[Dan]

We are buying 4 used Prius' for our construction ccmpany. We are buying them from a Prius Hybrid specialty shop near us here in So. California.
What should our concerns be re issues we will face as a routine matter?
E.G. battery life, suspension issues, power train concerns, best years to buy?
We have confidence in the specialty shop, but we would like to be better informed re these vehicles. They will be taking care of the vehicles for us, rather than having our heavy equipment mechanics getting involved.
The miles/odometers range from 80k to 160k.
They will be driven approx. 300 miles per week each.
i'd appreciate your comments. Please excuse the lack of Prius knowledge.
Thanks.

 

[Easy Rider]

Anything over 10 years old and 100K miles is likely to have more frequent failures.
And a hybrid has more things to go bad than a conventional vehicle.
And some of those things cost a LOT to fix.......like the hybrid battery.

A high mileage hybrid is somewhat more of a gamble in the long run.
Good luck.

 

[powerliftingtexas]

I've had the complete oppisite experience as the above, so it depends on who you ask.

I've owned 15+ cars/trucks in my lifetime. Some being new, some being newer, many being used.

The used Prius has been the best thing I've ever bought.

I bought a 2004 Prius, 168k miles when I bought it, $3k cash.

This week the first problem arise, at 276k. Inverter Pump failure, part cost me $40+ bucks to order. I've never changed one single part on this car other than the oil and tires. I'm just now putting one set of brake pads several years after purchasing it.

Every other vehicle / truck, I would have done made 4/5 repairs.

If your purchasing it for a commercial purpose, your company is making a smart decision. It's a well built car. BTW, my car was used for several years giving multiple estimates a day for a tree service.

Again, it's the best vehicle we have in all of our fleet, with the least expense cost. Don't be worried.

 

[powerliftingtexas]

Anything over 10 years old and 100K miles is likely to have more frequent failures.
And a hybrid has more things to go bad than a conventional vehicle.
And some of those things cost a LOT to fix.......like the hybrid battery.

A high mileage hybrid is somewhat more of a gamble in the long run.
Good luck.

A $3,000.00 cash Prius was the best investment I ever made. And a hybrid battery is nothing. A rebuilt hybrid batter cost half of what a quality rebuilt transmission cost on any of my companies other estimate cars. A rebuilt hybrid battery from Home Town Heros cost $999.00. It cost us almost $3k for a quality rebuild transmission from a reputable shop. Again, I own a tree service, who's utilized more than 15 different cars / trucks. The prius, has been the lowest cost / lowest maint. of every last one of them. We bought ours used for $3k cash over 100k miles ago.

 

[Easy Rider]

The prius, has been the lowest cost / lowest maint. of every last one of them. We bought ours used for $3k cash over 100k miles ago.

I am glad that it worked out that way for you.
But others have not had similar experiences. Some have, some haven't.

 

[Easy Rider]

Every other vehicle / truck, I would have done made 4/5 repairs.

That is just a wild guess.
You have NO WAY of knowing that.
And you have no way to know if your Prius experience is typical or not.
You know what they say about ASSumptions ???

 

[powerliftingtexas]

That is just a wild guess.
You have NO WAY of knowing that.
And you have no way to know if your Prius experience is typical or not.
You know what they say about ASSumptions ???

That's not a wild guess. That's a statement. My Prius has now has 249,000 on it. I have (2) F-150's Ecoboost, and (3) Chevy Silverado's for my landscape business. All are now higher miles. By 200k we replaced trannies, water pumps, and front ends on all three Chevy trucks. One of the F150's has had a tranny and a turbo, and the lower mileage ecoboost has had a turbo and front end.

All vehicles will have maintenance and things go wrong as you get into the higher miles. The Prius has lower maint. cost of them all, just my 2c.

And with that said, I'd rather install a rebuild hdybrid battery than a rebuilt transmission on any single day of the week. The last rebuild 4l60 we had built, cost was $2,900, more like $3,100 out the door. That was rebuilt. A rebuilt hybrid battery from Hometown cost $999 and comes with the same 2 year warranty the transmission comes with.

The trucks cost us $1,000.00 plus every time we put tires on one. The Prius cost us $250.00.

The Prius, we only have one set of brake pads to put on. The trucks we have brake pads all around.

Both have a 12v to go bad on either, so that's not a factor.

If my Hybrid battery were to fail tomorrow, I'd still be happy with our estimate car and it would still cost me less in maintenance than any single one of our trucks.

And as far as the Prius, you call it an assumption. I call it telling you what I've experienced. Just my 2c.

Of coarse some will have more problems than others. Some will have less problems. Than you will have some that neglect their cars. And some that keep them on a maintenance schedule by the book.

I wrench on all my own vehicles, every last one of our work trucks and cars (used for estimates) has a complete maintenance history log we keep. And we don't buy into all the new technology oil bs and are still old school. We believe in cleaning things, keeping things clean, old fashioned 3k mile oil changes, air filters done every other oil change, and so on. Someone that doesn't follow maintenance schedules nor log their maintenance, will probably have a different experience than me.

 

[PaulDM]

That's not a wild guess. That's a statement. My Prius has now has 249,000 on it. I have (2) F-150's Ecoboost, and (3) Chevy Silverado's for my landscape business. All are now higher miles. By 200k we replaced trannies, water pumps, and front ends on all three Chevy trucks. One of the F150's has had a tranny and a turbo, and the lower mileage ecoboost has had a turbo and front end.

All vehicles will have maintenance and things go wrong as you get into the higher miles. The Prius has lower maint. cost of them all, just my 2c.

And with that said, I'd rather install a rebuild hdybrid battery than a rebuilt transmission on any single day of the week. The last rebuild 4l60 we had built, cost was $2,900, more like $3,100 out the door. That was rebuilt. A rebuilt hybrid battery from Hometown cost $999 and comes with the same 2 year warranty the transmission comes with.

The trucks cost us $1,000.00 plus every time we put tires on one. The Prius cost us $250.00.

The Prius, we only have one set of brake pads to put on. The trucks we have brake pads all around.

Both have a 12v to go bad on either, so that's not a factor.

If my Hybrid battery were to fail tomorrow, I'd still be happy with our estimate car and it would still cost me less in maintenance than any single one of our trucks.

And as far as the Prius, you call it an assumption. I call it telling you what I've experienced. Just my 2c.

Of coarse some will have more problems than others. Some will have less problems. Than you will have some that neglect their cars. And some that keep them on a maintenance schedule by the book.

I wrench on all my own vehicles, every last one of our work trucks and cars (used for estimates) has a complete maintenance history log we keep. And we don't buy into all the new technology oil bs and are still old school. We believe in cleaning things, keeping things clean, old fashioned 3k mile oil changes, air filters done every other oil change, and so on. Someone that doesn't follow maintenance schedules nor log their maintenance, will probably have a different experience than me.

That’s a great account of your experience. I’m on my 4th Prius in 15 years, whilst previously taken a gen 2 to 157,000 and another to 97,000 before I lost my bottle nd upgraded (nothing wrong with the Cars)

 

[Easy Rider]

That's not a wild guess. That's a statement.

And you are literally comparing "apples to oranges".......or comparing an economy passenger car to a pickup truck work vehicle.

I am glad that you are happy with your Prius experience.
But I think that your evidence means less than you think it means.