A good deal??? 2006 -- one owner -- dealer maintained -- 58,000 miles

I think you'll be better off with the gen3 car at that price. More power and the battery will last you longer than one from 2006.

If you're buying the 2006, you'll need to put aside some money for a new battery when it fails ($3000)

 

The Milage is a non-issue, but the price is definitely too high!

Take the test drive and determine whether or not you like the vehicle, then negotiate with the dealership that it's ten years and two generations old, you need to budget for a new HV-battery (ask him what's his price for one is, but don't worry about it, you won't need to replace it any time soon!) and offer him $6000 max (maybe start at $5800 and haggle upwards to $6000??).
If he says "no deal", tell him he can think about it and call you tomorrow, but you won't wait forever.
Good luck!

 

welcome! i'm thinking an '08 or 9, with around 100k. that leaves you 2-3 years and 50,000 miles of hybrid warranty.

 

Agreed that's a big price for a 2006. Back East you might be able to get a used PiP for $15k. It could still be under 10-yr warranty depending orig purchase date and orig state of purchase. Yes sometimes it seems lower miles batts still fail...more an age thing. In CA you get 10-yr 150k miles CARB warranty if the car was orig purchased in CA or other CARB state so be careful with Toyota's rules.

 

I'd pass for anything over 6.5k on those. Owners over price their prius' in california, and they just sit and sit and don't sell from what i've noticed.

 

truecar has three 2008s and a 2009 all under 60000 miles and the sellers are asking for more than $10000. The one car I looked at has been sitting on the lot for almost 3 weeks. You should have time to shop around as Prius aren't flying off the lots. Download the sales brochures 2006-2009 so you can verify the option packages. Make sure you get two fobs & the retractable cover with the car.

 

It depends on what you like. The '07 here has about 54k miles and it hasn't sat--it gets driven at least once/week, which is enough to keep things in order. It still feels new to me and I don't foresee any issues with it. It's impossible to know, though. This car could probably go for about $10k here, I imagine, but I have no plans to part with it. It gives me no worries, even though it's out of warranty coverage.

Even though the Gen 3 is potentially lower-maintenance (electric engine coolant pump and no serpentine belt), the styling doesn't do much for me--I'm partial to the Gen 2, myself. I also prefer lower chassis miles. There are wear items that come into play at higher miles (suspension, bearings, engine oil consumption, transaxle, brake components, etc).

 

The info from the group is spot on. You should be complemented on your choice of car and the fact you reached out to the fine people at Prius chat before investing. If Toyota could give the battery an unlimited warranty it would but it's limited to 10 years for a reason.

 

Dealer is under the influence. Hybrids aren't selling well b/c of cheap gas.

$6K max, and that includes all taxes, fees, etc.

 

don't bank on "battery will be fine" in a 10yo prius

it might be 4 weeks away, it might be 4 years, no "easy" way to tell.. the clock is ticking.

 

cali is a different animal with five dollar gas in some places. look around the country, it might pay for your flight and a whole lot more.
as far as replacement batteries go, there are a lot of scam artists out there, and $800. sounds like one of them. if that's a concern, educate yourself before buying.

 

A NEW Genuine OEM Toyota HV Battery can be bought for $2071.
2007 Toyota Prius Parts - Toyota of San Bernardino Online Parts Store
2007 Toyota Prius Parts - Discounted Toyota and Scion Parts and Accessories

Many storries of remorseful suckers who went cheap, only to learn the hard way. $795 is 38% (795/2071) of the way towards a new one. Another perspective is to amoritize the cost in terms of miles. $2071/100K miles = $.0207/mile. $2071/150K miles = $.0138/mile. The more miles you get, the cheaper the cost. Many balk at the thought of spending $2K on the battery, but when you think of cost per miles, doen't seem so bad.

 

^ This. As someone who has been hunting for one for a few months now, it's a bit puzzling. People will keep reposting the same ad over and over and over again. $7500 for a 2008 with NO history, dealer or otherwise. Salvage title 2005 for $6000 with 200k on the odometer. Leaves me at a loss.

OP: I think it's worth the time/effort to grab one of those OBDII scanners and hook any potential purchase up to TechStream to check for error codes and battery health before buying anything especially if you're set on getting a Prius. That way when you get one, you'll already have things set up if it happens to throw you any codes down the road or if you want to tinker with any of the settings. Predictive battery failure analysis for the Prius Hybrid

I've also mentally built in the price of one of the Hybrid Automotive charge/discharge packs to anything I plan on purchasing to keep the HV battery going as long as possible.

None of this is to say I'm an expert by any means as I don't even own my Prius, yet

 

Just go out of state

 

2010 has 4 years and 70,000 miles left on warranty in cali. congrats, sounds like you got a good one. all the best!

 

Gratz and enjoy!