Hello, I am a newbie here and really like the feedbacks from Prius owners. I have finally decided to buy a Prius. I don't have a big budget. Being a student I can only afford around $6000 now. I have read some posts here and saw people recommending to buy 2004+. I am looking everywhere for a good deal. But it is so hard to find a 2nd gen Prius under 100,000 miles for $6000. I have found one in another state which is like 700 miles (one way) drive for me. But it is a 2006 black base Prius at 79000 miles for $7000, which I think is a pretty slick deal. But it has some scratches. I asked the owner to send me some pictures of the scratches and these are the pictures he sent me. Do you guys have any idea how much will it cost to touch up the scratches. If it costs too much that would be a deal breaker for me. I already have to drive over 1500 miles to get the car and also have to pay for the pre purchase inspection. So it won't be deal anymore if I have to spend lot of money on the touch up. Do you guys think the price is good for the car? Please help out a wannabe Prius owner here : )
You know what: since you are a student who can only afford $6K or thereabouts, I suggest that you not worry about cosmetic issues like scratches in the paint. Black as a color choice is especially bad because it will show every tiny scratch and ding not to mention larger flaws as shown in your photos. You probably would have to pay a high three or low four digit amount for professional repainting. Be more concerned about whether the car is in good mechanical condition, which a Toyota dealer's service dept hopefully can help you assess for a labor charge of one hour or two. After you graduate and are making big bucks, then it would be appropriate to worry about having a car that is cosmetically perfect. Good luck.
Consider the scratches a good way to save money. Do you have a private garage to store your car in? I didn't when I was a student. Come to think of it, I don't now either. If you don't, you're going to get scratched.
I agree with the previous two posts, but understand that looks are important even when we are driving older cars. The dings in the first two photos look like they will mostly buff out. Use polishing compound. If you're really broke, you can use toothpaste. Yes it works, and it will leave your car minty fresh! For the marks that won't buff out, you need touch up paint. There are online companies that offer a very small bottle, with brush included, that is supposed to be a perfect match (the one I ordered isn't perfect, but it's not bad). But if you buy a black car (or a very dark blue or brown), just use whatever can of black enamel you can find around the house and a tiny brush. Touch up the absolute minimum you can (don't try to "blend" or feather" it, just keep the touch up to an absolute minimum) and it will look a lot better. The final photo looks like a sideswipe -- those are really hard to touch up, but after polishing and touching up, it will probably still be visible, but will look a lot better. Keeping the car, including the interior and glass, super-clean is a very cheap way to have a nice car. Good luck.
Thank you so much guys for your response. I have decided not to get the car since I found out it had an accident. What do you guys think of the best way to spend $6000? I have found a 2008 with 175,000 miles and a 2004 with 125,000 miles. Which one do you think is a better choice? Thanks in advance.
Wow, that's tough but, I think I would go with the 08 just because the HV battery goes bad with age rather than miles, the engines seem to be bullet proof so no worries there. In reality, you need to see both, check the oil, look for how it was taken care of. Were oil changes done on time etc???
