How much should I buy a Prius for?

I agree that replacing with new is the way to go. @2k1Toaster (who is an active forum member) has been selling them for about 3 years with good reviews but who knows after that. He doesn't ask for the old battery (as Toyota dealers do), so you can sell the modules that are still working for a total of a couple of hundred bucks on ebay, so net cost would be around $1300. Everyone has to weigh factors such as how long you may own the vehicle, etc.

 

they came in 6 or 8 flavors iirc. the higher the package, the more options, and more valuable.

i had a basic 2008, was package two. there was a package one, but only for fleet sales in most area's. no cruise is a dead giveaway.

 

I can only recall one dissatisfied customer with cylindrical batteries offered by newpriusbatteries.com I think his Prius had other issues, but he kept blaming it all on batteries. I'm not sure if 2K 1 toaster would weigh in on that, but just about everyone else who posts here has been satisfied with their purchase, including me.

 

It is essential to compare apples to apples and not to oranges.
As others have already said, the only people that continually come here with problems after doing a replacement of the HV battery are the ones who try to do it on the cheap (but paying up to $1,500!) by buying a pile of rubbish second-hand cobbled together modules sold as a refurbished/rebuilt/remanufactured/re-whatever'ed battery. The advertising always gives the impression customers are getting something new. As new, factory fresh OEM modules cannot be purchased from anyone else but Toyota, these charlatans are using secondhand modules out of failed batteries. The availability of good stock is now very limited, but anyone, with no qualifications or formal training (and sketchy basic equipment, can open up a shop and sell these duds. It is become soul-destroying try help clean up the carnage. There are very few people in that business I would trust to rebuild and recondition a battery for me.

What other new options are there for $1500? Certainly, NPB for $1,600 is working out very well for the seller and buyers alike. As George said, we have only seen one disgruntled person here, and from the information that he himself posted on PriusChat, it seemed likely the problem was in the front end of the car, not the back end. He was dead set on blaming the battery and would not entertain any other possibility.

 

How much should you buy a Prius for?

I don't know. But I do know that a preposition is not a good word to end a sentence with.

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

 

You could almost get an obsessive OC.D. DisOrder out of something like that.

 

Another point on the valuation of a Prius is that with gas prices being about half of what they have been, Prii should currently be sold at a pretty steep discount from what they already were. Prius prices are linked to gas prices, because there's less demand when gas is low.

 

The used car auction market is falling apart. Dealers are reluctant to take in any trades at this point. All used car prices are starting to drop fast.

 

Where have I heard this before? (Hint: What is hypermiling?)

 

I would have said rough trade in price but Californians love these cars because your gas prices are so outrageous. If you want a good deal on a Prius go to a state where there's no demand for one like Iowa. Fly in pick it up drive at home you'll save thousands

 

And even cheaper may be to get the Corolla you have repaired. Even replacing the engine with a guaranteed one from a re-manufacturer can be done.

Battery is only one thing. What if the owner got his oil changed every 10k miles. Meaning he left bearings sitting in 2 year old oil. And the low use profiles to high acid buildup in the oil.

Rubber parts age. Tires were made in what year.