Why Not to Buy a Used Hybrid Car

Hybrid cars explained and why not to buy a used car. Why not to buy a used hybrid car, car review with Scotty Kilmer. The best hybrid car to buy. Toyota Prius versus Honda Insight, which is better? The pros and cons of owning a hybrid car. There are advantages to buying a used hybrid car, but also a lot of downsides. New hybrid cars can last a long time, but you should stay away from used cars. Repair bills and the price of parts for used hybrid cars can make owning one a nightmare. DIY car repair with Scotty Kilmer, an auto mechanic for the last 50 years.

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⬇️Things used in this video:
1. Common Sense

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This is the people's automotive channel! Learn how to fix your car and how it works. Get a chance to show off your own car on Sundays. Or show off your own car mod on Wednesdays. Tool giveaways every Monday to help you with your own car projects. Or enter your own DIY car fix to compete in the best fix of the week contest every Thursday. We have a new video every day! I've been an auto mechanic for the past 50 years and I'm here to share my knowledge with you.

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[scottykilmer]

⬇️Scotty’s Top DIY Tools:

Check out my Garage to see what I use every day and highly recommend:


Scotty on Social:

[arronrodgers]

I Bought a used 2008 Prius with 130k On Craigslist for $800 with a bad Hybrid Battery. The owner was scared out of it by her douchebag mechanic who told her it was going to cost $3500+ to fix. Turns out the only thing wrong was all the copper Hybrid battery terminals were corroded, causing the battery to run hot and throw the Hybrid code(triangle of doom). Fixed it just by soaking all the terminals in vinegar and salt and cleaning them really well. Cost me $5 and about 3 hours of removing the battery. I've put 80, 000 miles on it since with no problems. I'm an Uber driver and this car makes me over $1000 bucks a week!! Scotty is referring to 1st generation Prius..

[ZImpresive]

If Scotty Started a Dealership he would only have Celicas.

[Ryanstuff]

He's talking about a 1st Gen Prius (1999-2004) so it could have been nearly 20 years old. Plenty of Priuses on the road. The batteries are time tested and rarely ever have issues. In fact the Prius has one of the lowest costs of ownership of any vehicle. I like Scotty and his channel but I think he's using one very old Prius as a bad example for all of them.

[CarWizard]

1st Gen Prius is the most reliable car on the road. The epitome of reliability.

[AutoMotoChaL]

I bought 2011 Prius with 95k miles used for 8k and now it has 220k miles. All i did just oil change. It still runs on the original battery, and i am getting ****50mpg*** love it.

[francov]

Can't think of a more reliable car that gets good mpg than a 2nd gen or newer used Prius😊
Got ours at 95k, now has 228k.

[Roger-pnnz]

I have seen Toyota's hybrids with 600k on the clock and stil driving..More and more taxi drivers buy Toyota Hybrids because they are reliable.

[ormonddude]

You're wrong on almost everything on this one Scotty - Prius is rated at 300K miles

[CharlieDebts]

I'm starting go with the opposite of whatever he says.

[GoolamDawood]

If this is the case, why are Prius's always amongst the most likely cars to reach 250k miles?

[sd]

I have a friend at work who thinks he is so smart. He bought a used prius. One day he called me and said his prius stopped working and he couldn't figure out what is wrong. Later I asked him about it and he said he found the problem. The problem was the gas tank was empty..

[flagmichael]

I do not recommend anybody but enthusiasts buy a first generation Prius. I have a 2002 with 197K miles on it - it needed its first actual repair (an inverter coolant pump) a few months ago. However, my wife's 2002 met the same end as the one you mention: burned up MG2 in the transmission. Note that it does not perform the function of an alternator - that is done by a 100A DC-DC converter in the inverter.

In 2004, with the first of the second generation of Prius, the inverter included a voltage doubler that allowed the 170V hybrid battery to operate the MGs at 540V. That cut the heat problem by 75% and virtually eliminated hybrid transaxle failures. Since my wife's 2002 was new all we have ever bought was used Prius cars. Her last one, a 2010, was destroyed by a woman who was having a seizure and rammed it with an Xterra. Now she has a 2014. They are by far the most reliable vehicles we have had in our 44 years together.

Why no first gen Prius? Besides the transaxle problem, the hybrid batteries only had a 200K mile life expectancy, the 2001-2002 hybrid ECU would not spin up the gas engine long enough to ensure starting if you use non-top tier gasoline, the steering rack was susceptible to shaking in reverse. The fuel economy is noticeably poorer than the later generations and the power is much worse. The 2010 and later model years are almost bulletproof.

[MichaelWilliams-movv]

My 2008 Honda civic hybrid 109000 miles still going strong 48 - 52 miles per gallon depending on city or highway driving in summer. In winter about 5% less. No issues with the car.

[peterscott]

I wouldn't recommend a used 1st generation Prius today, but 2nd generation onward (2004+) have been extremely reliable. Cab companies love them. They go multiple-hundred thousands of miles on the original batteries and Motor-Generator units.

[DoorisJ]

Your basing your entire opinion off one customer with a first generation Prius. The technology has been perfected, NYC hybrid taxi’s easily achieve 300k miles. The battery is designed to last the life of the car.. I have a 14 Ford Fusion hybrid and it’s stays in electric mode so often that the oil has to changed less, uses less gas, regenerative brakes save your brakes... and yeah when you punch it, it goes faster than a Prius.

And hey, because people aren’t educated and or they watched this video, used hybrids will become even cheaper

[danielmogos]

Well, i only had $3000 budget. For this amount i couldnt find any decent car that gets 50mpg and has automatic transmision. So i went with 1st generation Prius with a new hybrid battery. I intend to keep it as long as i can.

[congamike]

The Prius engine craps out between about 400k and 600k miles. My 2007 only has about 185k miles on it so I am good to go for a while Scotty. Thanks

[VehicleVirals]

The Prius gets so much shit from car guys though

[argetech]

Someone tried to sell me a used Prius. They had mentioned an issue with the alternator.. and it would be an easy inexpensive YEAH RIGHT!!!
Thanks Scotty!