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Fair Price for 2010 Prius II w/ 47K from Hertz?

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by hilldogg, Oct 8, 2011.

  1. hilldogg

    hilldogg New Member

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    Hi there!

    My girlfriend and I are going to be renting a Hertz 2010 Prius II with 47,000 miles next week and will have the option to buy the car for $16,600 (plus tax and minor fees) through their Rent2Buy program.

    Presuming the car is clean, in decent shape, and otherwise passes a mechanic's pre-purchase inspection, do you think this is a good deal? I can't seem to find a similarly low price here in Northern California.

    Thanks!

    Mike
     
  2. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I think that's a fair price. As is ALWAYS stressed an independent mechanics pre-purchase inspection I think is important. Maybe more so with a Hybrid.

    I've known several people that have bought "rental cars" and had positive experience. My only concern, is that I know from experience that while 47,000 miles isn't a huge amount, the problem with a rental car is you have X amount of people renting and driving the vehicle. And isn't the truth that often people simply do not respect a rental vehicle the way they would their own vehicle?

    My fear would be a history of people "testing the limits"....generally abusing the interior. So I'd want as comprehensive and thorough definition of the current state of the vehicle as possible. So you need a good inspection. A good total vehicle inspection, including hybrid components.

    If your satisfied with the feedback? Then I think $16,600 for a Gen 3 Prius with under 50,000 miles is fair enough.
     
  3. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    For California that's a good price. I would check the car to see if there are signs of general miss use of the car. If the car looks like it was abused and not taken care of then I would pass on it. The price reflects the hi-mileage. But, should not be a problem for a Gen III Prius. Good Luck
     
  4. J5A

    J5A Active Member

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    Given there's still tax and minor fees to tack on I'd try to get $1k or more knocked off since it was a rental.
     
  5. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    How long is the rental period?
    How much are you paying overall to rent?
    Is the rental money going toward the overall price?
    Run the vin through the Toyota web site to check it's service record.
     
  6. ronhowell

    ronhowell Active Member

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    The OP refers to a 2010 Prius 2, not a 2010 Prius 3. But the price quoted still seems reasonable.
     
  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    A 2010 Prius 2 is a Gen III, a 2010 Prius 3 is a Gen III

    Your 2008 Prius 2 is a Gen II

    hope this helps now :focus:
     
  8. ronhowell

    ronhowell Active Member

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    Yes, thanks Doug. The penny finally dropped on the multiplicity of those variables. I've been away from the Prius scene too long!
     
  9. hilldogg

    hilldogg New Member

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    Thanks everyone for your helpful feedback!

    The rental is for three days at $49 per day. But, we had planed to rent a car for those three days anyway (we live in SF and don't own a car). And, if we decide to buy the car, Hertz won't charge us anything for the rental.

    I found a mechanic in SF, with very high ratings on Yelp, that specializes in hybrids that will do a thorough pre-purchase inspection for $90 during the rental period. So, if we're happy with the condition of the cart, and the mechanic agrees, we will probably buy it.
     
  10. djras

    djras New Member

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    Here in So Cal that would be a very good price. The local Toyota dealer has a 2010 Prius with 41,000 listed for $23,000... Talked them down only to $21,000 before we walked.
     
  11. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I have no experience with Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists but I've found Luscious Garage | Blog | Closed Sunday, September 4th to be interesting/useful. You might try them, as an alternative.

    I don't put a lot of faith in Yelp due to Yelp Extortion Allegations Stack Up | News | Oakland, Berkeley, Bay Area & California | East Bay Express and Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0 | Feature | Oakland, Berkeley & Bay Area News & Arts Coverage.

    Prior to all the bad press about Yelp, I posted about how my friend's wedding photographer was victimized by Yelp at http://priuschat.com/forums/freds-h...ility-seattle-area-apartments.html#post923077.
     
  12. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    I think that's a very fair price for the Gen III 2010 - even with that mileage, it's still well under bluebook.

    It being a rental though, are you sure it's a II and not a I? The I model was rentals-only so it might be a I. If you get me the VIN I can check it out.
     
  13. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I would have luscious garage or art's do a pre purchase inspection since it is already out of warranty.

    The car probably won't have any maintenance records since it was likely maintained by hertz. Any records would be from them, and I doubt they used 0w-20 in it.

    MB860 ?
     
  14. DonVentura

    DonVentura SoCal Prius Driver

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    Good price here in CA, as stated above I would just look at how well it appears to be treated. I know many people abuse rentals!
     
  15. hilldogg

    hilldogg New Member

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    I made an appointment at Luscious Garage (which is the place I found on Craigslist) for a pre-purchase inspection during the rental period. I'm glad to hear people trust Luscious; it sounds like a great place.

    As for service records, I believe that Hertz does not release their records. That's certainly a tic in the "Cons" column for buying a car through Rent2Buy.
     
  16. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    My friend bought a 06 Corolla from Hertz 3 years ago. I went with her to their location in Santa Clara and they had all of the maintenance records for the car. So unless things have changed, the records should be available if the car is being purchased from Hertz.
     
  17. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    Dianne has a good point - there are special striped down models of the Prius. Generally called model Ones. They don't have the Smart Key for one thing.
     
  18. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    From the Hertzcarsales.com, it is listed as a II. The vin is listed in the page.

    Used 2010 Toyota Prius II Cars For Sale - Hertz Car Sales

     
  19. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I like the idea of buying a used Prius from Hertz, but only because I guess that the people that rent this car treated it OK. That is an assumption on my part ... In general, I would not consider other car rental models.
     
  20. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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