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why so many for sell

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by lighthouse6, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. lighthouse6

    lighthouse6 New Member

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    Hello all, I am new here and looking to buy a Prius and need some feed back. I currently drive a 2006 dually deisel that gets about 13 MPG. I am now driving about 1000 miles per week and want to buy the auto that gets the absolute most MPG. I have always wanted a Prius and will 99% more than likely buy one no matter what. My question is that I see alot of Prius's for sell. I also have been reading many of the threads on here pertaining to battery life and such. Is the reason for the large number of cars for sell is the battery life. Do these need to be replaced after a few years? If I buy a used one, will I have to replace battery's? I know this car will pay for itself compared to what I am driving now and thinking maybe I should just buy a new one. Any thoughts.
     
  2. gmcneil05

    gmcneil05 Member

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    I also live in central Florida in Avon park. I bought a 05 a fews months ago for $8,300 with 107,000 on it. I would not be worried obout the batteries. I know of priuses with over 250,000 miles on them with no problems. If you want to save money I would not buy a new one. I had a 97 Tahoe that didn't get but maybe 12 in town if I was lucky. I figure I save about $100 a tank and no car payment.
     
  3. gmcneil05

    gmcneil05 Member

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    Also would you be selling your dodge. I know someone who has been looking for a dodge diesel daully.
     
  4. dd2

    dd2 New Member

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    My wife and I just purchased our first Prius- 2005/ loaded with only 39k miles. I never thought I would purchase a 7 year old car, but whoever owned this car, kept it like new. The leather still smells like new and the interior shows little to no wear. We were also concerned with the battery life as well, as the warranty is 8 years or 100k miles, in which we are approaching. After researching this forum and speaking to several prius owners, we are confident we made a great choice. We even had one dealership willing to extend the warranty on the battery, at no additional charge, because they were confident we would not need it.

    We did not find there to be an excess of cars, in fact the first 2 dealerships only had 1 car each, both being a 2005 model. We found this to be a testament to the quality and longevity of the car. However, at this point it is all anecdotal as we have only owned the car for a day :). We look to report back in a year or two with great results.
     
  5. Keiichi

    Keiichi Active Member

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    The reason some people are selling Prius cars may be due to wanting to get the newer model with the newer features, they may have been leased models, so obviously, they are considered used. Some may also be at the end of their warranty, which according to what I last heard, the Hybrid system is warranted to 8 years.

    I think the real concern would be how worn the car would be. The more abuse a car has been through, the more concerns you should have about its longevity, but most Japanese cars tend to last fairly well. My last car, a Nissan Sentra, was 15 years of age and I gave up on it due to the radiator fan finally dying on it. I kept that car through regular maintenance and only had the sunvisor and the radiator fan fail and that car had like 103k miles on it.
     
  6. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    I agree fully with Keiichi

    Everyone is upgrading with all the new options.
    Therefor there are some used out there.

    We glanced online for used ones, and even 2-3 years old, they
    were asking around what a new one costs. Some even higher, go figure.

    With the 2012 Prius, you get an 8 yr/100k warranty on the battery and hybrid system.
    You would have to check on used.

    But either way you look at it, at the mpg and mileage you are doing now,
    you could pay off in no time.
    Also factor in the diesel to gas price, and you are sitting at 10 +/- mpg.

    Do a little reading and above everything else, go ahead and test drive the Prius.
    Test drive a new and used and also the Prius C.
    The Prius C is about $10k less loaded or base.
    If you just are looking for mpg, the C may be the one.
     
  7. ralleia

    ralleia Active Member

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    I don't even own one yet, and I agree with Keiichi and digdirt's assessment.

    For Toyota hybrid owners, "60 percent of Toyota hybrid owners returned to the market to purchase another Toyota." This is a strong indication that the owners were favorably impressed with the vehicle.

    https://www.polk.com/company/news/only_35_percent_of_hybrid_owners_buying_hybrids_again_says_polk

    The newest generation of Prius has a number of features not available with previous models, plus an even higher fuel efficiency, I believe. I'm in the market for one, and I'm not even considering anything but the 2012s, since I want the features that come with the newest model. Those who are trading in their Prius on a 2012 likely have similar sentiments!

    I am not concerned about the battery life. The battery has an eight-year 100,000 mile warranty (even longer if you live in certain states like California).
     
  8. Son of Gloin

    Son of Gloin Active Member

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    For the OP ... you drive 1000 miles per WEEK ??? IF so, at about $4 per gallon and 13 mpg, you're spending about $308 per week / more than $1200 per month.

    Even if you meant to say "1000 miles per MONTH" ... at, say, 45 mpg MINIMUM - depending on how you drive - with a new-or-used Prius, you'd be buying about 22 gallons per month / $88 instead of your current $308 ... a "savings" of about $220; NEARLY enough to cover payments on a new car depending on the specific financing and PROBABLY more-than-enough to cover payments on a used one up to $15,000.

    As to your battery concerns ... LITTLE reason to worry about that. A newer Prius - 2007-2010 - can PROBABLY be had with extended / battery warranty still in effect OR with a fairly reasonable, additional cost.
     
  9. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    CARB warranty is 10 years/150,000 miles so a battery should be expected to last at least that long. In other states the warranty is 8 years/100,000 miles.

    Battery life is a combination of time and use. You get more miles out of the battery if you drive a lot: taxi drivers and couriers tend not to have to replace their batteries even after 300,000 miles of use; 2fas4u, a Florida medical equipment courier (I think) replaced his 2009 Prius at over 450,000 miles.

    A new battery purchase from and installed at a dealer costs $3,500, but there are cheaper solutions available that can reduce the cost to $2,000 or less.

    However, it's now over 8 years since the Gen 2 Prius went on sale so while some people may be selling to rid themselves of warranty worries there other reasons for selling: upsizing; downsizing; reducing; replacing; upgrading.
     
  10. lighthouse6

    lighthouse6 New Member

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    Son of Gloin, I meant to say I drive 1000 per WEEK. I am a General Contractor an I work all over the state of Florida. I have contracts that I service that lead me from south of vero Beach on east coast to close to Jacksonville also on east coats and then all the way over to Sarasota on the west coast up to Crystal River on the west coast and every where in between. I drove 340 miles just yesterday to photograph my property's in Bradenton and all up the west coast of Florida and back home. This is typical for me. Yes I am spending between $1,200 to $2,000 a moth in gas. That is why I am going to but the car that gets the most MPG. I could buy two of them and they would pay for themselves for what I am paying in Deisel. This is a no brainer and I always do my research before I buy anything. This is why I say I am 99% sure I will buy a Prius. I am thrilled at the feed back about the warranty's and battery's.
     
  11. Prius 06

    Prius 06 Member

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    I have a 2006 Prius with 125,000 miles on it now.
    I bought it used in 2008 with 45,000 miles on it.
    This car has asked for nothing more then oil changes and gas.
    It's currently sitting at 50mpg on my 62 mile trip to work and back.
    It's by far the best car I've ever owned.
    My only complaint is sometimes needing a bit more power.
    If you get a 2010+, since they have more power, this probably isn't as much of an issue anymore.
     
  12. Son of Gloin

    Son of Gloin Active Member

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    PARTIAL / EDITED quote follows:

    Then I edit my earlier post as follows: since you really do drive 1000-or-MORE miles per WEEK, then at about $4 per gallon and 13 mpg, you really are spending at least $308 per week / more than $1200 per month! [ For comparison, my TOTAL fuel costs since early August of '08 for our Prius JUST passed $2000 with his last fill-up ... gas is a bit cheaper here and we've only driven Mithril about 35,000 miles. )

    But since you really DO drive that much ... which is to say that IF I DROVE THAT MUCH - and here I'm getting back to your battery concerns - I believe I would DEFINITELY purchase "new". Also - again, if I drove as much as you do - I believe I would NOT bother with the added cost of an "extended warranty". Rather, I'd be inclined to drive the new vehicle within 5000 or 10000 miles of the "standard" warranty and start looking for another new car; meaning Prius or otherwise ... a lot of similar and perhaps better options will be available by the middle of 2014 ... when you have about 80,000 miles on the one you might be getting soon ...
     
  13. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    lighthouse,
    I own 2 and no problems on either. Both are over 100k and one is 11+ yrs old. My take is, "batteries last a long time". I love the mpg's and personally don't believe there's anything that can compare (value wise) to a used Gen II.
     
  14. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    Since the miles are that high, I would seriously test drive a Prius.

    The V gets less mpg, so the 2012 Prius is what you are looking for.
    The hatchback design would be perfect to keep the back seats down
    and you can then throw in whatever tools, equip you will need for the day.
    You get alot of space back there.

    I would say about $25k for a 2012 Prius three or possibly a four for a lil extra.

    Def get the highest mileage Extended warranty, for peace of mind.

    You will not find better price, better mpg, better reliability.
    Not to mention the versatility of the hatchback design.
     
  15. Keiichi

    Keiichi Active Member

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    Actually, I would ask what kind of space you are needing? I mean, if you don't need a lot of space, per say, the Prius c might be a better option in the long run. While it is new, it will give you the same MPG as the standard Prius, but at a lower price point. Unless you really need the trunk space of the liftback and not nearly as much as the 'v'. But to be honest, going with the c might be a better option as you are getting a new battery from the get go.

    The only real drawback with the c I see is that it doesn't have the nicer 'look' interior wise as the standard prius as far as the dash displays, but if you want to go for the more conservative mode, I think the c would also fit the bill.
     
  16. zebelkhan

    zebelkhan Member in good standing

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    At 1,000 miles a week, your factory warranty will be up in less than 9 months and the longest extended warranty you can buy will cover you for an additional 20 months. I would not bother with buying an extended warranty if I were you.

    Your estimated gas savings will be nearly $900 a month. Even if something does go wrong with your prius during the first 29 months (highly unlikely) you will be more than ok to dip into the saved $27k and pay for it!