Salvage Prius Stories

And who is the warranty with? Not Toyota, I assume.

 

Joe-Bob's Rebuilt Prius and bait shop.

But in all seriousness, I would guess that some "specialty" shops that only do Priuses could stand behind them at least until the hype dies down. Many of these cars have only been in minor accidents (no airbag deployment or major structural damage) but on the down side they will always have a salvage title and a lot of banks won't do any kind of financing on them.

 

Hi there, another Salvage title Prius owner here. We bought for the simple reason that it was the only way we could afford one. At the time we bought it was tough to find a new one that wasn't over MSRP, and used it was almost impossible to find one under $20k. We got a 2005 w/ 18k miles for $15k. Since a big part of the reason for buying is to eventually do a PHEV conversion, I wasn't particularly worried about the factory warranty.

IMHO, the key is finding a rebuilder who you trust. I found a guy who deals in nothing but Priuses, and is active in the plug-in development community. I went out and inspected his shop, and talked to others who had also bought vehicles from the same guy. When one came along with the features we wanted (mostly side air-bags, light color) we were very confident going ahead. I'm not sure the same can be said for all rebuilders.

I prefer to think if my Prius as recycled, rather than salvage/rebuilt

Rob

BTW we bought our Prius here, and would recommend Steve to anyone looking for a salvage(not that he can keep them in stock right now):
Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle PHEV

 

Let us know how it goes. I had no problem with insurance (Progressive) but had no luck finding anyone who would finance a rebuilt/reconstructed branded Title. We had to go the home-equity route. If you find someone who will finance please let us know who it is. It would also be great to know who the rebuilder is, and how things go.

We would probably consider buying a second salvage title car if we could still get a good deal and find traditional financing.

Rob

 

i bought two salvage priuses an 01 prius and a 05 prius, both of which had extensive front end damage, the front frame rails were damaged.

both priuses are on the road, one of them in the picture on my avatar, and they run great no problems.

once i got all the stuff fixed i had to get all the reciepts and send it into palmetto florida, then i drove up there with temp plate and got it inspected. I have done about 50k miles on both vehicles combined since i have been issued rebuilt title.

I find toyota uses much higher quality steel than other japanese car companies, specifically honda. I recently purchased a honda accord hybrid and the metal that is used on that vehicle is much thin, and easier to cut.

salvage priuses are cooooooool, just make sure u dont buy one where the frame is damaged after the engine, or your in for a big fix.

 

mine is a 2006-Package 7: 4/06 purchase in NoCal (party unknown), totaled in 6/06 in NoCal w/ 3K miles (still w/out plates).
picked up by a guy in SoCal who does salvaged titles for a living (when i met him, he had a 2007-Package 8 w/out HOV stickers that he had just finished repairing).
he repaired it, registered it, and got HOV stickers for it in 11/06.
he drove it one year and sold to me in 1/08 w/ 27K miles for $20K (he asked $23K, i said $19K, settled on $20K...Done!).

it's currently under factory warranty until 3yrs/36K miles (currently has 33K miles).
just had the air conditioning compressor replaced at the dealer ($1400) under warranty.
it doesn't have an extended warranty.

funny, because when I purchased it, the guy who sold it to me said that because it’s a salvaged title, it’s not under factory warranty.
however, when I took it in for the 30K service ($500 by the time I got out of there…that’s another story), the service mgr said that I needed a new compressor and that it was covered under warranty.
i said “OK…whatever you say!â€
so he installed a new air conditioning compressor under warranty.

as you can see from the picture below, all the damage was in the rear.
actually, hard to believe that this was a total loss vehicle.
the front was unharmed, it looks and drives great.
bottom line, I’m very happy w/ my salvaged vehicle.

 

here's an '05 w/ 23K miles for $8K, as is, in Phx...

 

I rebuilt a 2005 and found autobeyours as others have and he did fair and honest when cotacted as to why it wouldn't run. Dealer said( don't go to one for prius)that it needed inverter/converter. .It didn't. Steve Woodruf did find that it needed a HV battery.A first for him who has rebuilt 28 prius's. I think different ones(me included )tried to star it too many times when the throttle body was defunct. When the HV battery gets too low it will not regenerate. I am going te sell the 2005Nd rebuild another when I find one reasonable with leather.Don not buy one that will not start and run. My salvaged HV battery cost $1050. you can trust Steve at autobeyours.

 

a little far away from sw va.

 

My 05 was just totalled out with over 20K damage to just the rear. Body shop report said "Not Repairable".

 

I bought a 2007 with 20K miles on it from a company in Oregon that specializes in rebuilding cars. I paid 13K cash for it and honestly it still has the new car smell in it and looks new as well. I am a pretty fair mechanic and I have searched the front of this car for any sign of damage and everything looks new and perfect. The only give-away is a slight smell of fresh paint when standing outside near the front. I got mine insured with Nationwide with no problems. I also had the intention of making the PHEV conversion but after driving it for 2 months and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to stay with the stock system.

The only hassle I had was getting the Oregon rebuilt title transferred to a Georgia rebuilt title. Georgia makes you go through the inspection process even though it was inspected in Oregon and re-branded from salvage to rebuilt there. Then it took about a month to finally get the GA title sent to me before I could tag it.

I highly recommend the company I purchased mine from:
Perfection Plus Auto - Portland, Oregon

Picture of mine:
http://www.perfectionplusauto.com/web/1589/vehicle/497573

 

Well I must have been the poorest of these, as i couldn't afford one rebuilt. Bought one with exstensive front end damage 2005 with 46000 miles for 8,800$ I did the replacemenet of hood,fenders bumper cover radiator , ect then being ignorant of hv I tried too many times to start it and ruined the hv. Steve of autobeyours came to the rescue. Now have about 14,000 $ in it but it runs great. Should have bought one already rebuilt, but I learned a lot, Maybe I'll get a 2010 in a bout ten more yrs. Ha! I'm 82 now so I bet this 05 wil outlast me , hope not

 

I just bought a 2010 prius with 13,800 miles. Do a search on "new owner with an interesting tale" here on Priuschat. So far I am satisfied. Paid $18,200 for it.

 

I bought a '05 (salsa red I think) last week. Was hit in passenger side wheel area. Strut finished breaking while I was trying to unload it from my trailer. Replaced strut, inner tie rod, and am now driving it around the yard while waiting shipment of my high voltage gloves in order to disconnect the battery before welding (have to pull at the door hinge area). I had no idea those gloves were so scarce (and expensive). Parts are staring at me waiting impatiently.

Hopefully I'll have it on the road next weekend (crosses fingers).

 

SALVAGE IS THE WAY TO GO!!!

I only deal with Salvage..

 

Mine is a 2010 IV with Solar Package, leather and navigation. 29,000 miles cost me $18K. It drives great!