Used Prius for my oldest, help me get edumecated.

sunvalleylaw

sunvalleylaw

Yep.
My oldest is now in Bellingham at school (Whatcom Community College for a couple years, then maybe a transfer) along with glass classes. We had hoped a bike would be good enough, but for her to work and get to school, she needs a vehicle. We have agreed to help her out. Deciding a used Prius fits the bill. Hatch back with fold down seats, good mileage, decent crash test safety.

Our budget is $5-6k, and so we were looking at 2007's with as close to a hundred thousand as we could find. But a 2005 popped up within budget with 80k on it. Could be a winner! The others we have been looking at are more like 100-120k miles. What am I looking for as for differences in model years? I understand there may be a back up camera available a year or two later. It looks like you can install one including a new stereo unit. I see a Jensen on Amazon.

The 2005 is less money than a 2007 with more miles, and if we can install the camera into the nav/stereo unit, that seems doable. Any other thoughts from you Prius owners or other auto people?
 
Once any vehicle passes 10 years old I lean towards mileage over age so I would be more inclined towards to '05...

From my experience with them there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the '05 and '07 as far as reliability and instances of repair...the most common non-maintenance parts I see selling are wheel hub&bearing assemblies...I have seen a couple with pretty scary code lists throwing check engine lights, but they are hard use taxis, so take that as it is...

The one major weakness with them is battery life...once a battery shits the bed replacement costs pretty much meet or exceed the value of the car...also keep in mind that any failure in the battery management system must be dealt with by the dealer or one of the very few shops that is hybrid certified...

Beyond that, as long as it has been properly maintained and not abused, it should give her good service for a number of years yet...
 
DFB said:
Look for a VW Golf TDI.
#fugaprius.
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Actually not a bad idea considering resale is still in the toilet on them and she could drive it into the ground then walk away

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Get her a VW Beetle or Super Beetle. Sure, they are almost 50 years old, but they are easy to maintain and sturdy. Now, if air conditioning is a must-have, that nixes my suggestion.
 
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I like my Passat TDI but I am more attentive to vehicles. We have lots of friends with old Prius cars that keep on going for them and their kids. And they seem to do ok in moderate snow. So not doing the Golf.
 
sunvalleylaw said:
I like my Passat TDI but I am more attentive to vehicles. We have lots of friends with old Prius cars that keep on going for them and their kids. And they seem to do ok in moderate snow. So not doing the Golf.
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Look into battery replacement costs. You can get a used passat for the price of a prius battery.
 
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One nice thing about a Prius: She sure won't be able to get in trouble with it - the acceleration is OK at lower speeds, but once that gas engine kicks in - pack a lunch!
 
another vote for "beware of the batteries" issues. i've had 2 friends that both has issues with them around 90k miles or so. and the replacements were like $3-4k :eek:
 
DFB said:
Wouldn't Pony up require getting her a Mustang?:poke:
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Sure, just as long as it is race track ready. None of those cosmetic cruisers with 4 or 6 cylinder engines.

This young lady needs to learn how to negotiate the chicanes without a sacrifice in speed.
 
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I had posted a thread in here about a Camry hybrid that I worked on, about a year or so ago. It had a bad battery bank. I found a receipt in the glovebox, the new battery bank had been installed by Toyota only a year before. It lasted all of a year before it started to fail. Can't say that would happen again to anyone else, but if I had any advice for someone looking to buy a hybrid at that age and mileage, I'd tell you to be prepared for the batteries, new or original, to fail within a couple of years at best, days or weeks minimum. Thing is, you never know and that unknown is always in the back of your mind.
 
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