2005 Prius, with navigation and smart key, 57,000 miles. Owned by a Toyota Salesperson, garaged and never smoked in. All service by Toyota Dealer. $14,900 It seems like a great deal but want some "expert" opinions
I just saw a similar vehicle (2005 model with about 57K) advertised on Craigslist for $ 13988. Considering the current market / economy, $ 14,900 seems a bit over priced for that vehicle. Good Luck, Keith
Of course it also matters how much work you want to do to get the absolutely best deal. I usually stop if I feel the price is fair, maybe not the best that one could find with much more effort.
Make sure the title is clear with Autocheck or Carfax. There are tons of salvage/rebuilt Priuses out there, mostly from front end collisions. I would know, I bought one last summer.
It has a clear AutoCheck (it scored a 95). Also, I can get a copy of the service record from the dealership where all the oil changes, etc, have been completed.
I agree with ctmurray in that there's a line between going with what's the best offer right now and spending monumental amounts of time to try to find something better. Here's a personal example: I can shop between CDW, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Best Buy to find the best price because they all have stores very near to me. I can also shop all across the internet to see if I can save five or ten dollars on the same product. Using an hourly rate, I can calculate how much of my time is worth the ten dollar savings. If I spend more time than that on the search I'm already losing money on the deal. Equally, the best price might be from a source I do not know and can not validate beforehand. And if something goes wrong, I know I can go back to the brick-n-mortar stores but maybe not internet stores. So in this case, I would say that if you can haggle the price with a guy you know and perhaps a trusted source, try that. But if you decide to shop around, consider the amount of time spent and the source of the bargain.
