Opinions and advice requested on how to proceed with my 2009 175,000 mile Prius

If this my car and I could afford a 2010, I would sell it privately for higher than the $4500 the dealer is giving you. This 2009 should at a minimum bring you close to $7000.

I would sell it and buy another 2010 like you mentioned BEFORE taking a 3000 mile trip with YOUR CHILDREN. Last thing you want is to get stuck in the middle of nowhere with kids and a broken down car. You seem to put a very good amount of miles on your car, getting rid of it now before you put the money into all the maintenance will be a smart move. Get something with lower miles, this time don't run the oil low, and just enjoy driving.

Edit: If you are looking for a quick sale and don't mind the $4500 the dealer is offering you, please allow another PriusChat member to take you up on purchasing for $4500. I'm sure many would love the opportunity to buy a 2009 at $4500.

 

+1 Toyota states that the average lifetime of the Toyota Prius is 175,000 miles.

If I were you, I would move up and on to a Gen III. I recently did that, and very pleased and I love our NEW model 3 2013 Prius.

Ron (dorunron)

 

For long trip have syntetic engine oil mobil one extended performance, it can last 15000 miles, but better replacement after 10000m. Check engine level every 1500m.
about hv battery, it's very hard to know how much power it is left, unless you know how to reconditioning, but to my knowledge I have seen hv battery failing at 190000 miles in hot places.
Probably you have many miles leftc specially when driven on freeway speeds.

 

What did you think the dealer would do with it when they buy it for $4500? Fix the body and make it look nice and put it on the lot for $9000. Just so you know, almost all high mileage Prius cars burn oil. Mostly around 1qt every 3000-5000 miles.

The Prius engine's are very cheap on the used marketplace. Look on car-part.com and you will find Prius engines for under $500. Don't worry about the oil burning, many will buy it thinking they will put another $500 in the car and do all the work themselves.

I have 4 of these Prius cars and I wouldn't hesitate in paying $4500 for a 2009 that burns 1qt every 1000 miles.

 

There's a Private Sales forum on this site.
Automotive Sales Policy on PriusChat - Read BEFORE Posting | PriusChat

I've only been to IA a few times, and you know what I remember about it?
No.
Not the windy and cold part, but the fact that everything out there can be rather spread out.
This makes it a good place to be a Prius Owner!

I'd be willing to bet that you can get more than $4500 in a private sale for this car.
If the dealership offered you $4500 then I'd park it in a prominent spot and put a "FOR SALE - $6,000" sign on it.
Be frank about the condition of the car and let them talk you down to $5,500.

Good Luck!

 

I think what's being overlooked here is a 5 yr old car has 175k on it. 35k a year. Way over on mileage and the condition is way below what you'd expect from a normal 5 yr old car. It has a big dent on it and he lives in IA. Not a big market for high mileage Prius' with a big dent. I might try to sell it but if the KBB is only $5300 and the dealer is offering $4500, that's not too bad. I could be wrong but I don't know too many that would pay $6000 for a car with a $5300 KBB value.

 

Good Points, all.
I hadn't bothered to look up the private party value, I merely presumed that there was about 1,000 bucks on the table with the trade. If the dealership is offering a generous trade-in then it can only mean one of three things:
1. They're profiting handsomely from the sales end of the transaction, or by selling options, warranties, coverage, GAP insurance, admin fees, loan commissions, or there is other cash on the table.
2. This dealership is a rare statistical outlier amongst the roughly 18,000 new car dealerships in the US.
3. The car is worth more than $5300 in private sales. It's hard to say because one person's "Good" condition is another person's "fair". An up-optioned, 09 with 175K in "fair" condition can go higher than $5300, especially if the dent isn't bad and the interior is in excellent shape.

It's still nearly always better to sell a vehicle rather than trade it in, and that's because dealerships like to make money. There's nothing wrong with that, of course...my chief complaint with them is many use retail-resale-finance in some bizarre three-card monte system to try to blur what should be a fairly straight-forward process.
In fact, I'm regularly surprised that the state and federal governments let them get away with as much as they do, but I console myself with the knowledge that the market would be even worse if my beloved government tried to "fix" it.
Having 45, one-hundred-dollar bills in your pocket is MUCH better than having a car that might or might not be worth 4500 dollars when you go to buy a car, since it simplifies the purchase by roughly 33.3333333333333333333 percent.

Sell the car privately. In addition to this forum, your local Credit Union may have a monthly "for sale" flier....or you can park and post a sign.

Good Luck!


EDIT: BTW.....to answer the other part of your original question, I wouldn't hesitate to take the car on a vacation since it might be more dependable than another used car that you buy to replace it. Trading a known 5-year high mileage car in for an unknown 4-year old car doesn't buy me a lot more security on the front side of a 3,000 mile vacation. Good Luck!

Post pictures and details from the vacation and let us know how it went if you want but PLEASE don't use all bold characters when you do!
Thanks!

 

None at all. You can switch between the two without harming the engine.