Looking at a 2010 Prius II with 58k on it, private sale. Got the price down to 12,750. Called the local dealer and verified that the car had been very well maintained, (all recommended service performed at the dealer). Ran the VIN on the Toyota Owner's site and the only recall it shows is for the brake booster pump (accumulator) needs to be done. It's a little rough with minor damage to the front bumper cover (two inch crack), some scuffs and a couple of dings but I think the majority of it can be rubbed out and touched up. Does this sound like a good deal?
If you dont mind the damage in front, it sounds like a pretty fair dealer. Average NADA trade in is 13,225. Rough trade in is $12,075. Certainly, it is at least a couple thousand less than a dealer would charge.
Dealer would give 11k for a trade in and sell it for 16k or more I bet. I didn't know if I could get a better deal somewhere or not. I thought it seemed ok but this is my first one and just not really sure....
Sounds like a very good deal to me. For comparison, I bought a 2010 Prius II last month from a dealer for $15900. My car had 17,900 miles on the 0d0meter but exterior is perfect except for a scratch on the rear quarterpanel. Your mileage is a tad high for a 3-4 year old car, but nothing really out of line, especially if proper maintenance was observed.
Definitely you could NOT get a better deal at a dealer. I would buy the car if it is close to you and you are ready to pull the trigger. I doubt if you can find a much better deal from an individual either, without a lot of work and probably some traveling. Where do you live?
Carfax info? Yes. It's an imperfect system, but it's cheap insurance. Here's what I would do: Ask the owner if the there's anything on CARFAX that he/she hasn't disclosed. Then.....tell them that you'll buy the car today if they pay for the report (20 bucks or so.) with the understanding that if there's noting negative on the report they can add 20 bucks to the price of the car. If they baulk....and you're still interested in the car then I'd BE SURE and get the report. They may just be jerks, and if you're one of those poor people who have to live where gas is over 3.30 a gallon - then the current owner can afford to be a jerk. Priuses are in high demand. The price smells a little low depending on where you live - even if the exterior is a little rough. I'm thinking that the current owner is either taking my advice and never trading a car into the dealer...or there's another REASON that they're unwilling to trade----such as theft, flood, fire, wreck...etc. The fact that they've disclosed none of these problems to you speaks to their character. Whether it speaks WELL of their character is something that we'll discover in due time. Where is the title? Does the current driver have clear title? MAKE SURE. Other than that? I'd buy it. Helluva cheap way to get into a G3 that still potentially has 200,000 more miles of life left in it. Good Luck!
From Iowa. Gas is over $3.30 typically. Really thinking hard about jumping. Maybe I'll blow the money on the car fax just to be sure. The dealer has performed all maintenance and said that it has all been done on time. No repairs out of line show up on the Toyota owner's site but that doesn't mean there weren't any. I wish I had the coins to get a brand new IV and be done with it. They are pretty sweet!
With the winters you have in IA, you'll be happier with the II. BEST OF LUCK! Let us know how it turns out, please.
