Is this a deal? Rebuilt title Prius C1, 5500 at auctions

Salvage title AND a repossession are two bad indicators, and remember that the is no such thing as any kind of warranty on a salvage title.
OTOH, the C-type is very reliable and efficient and the car may look, small, feel and drive like any other C, and deliver another 5-10 years of faithful service.

You’re risking $6k (maybe more.)
Can you afford to be wrong?
Can you be without wheels for a week?
Do you have another car?
Is your job sensitive to absentees?
How much do you trust your mechanic?

Your call......

 

Walk away.
Auctions have a risk of getting burned.

For frequent auction buyers the losses are hopefully offset by a few cars that are money makers.

I assume you are only buying this one car. So all your risk is in one roll of the dice. You already know it has a salvaged title which adds additional risk on top of the auction risk!

Seriously. Don't do it.

It would have to be a way better deal than this to take that risk. Say $1000 or 2,000.

There are plenty of other cars that will come along.

 

Agree, not a good deal. Rebuilt title status isn't so bad if you are the rebuilder and you know exactly what got rebuilt, but this is too far removed.

The c is a stunningly reliable car but it is also very complex, and that complexity will bite you in the bank account unless you know deep details on the repair history.

It's not a terrible risk for a 2nd or 3rd car, just not a good candidate to be the one and only in your driveway.

 

Your Mechanic is looking to make money...on both ends.

 

You do not want a salvage titled PRIUS. My local dealer in Tampa area gets $145 an hour. How many hours at that labor rate can you afford a gee we cant figure this out its a toughie gonna take some time wallet exploration?

Go to toyota.com/owners forum and join and then if you have the VIN on any prospective car load that vin and you will then see every event the car saw an authorized toyota repair center and what they did to it and what they were chasing. Many times you will see why the car went to auction usually the car was condemned at the dealer because it needed an expensive part and the owner traded it in on the spot and off to auction it goes next stop a used car lot looking for its next victim.

Be careful on a used Prius you can get hammered pretty bad. Your better off with a Corolla much more simple car.

Good Luck.

 

The other bummer thing people don't realize about used cars is that the police mark them. Not sure if it changes if you change the plate number or if the computer system still follows the VIN and therefore the complete history....I do know they marked me as "firefighter", the letter "F" next to my car. They can write whatever they want. "Car used in a crime", for example, and it stays there. They do that sort of thing whether a crime was proved to be committed or not. At a whim. Pull all history, insurance seems to also have a lot of info. Lawyer friends are also very helpful. If you don't want to be constantly harassed and shot because they thought you were the old owner that they are harassing because he screwed his wife in the bathroom bar...avoid it or have the history scrubbed.

Also, test the battery.

 

if all you have is $5,500. look for a non salvage corolla, civic and etc.