I found an 2005 base Prius with 153,XXX miles on it. It has a clean carfax, all of the recall work has been done to it, it has a new water pump and the brakes were recently done. It still has the original battery. I think I could get it for around 7000-7500. Does this seem like a fair price? I know prices are inflated right now, what would this have gone for 6-8 months ago?
It's hard to put a price to a car clear across country. That seems a fair price for a car that's clearly out of warranty. But - you need to install a brand new 12v right away when you get it. When you convert the car's "being" to a Camry or a Corolla, a 6 yr old Corolla or Camry with 153K is worth that much for certain, so a Prius would be too. One thing I'd spend a buck on it taking it to the local dealership and checking the hybrid Battery cells, if you can. See how much life is left in 'em. A battery replacement these days is as much as an engine rebuild, wholesale, in a Camry or Corolla. Dianne
Register the car at Toyota Owners - Official Toyota Owners Website to get the dealer service history. As Dianne said, get a Prius Tech to look it over & expect to buy a 12v battery. You'll probably want to change fluids as well. Galaxee posted a sticky "What services you need and don't need". The car is just out of the CARB hybrid warranty so it still has a lot of life left.
Thanks for the idea about checking the service history. The previous owner declined service on the catalytic converter, fuel injector and recharging the AC. All of that would probably be around 2-2.5k at a dealer correct?
Sounds like upselling. Does the AC blow cold? If it were my car as long as it is performing as expected I'm not going to be talked into paying for any of those services. If it has stored DTC then that's a different story.
