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Originally Posted by alehasfriends
. . . However, I was wondering if these cars have long lives.
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The Dept. of Energy ran a fleet experiment and got over 160,000 miles before it ended. There are also Canadian fleet reports and one taxi that are achieving simular performance. IMHO, we do not know the actual vehicle life.
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Originally Posted by alehasfriends
I'm looking at one for $8,000 that has 175,000 miles on it.
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There are two models, NHW11 01-03 Prius, and NHW20 04-current. What year is it? Where is it?
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Originally Posted by alehasfriends
Do high miles matter as much on a Prius as compared to other cars?
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IMHO, no. The ICE is derated to 70 hp using an Atkinson cycle. The motors are free from vibration. The only weak spot appears to be in the NHW11 models, the transaxle oil needs more frequent changing. Otherwise, it is quite ordinary.
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Originally Posted by alehasfriends
When problems arise, does it cost a lot to fix them as compared to other cars?
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If you take it to the dealer, yes. If you can take it to a clueful, independent shop, not so bad. If you do it yourself using salvage part, no worse than any other vehicle.
IMHO, if you buy a used car, buy the maintenance manuals too and make sure you have a metric tool kit. If you don't like working on cars, you better be ready to spend a lot of money BUT that is true with all cars. I find the Prius a lot of fun to work on.
What are your mechanical skills? Do you feel comfortable with a volt-ohm meter and torque wrench?
If you decide to go with the high-mileage vehicle, can you make the sale conditional on an oil test that you pay for? Have a sample of the transaxle oil and engine oil sent to a testing service ($20 for each test and $5 shipping.) Then based upon the results, use it to negotiate a better deal <GRINS>.
Bob Wilson