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http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Prius/car/951063/
I guess he never visited CleanMPG then!
If i was to buy this car, what kind of things would i need to look out for? Apart from the obvious crash stuff etc. It says he used it as a taxi, hence the high mileage but that shouldn't be a problem should it? Could the battery be cooked?

ollie

He wants $14,000 USA for a 200,000+ mile car? What do they sell for new? I vaguely remember a Euro is worth about $1.40?

Are you a DIY type? A high mile car will have lots of normal replacement costs- timing belt,CV joints, shocks , brakes, tires, steering , all sorts of electrical "stuff" and it must be out of warranty??

You Euros have lots of high mpg vehicles available , right? I would steer clear of this one unless you do your own work , and like to hunt salvage yards (to get cheap replacement battery packs etc)

Not worth the risk.
Charlie

The condition of the HV battery could be assessed with Toyota technical service equipment (ie, at a shop at your expense).

It would be most useful to know the maintenance history of the vehicle, including transaxle oil changes (if any) and the current condition of that fluid.

Other than those I expect most Prius systems to be in better condition than conventional vehicle with same odometer. Charlie it is a timing chain, not belt, and not considered a maintenance item in Prius.

I don't know what the used Prius market is like in EU so can't really comment on the price. You could always make a low offer.

DAS

I can't speak to the value of the car; I haven't looked up the Blue Book value. But I have some comments.

He accuses Toyota of "false advertising" with the Prius' MPG ratings, but he is guilty of the same if he is trying to lead viewers into believing the pictured car is what he is selling. The pictured car is a 2006+. The "Hybrid" badge on the front fender (you can see it just forward of the door) was not on the 2004s and 2005s. And why would a private seller have a car on what appears to be a showroom floor? All this makes me a little suspicious.

Some Prii have gone well beyond 200K with no battery problems. On the other hand, there has been a very small handful of battery failures at lower mileages.

Some of the 2004s and early 2005s had a small manufacturing defect in the multi-function display (ferreted out by our very own Hobbit) that caused total MFD failure.

Frankly, I would be more worried about mechanical components. Not the engine, assuming it's had regular oil changes -- it leads an easy life in the Prius. But perhaps the transaxle. There were some premature failures in the previous generation Prius. They improved the design in 2004, but still I'd be a little wary. Best case would be documented fluid changes and used fluid analysis, but I doubt the seller would have that.

And there are the standard things, like Phoebeisis suggests. But not the timing belt; it has a chain. And the Prius is very easy on the brakes, so brake service is needed less frequently. But then after 200K, who knows? One of PriusChat's moderators just had to have his front struts replaced on his 2004 after about 75K. Close to $1K (including front end alignment), IIRC.

Thanks for the heads up guys. It's kind of hard to research stuff here with the kids and all that! Here's a link to an Irish toyota Stealership. Prius is 27000 euro....ouch!
http://www.toyota.ie/models/
Ireland has, apparently, the cheapest cars in europe and probably elsewhere too. But we get hit with vehicle registration tax and THEN vat at 21%. This makes them some of the most expensive. The recent switch to an emissions based tax system means some cars (diesel) have gone down in price but most gasoline powered cars have gone up. Including the prius i think. It's all a bit of a farce then when you see low emission cars being driven hard and throwing the low emissions out the window! Anyway, i'll have to keep my eye out for a more suitable car, prius or not! Thanks again.

ollie

I find it comical when I get passed by a prius. Heavy foot driving isn't their strong suit.

Anyone see this top gear prius v BMW M3 on the test track?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o63BOVlzhc

He wants $14,000 USA for a 200,000+ mile car? What do they sell for new? I vaguely remember a Euro is worth about $1.40?

Are you a DIY type? A high mile car will have lots of normal replacement costs- timing belt,CV joints, shocks , brakes, tires, steering , all sorts of electrical "stuff" and it must be out of warranty??

Charlie

Yea - Probably not worth the risk. And if its getting 45 mpg, the hybrid battery probably has seen better days. Since this is a UK add, that is really poor mileage. Equivalent to 37.5 mpg US. I am at 70.3 mpg US right now, which is equivalent to 84.4 mpg UK. In Taxi service, I would expect an experienced Prius driver should be able to do 55 mpg US (or 66 mpg UK) in the UK summer (not allot of AC operation).

No timing belt in a Prius, it has a timing chain. Still, if the oil was not replaced religiously, the timing chain and tensioners will probably need work too.

It does say allot about a Prius going 214K miles though. $14K sounds too much to me. It could need one of the drive motors soon, besides the hybrid battery, and all the standard stuff. Could run $8K to get it up to reliability-expected level. And then only be worh $14K. So, should probably be priced sowhere around $6 to 8 K .