So I have been looking for a “new” car recently, not actively, but if one came along that was in good shape and a good price I’m getting ready to move on from my 2004 civic with 200k on it.
A friend of the family has a 2004 Prius that they are going to sell. They want $3500 for it. She said it goes through between a half a quart and a quart of oil between 5k oil changes. It was mostly garages and has had all the services done to it.
I know getting a used Prius can be hit or miss and I was wondering if this is a good deal for this year. I know it’s the second generation and she said it gets between 48 and 51 mph on the highway. If it’s something worth looking into, I’d have a mechanic look at it and have them check the batteries since it’s a 16 yr old car.
id love to hear anyone’s input on this car. If there are any known issues with it that I should know about and what not. I’d much rather get a gas powered instead of a hybrid, but if this car can last me to 200k or so and there’s no major issues I’m considering on buying it and selling my civic since I know my civic wasn’t as well kept and might only have 10-20k left on it.
Just want to know what people think about this year of Prius and if it’s worth it or if I should just pass.
thanks!
-Mike
Hy there!
You say you expect only 10-20k miles of Civic's life. Similar life span you can expect from Prius. Why? Hybrids last 150-200k with original battery which then goes out, cell by cell. Then you have following options: you get rid of it or you replace battery or rebuild it.
As I am familiar new battery for a hybrid cost about $6000. Rebuilding battery once is cheaper since you replace dead cells with new ones.
I say if you rebuild it once. But there remain many old cells that will go bad too. And there we go again with rebuilding several times. And rebuilding costs can far exceed the price of new battery.
Decision is up to you.
Good luck!
@g-t
Thanks for the input. My gut goes with a 2012ish accord or Camry. I want something that I don’t have to deal with battery packs later on. I wasn’t sure of the life of them and by the mileage they are close to the end. I’ll just fix up more stuff on my civic and I might get even more miles out of it for less than $1000 over a 3-4 period of time.
Thanks again!
If you want a Prius get one 2007+ (avoid 2010 model year specifically) and with less than 100k miles. Then it shuld be fine. That is not a good buy in my opinion. No matter what, get one checked by a mechanic.
@kerem-umut-kerem
I’m not fully sold on a Prius, the Opportunity Came along. I’ll tell them I’ll pass and give my civic another oil change. I still get right around 300 miles per tank give or take which isn’t bad. I’ve replaced a lot of stuff on it by myself and I like a car I can work on.
Thanks for the input. I think I’ll pass on this one
Yeah I would use the Civic more.