Anyone bought their Prius used?

[molgrips]

I was only looking at used, because let's face it - new cars are a mug's game. Prices were werid though. Didn't see any listed privately (have since seen two, they were good deals too) so I went to dealers and found one at GBP 18.5k with 9k miles and one at GBP 19k with 4.5k miles, for the top-spec T Spirit model. List price is 20.5k or thereabouts. You people all seem to have brand new ones.

I went for the lower mileage one by the way, it was ex-demo and had parking assist. Don't really like the colour though (silver).

[sl7vk]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 28 2006, 01:10 PM) [snapback]293865[/snapback]</div>

I was only looking at used, because let's face it - new cars are a mug's game. Prices were werid though. Didn't see any listed privately (have since seen two, they were good deals too) so I went to dealers and found one at GBP 18.5k with 9k miles and one at GBP 19k with 4.5k miles, for the top-spec T Spirit model. List price is 20.5k or thereabouts. You people all seem to have brand new ones.

I went for the lower mileage one by the way, it was ex-demo and had parking assist. Don't really like the colour though (silver).
[/b]

I can't speak for Europe or Canada... But in the States a new Prius is cheaper then a used one.... Really! The feds are giving us a 3150 dollar rebate on new Prius', and the used ones aren't depreciating much... at all! So the used 05 with 13k miles on it, sold on ebay motors for 22,100. My 06 with 0 miles on it went for 23,799-3150= 20,649! It's a no brainer wouldn't you say!

[Sarge]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Jul 28 2006, 01:27 PM) [snapback]293875[/snapback]</div>

I can't speak for Europe or Canada... But in the States a new Prius is cheaper then a used one.... Really! The feds are giving us a 3150 dollar rebate on new Prius', and the used ones aren't depreciating much... at all! So the used 05 with 13k miles on it, sold on ebay motors for 22,100. My 06 with 0 miles on it went for 23,799-3150= 20,649! It's a no brainer wouldn't you say!
[/b]

I was lucky and stumbled onto a dealer demo with 6K KM and saved myself $2600 off the SRP, and still qualify for the Ontario tax rebate (CAN$2000).

On that note, I just received notice on Wednesday that my claim has been processed and accepted and 'the cheque is in the mail'. Woohoo! It took about 10 weeks from the day I mailed it.

On that note - this rebate for hybrids actually applies to both new and USED vehicles. I gather this is a unique feature to Ontario/Canada? This is written pretty clearly in the first line under 'Eligible vehicles'.

Ontario hybrid rebate

Can't wait to receive my refund....

Kevin

EDIT: Although that form says it is a $1000 rebate, the provincial government has since doubled it to $2000. I guess they haven't updated their form yet. My confirmation said I am indeed receiving $2000.

[Charles Suitt]

<_< Of course, I can't speak for the UK, being in the Colonies - Texas specifically.

I bought my "slightly used" Prius (4,000 miles on the odometer) on eBay 1 October 2004. It's original owner was an employee of the Houston Texas Toyota distributer (the organization who receives the Toyotas off the ships, then distributes them to the individual dealers). She had purchased the Prius for her then 82 year-old father-in-law who either didn't drive the Prius at all, or very little. Her father-in-law died soon after the original purchase. It was apparently driven for a few months as a dealer "demo" then licensed, registered and posted on eBay Motors for sale. By use of my "sniping" software (places your bid in the last few seconds of the auction) I out bid a Texas used car dealer, flew a commuter airline down to Houston, closed the deal and drove the Prius back home to Dallas. For practical considerations, it was virtually a new car. At that time, Texas purchasers were paying approximately $3,000 to $5,000 over "retail" and waiting up to 6 months for delivery. I paid within a couple of hundred dollars of MSRP. My "penalty" was the 4,000 miles on the odometer. There are some "warranties" provided by eBay Motors regarding fraud or misrepresentation as well CarFax reports to provide additional assurances.

I've had no problems, have completed all but one of the SSC's and TSB's (I elected to NOT have the fuel gauge TSB performed). At 20,000 miles all works well and no problems have surfaced.

In the USA, if I wanted another Prius, I wouldn't hesitate ot buy used taking the usual precautions - CarFax report, "Certified Used Car" if purchasing from a dealer, and any other method of pre-checking out the Prius.

[galaxee]

at the time that we were looking to buy a prius, we also found that used was more expensive than new. we only got the $2000 tax deduction (savings of a couple hundred bucks in the end) but used priuses were going for $27-30k with 10-15k on the odo because of the wait time. we waited 4 months and bought a new one for $24.5k.

if it were cheaper to buy used, we would have done that. but money was the operative here, not the desire for a new vehicle (though i admit it's a nice feeling)

congrats on your new car! (hey it's new to you, right? )

[rlongenbach]

I got mine used.

I didn't want to wait - needed a car ASAP. Spent too much time waiting for a Camry HSD but changed my mind....

Anyway...I wonder when the IRS is going to start requesting the money back on these gently used ones....?

The tax credit wouldn't have been useful anyway with the other credits I get already.

[kirbinster]

I bought one last june USED and bought one two days ago USED. Got a great price on both and love them both. The one last June was an '02 that only had 7,200 miles on it. Has 6CD and full airbags but no warrantee and was $16K. The one from two days ago was also an '02, it has 45K miles on it but is loaded. It has the balance of the 100K warrantee that goes to 2/09, has 6CD, Full airbags, Cruise, DVD Nav and I picked her up for under $14K. Took her on a 350 mile drive today with A/C on and it terrible rains and the MFD shows she did better than 52mpg! Old owner had just put new tires on her a month ago and claims there was rust on the front brakes so they spent almost $600 on new pads and rotors just 4 days ago.

Think I will keep buying used.

[heavenleigh]

I bought my Prius used almost a year ago (3 weeks before Katrina). I got my 15 month old 2004 with 28,000 miles for $5-7,000 less than I would have paid for a comparable new 2005. It had sat on the lot for several weeks and they gave me an additional $1,000 discount on their original asking price. For me, it made the difference between maybe being able to eek out a package 2 or 3 and getting a loaded model for a very comfortable monthly payment.

When I was looking for new Prius, I talked to one dealer who had a Prius that he had been driving for a couple months--it had almost 4,000 miles on it and they would only give me a $350 discount! No way!

Maybe anymore it is hard to find a good deal, but you can definitely save some cash going used--you just have to avoid all the jerks who think theirs is worth waht they bought it for and upgrade to a 2006.

--
Hillary

[ekpolk]

This past weekend, while shopping for an Avalon to replace my wife's 01 Sequoia (which my wife no longer believes was the real intent...), I stumbled on an 04 model, only 15k miles, mint clean, and configured almost exactly as I prefer. It's loaded with everything (nav, VSC, 6-disc, and so on), but has cloth seats (which I highly prefer over leather). I especially like the "smart key" -- you just walk up leaving keys in your pocket, it unlocks, you get in and drive. The only drawback -- it's black, something of an issue down here. I got it anyway, for just a hair over 20k, while getting a good allowance on my guzzlin' 04 G35 that already had 58k miles on it. I thought I wanted a new one, but I'm very, very happy with this one so far. Oh yeah, it's Toyota Certified Used, so I get that factory wty coverage to 7 years and 100k miles. Considering that I just cut my fuel use in half (better than that actually), and can now use regular vs. premium, I'm VERY happy with this car, used or not!

[mwhaley99]

I bought used !

Spotted a used 05 Prius Super White Package 7 (Nav/BT) with just over 8k miles for 28,500k out the door.

Same price as a brand new one, no tax credit, but drove it home same day without having to wait months for one to come in elsewhere.

Just got my HOV stickers this evening, so with be cruising the car pool lane tomorrow