Hello, I am a complete newbie here. I created this account so that I could ask the more knowledgable folks on Priuschat if I should purchase a 2006 Prius with 66,000 miles. The seller is asking for 7500 and is a second owner although he says that he's only owned it for a month. He bought it from an elderly couple and is now moving to Colorado which is why he is selling. I've been looking at cars on Craigslist for about a month now and this seems to be one of the better deals but I am hesitant. If it helps, I am located in NorCal near the bay area.
owning a car for a month and selling it.....a BIG RED FLAG. You should check the service records, most likely a salvage title car or a car with the mileage turned backwards
Welcome to PriusChat! You always get great advice here on PriusChat! Put the VIN of the car into myCarFax and see what there is to see! Good luck!
I won't give you advice on whether to buy the car or not. I agree with the above that a month of ownership and then selling indicates that a thorough review of the car should be done by a professional. The price seems about right IF it proves that there are no hidden issues. But if you do decide to buy it, you can't get a better start with a hybrid technology than with the Prius. I've owned a 2004 (7) with 113K miles and now a 2010 (V) with 112K and have been totally happy with both. Educate yourself using the many sources of information here at PriusChat and make an informed decision before you decide to buy it.
You can also look into sites like this, then check with carfax: CarGurus - Used Cars For Sale. Find used and pre-owned cars in your area - CarGurus
I am a complete newbie here too and I am wondering how to even post a question? Can you tell me how and good luck on your car purchase. Thanks.
Isn't it interesting how many used cars are driven by elderly couples or I'm selling for my mom who is retired so no longer need it? Anyway, $7500 is a good price.
I bought a 2006 with 66000 miles on it five months ago and couldn't be happier! There doesn't necessarily need to be anything suspicious with the selling of the vehicle after a month, he may have bought it for a really good price and is selling it just to profit from it. Find out where it was last serviced and call the garage, ask to talk to the mechanic who worked on it and hope he recalls the car and if there was anything to be concerned about. But truth be told, it's a Prius, highly reliable and dependable vehicle, not likely anything wrong with it.
Note the CARB warranty on the batt is 10-yrs and 150k miles, and I don't know why it seems like those selling at 10-yrs either trying to unload before the warranty or they know a problem exists.
It could be nothing. But I do put quick turn around, or suspiciously short ownership cycles under the "red flag" category. I would want to try to find out more about it's history. Make sure the title is clean. If you can afford it, an independent check is worth it. Also, I would probably default to the recommendation that anyone buying a used Prius that is now 10 model years old, buy it with the knowledge that the Hybrid Battery could fail. It may not...it could have years left, but IMO anything over 10 and failure could happen at any time. So I would purchase with the idea that I might at any time need to make another investment to keep it on the road. It's roughly $3000 for a OEM new Hybrid Battery....plus or minus..depending. Cheaper options exist with remanufactured, salvaged...etc..but they IMO have a history of dubious levels of success and satisfaction. If you can get past the red flag...and I wouldn't do that without having it checked out. If you can purchase with the understanding that a decade on what I'm assuming is the original Hybrid Battery put's it in the danger zone? Then it seems like a fair price, and is VERY low miles for a vehicle of it's age.
10 years old. battery at the end of its life only owned it a few months he's a car flipper low miles is not always a good thing..6600 miles a year? you can get a gen 3 for 8 grand with under 90,000 miles don't pay book value on a used car
This seller it's a dealer ,doesn't know about the car at all .First check the VIN on all visible sites ,doors hood,fenders,trunk etc....frame damages,than drive it for at list 15 miles ,while doing it look how it charges ,how many MPG does and brakes.It's low mileage vehicle ,that means the MPG should be in the high 30's low 40's.If you need it for short distance, isn't good.Best for highways.
Jenny, Let's try to cut to the chase on this. 06 is a good year but the low mileage doesn't necessarily indicate that you will get more life out of the car (it doesn't mean you won't either). If the car has been in NorCal its whole life, there has likely been less stress on the battery. As for a mileage rollback, one way to help determine that is to go to the Toyota Owner's website and enter the VIN as if its your car. If its been serviced at the dealer (which elderly people typically do), you will see all the service records for the car. Look for mileage above 66k. Beyond that, take it for a long test drive and watch the "Energy" display for rapid drops and ascents in the battery level. After it warms up, reset the mpg calculator on the trip information display and drive for at least 10 minutes of mixed driving. Buying a used car is always a gamble but if its in good condition and has been well taken care of, that's the most you can hope for. To determine that, I usually look for the little things like are all four wheelrings still on the car? Is the trunk shade still there, How's the center console fabric look (at 66k, it should still look good)? How's the floormats? How's the carpet? Seats? etc, etc. A car that has over 100k will be fairly obvious and so will one with 66k. All of these are in addition to looking under the hood and checking the oil. If you determine that it has been taken care of and is in good shape, its probably a good buy. Go to the forum you want to post in and click on the "Post New Thread" button in the upper right hand side.
I would budget $`00-$150 to have an independent mechanic look over the car. Ask them to evaluate it as if they were buying it for themselves. If they are knowledgeable about hybrids, that's even better, but there are things even a non-hybrid expert could spot that you might miss. I needed to replace a wrecked 2007 Prius a few years ago and found a 2010 I was VERY interested in. It was a Prius 4, but the dealer had it marketed as a Prius 3. I figured it was worth $1,500-$1,800 more than they thought with the extra equipment. But I wouldn't buy it without having my mechanic of 25 years check it out. My guy found many dents and dings, and several streaks of bright yellow paint on the undercarriage. He said he thought it had been driven over a curb or a tire bumper in a parking lot. He also saw discoloration on the engine block that he attributed to a past or current blown gasket. He told me not to buy the car, saving me from an expensive mistake.
