Found a 2001 Prius for $500 187k, good buy?

You have a brand new 2019...why are you still looking for beaters?

 

Well at least now, you have a good vehicle....the 2019.....

and you can adopt as many projects as you can afford or want to approach.

It was a different outlook when it appeared the "beater" WAS going to be the daily driver.

 

You might want to finish "tinkering" with the 2001 before you give it to your cousin. She is family.

 

Not a bad price.
You will have to deal with the battery pack at some point. So budget accordingly.
Or if willing to buy equipment and do the work an can deal with uncertainty of the pack you can save a bit of money.
Buy Techstream and minivci with an old do laptop. Especially if you will have a fleet of used Toyota hybrids.

 

Body damage in that price range? Skip it.
You can find other cars for that price if you keep your eyes open.

I'd check the cars at ToyotaOwners.com to see dealer service history.

 

I am:

mini vci

 

mods like you

 

yeth they do!

 

Is a dead battery any better than a battery replaced with the cheapest option just for sale that will die in 6 months? I'd much rather buy a vehicle with a KNOWN dead battery and budget to replace it with a known solution of your choice and your timing.

 

Would I pay $2k+ for a 2005 with 200k miles and a dead battery? NO. I just paid $2.5k for a 2009 fully loaded touring with about 120k miles and original battery with zero damage and a pristine interior and dealer serviced records. And by "just paid" I mean it is being driven across the country as I type this on its way from NJ to CO.

But if I found a 2005 with a dead battery and everything else looked like it was in great shape I wouldn't hesitate to buy it if the price was right.

Our collective must be malfunctioning...



This is a forum with many thousands of active users, each with their own opinion. Welcome to the wonderful world of car enthusiasts.

If you're in the US, which your location says you are, you are free to travel anywhere in any of the states to purchase your vehicle. It can be shipped or driven back and you will pay local tax and registration. If you arbitrarily limit your search radius to some number of miles from where you are right now, then your not going to find the best deals. You may find an OK deal, but if your not willing to take a weekend and drive the car across the country, don't complain when you overpay by 2x what others can find.

I have always found that the best places to buy hybrids is in the tri-state area for what I am looking for. I have bought 3 hybrids there now, 2 Prii and a RX450h. Being so close to the city there is a demand for hybrids when new so there is a glut of them on the road in the area. Being one of the wealthier parts of the country in terms of income, cars get turned over quickly for something newer and they are usually loaded or nearly loaded models. Every hybrid I've bought from there is fully loaded and looks like a dealer show car with relatively low miles and excellent maintenance. Fly out, complete the purchase, and drive 28 hours back to Colorado straight. Easy peasy.

 

You still should buy some diagnostic equipment, so that you can check the health of the car now, as well as diagnose it when things go wrong. Get it now, rather than waiting.

I'd pay $500 for a car with a bad pack. Heck $200. And then I'd sell it to you for $1,000 or $1,500
People sometimes try to give me cars with bad motors for $100 but often I just don't have time for them, so I pass the deal onto others.

I personally would not want to deal with a smashed up car. Too many unknowns. Especially since there are lots of other non-smashed up cars. Do you have a small shop near you that specializes in hybrids? Go down there and schmooze the owner (with food/beer/treats, etc). He/she is likely to come across regularly that need some work. While they may keep the great deals for themselves, maybe they are willing to get you some crumbs?

 

Why are you buying ANOTHER Prius? i wouldn't buy a car with more than incidental parking lot dents. You can have any sort of theory you like, maybe he did collect insurance and just decided to spend it instead of fixing the car. Wouldn't be the first time.

I read that you were giving (selling? loaning?) a relative the Gen 1? I don't make a practice of loaning or selling cars to relatives. It can be like lending money, the quickest way to hurt feelings and losing money. I'll do a short term loan of my pickup truck, but I hate being on the hook for liability claims and damage to my vehicle. Of the three, an outright gift is probably the best alternative--sign over the title and drop it from your insurance.

As for getting different stories from different people, welcome to the internet--where you can get alternative opinions that aren't necessarily wrong.