota dealer inspect the hybrid battery before he decided whether he'd was going to sell it or repair & keep it. He said the dealer told him the pack was about "half worn out".

A bit of researching uncovered:

If your paying for a dealer investigation they will charge you one hour labor and hook up there proprietary Techstream Software laptop to the OBD port on the car and give the Hybrid battery a look see. Ask for a full printout of the Hybrid battery particulars including the battery 'Delta".

That's from Prius Chat, and unfortunately there's no more info provided than that. But it seems to confirm it is possible to get a battery condition report from Toyota.

I don't know what the "Delta" is (the thread doesn't explain it), but if I had to guess, I'd say it might be divergence in capacity/SOC between subpacks which reduces overall pack capacity, like the Honda packs.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

A friend told me that the first gen still had belt PS or AC or both, whereas one or both ofnthose are electric on the second gen.

It doesn't make sense when we think about its driveline layout, but I've never seen a 1st-gen Prius.

[MetroMPG]

Wiki says the first gen car had electric power steering. Not sure about A/C.

[nimblemotors]

A/C was engine driven in the gen 1. The electric power steering was also different, on the gen 1 it is in the rack, on the gen 2 it is in the column.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I have seen some quotes about the 2nd-gen Prius being the first car ever to not have any accessory belt.

[Gasoline Fumes]

The 2nd gen Prius has a water pump belt.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

The 2nd gen Prius has a water pump belt.

Actually, it was the current (3rd-gen) one which introduced the electric water pump

[sarguy01]

Slightly old thread bump...

I am going to look at a 3rd owner Prius that looks very well maintained in the pictures. 143,000 miles with a price of $4,500 firm.

There are two people coming to look at it today. So my wife and I are going soon. This is to replace the Mazda5 - double the gas mileage! My Civic is gone and I got a Durango...long story!!

This thread was useful! Thanks!

[MetroMPG]

That's a decent price for that many miles, if it's in decent shape. What year?

Good luck & keep us posted.

[MetroMPG]

PS: I thought you started out with a Durango, pre-Metro days? Memory is foggy.