Thinking of buying a 2005 black prius for about $5900

Check this out. They are very reliable cars. 108k is low miles for a 2005. Keep in mind with the age of the car the HV battery may need to be replaced at some point. Expect $1000 - $1500 if you do the work yourself. The car should go to 300k+ miles easily.

 

Why was the car written off? No insurance company is going to total a car for a hood & a bumper.

Are you going to be able to get it insured? Is the insurance rate the same as if the car had a clean title?

I found four 2005's with less mileage for under $8000 through truecar.com.

Whatever warranty was left is voided. If you have the aptitude, time, money, and desire to handle a project car then maybe a salvage is for you. However $2100 won't last long when something major needs to be replaced. I believe this car is overpriced but may be worth $3950 but not to me.

 

In general I would say that a salvage vehicle is a poor purchase choice, unless you

1) are competent to evaluate the repair quality
2) can determine whether shortcuts were taken (for example, missing airbags, installation of used parts vs. new, etc.) and if so, can decide whether those shortcuts are acceptable given your concept of minimum required vehicle safety
3) can see whether any repairs remain to be performed, and if so, you do not need to rely upon Toyota dealer service to perform said repairs
4) recognize that the resale value of a salvage vehicle is nominal, therefore don't change your mind after buying it.

If any warning lights remain on when the car is READY; if there are any obvious electrical glitches; or any sign of flooding damage, do not buy the car.

 

I speculate that when an insurance company is looking at a 2005 Prius with a wrecked bumper, hood and possibly headlights, they look at the repair cost but also consider the possible longevity of the car. Given the general skepticism about the life of the hybrid battery (not here, just in the general population) and considering that the cost of the repairs will be near full retail/dealer prices, I imagine it's a safe and simple call for the insurance company to declare "total" in this situation.

(assume retail pricing)
$3000 battery
$500 headlights
$2000 hood and bumper repair
------
$5,500 TOTAL

KBB - $5,000 (trade-in value, GOOD condition)

The upside to the informed and mechanically-inclined buyer - as noted by Patrick above - is that they may be able to find good value in a totaled Prius.

 

Be wary of salvage cars you purchase on your own. Looks can be deceiving.

I just had a customer who bought a salvage Camry Hybrid. It looked like a good deal with minimal damage.....
Except now it turns out it may have a bad main harness. $2,500 part plus days of labor to replace the 100+ wire harness. I thinl the dealer quoted about $5,300 to replace it. The guy is losing his shirt on this one.

Where are you located? There is a reputable guy who sells previously-salvaged Prius for decent prices.

Edit: I just saw a 2007 Prius in my area, 188,000 miles, non-salvage, for $4,800

 

Insurance is a dollars and cents business where potential longevity doesn't matter. If a vehicle can be repaired for $1 less than it would cost to total it then it'll get repaired.

The traction battery wouldn't be affected by damage at the front end. If the adjuster included headlights and surrounding damage that got the car totaled then either this damage really didn't exist (not likely), wasn't repaired, or not repaired properly.

 

With gas prices as low as they are currently, Prii are cheap. I'd recommend avoiding the salvage title and looking elsewhere.

 

Instead of you looking at it. Pay money and have a trained professional do a through inspection: look, drive, and tech stream software diagnosis it. Maybe this would be a $300-$400 cost? I'm assuming this inspection cost would be a fraction of your purchase price, maybe 10%, but money well spent IMO.

 

How much did the person pay for the junker? Guessing he's selling it as a parts car now?

Would the techstream software pick-up on a bad harness b/c connections would be absent or intermittent when the long diagnosis program is run?