Is this a decent deal for me?

If you don't drive that much, you should buy a car with very high mileage (eg. 150K) at lower cost. Because when you drive it another 5 years, you will not depreciate too much.

The Prius is still enjoying the added premium for the gas savings. Many people pay extra $2000 to buy it, because they can get the money back in a couple of years, in the form of gas saving. My commute was 125 miles/day. With Prius, I save about 2.5 gallons a day. Add weekend driving, I save total about $2000/year based on $3.75/gal gas in Chicago. I bought the 2004 Prius for $8000 cash in early 2010, with 106K miles on it. If nothing changes, it will be "free" in 4 years.

If your goal is to save money, then buy a used high mileage reliable car of any kind. If you enjoy all the fancy toys, go get a used luxury car for cheap. Since you don't drive a lot, you can buy a $50K car (when new) for $10K easy. I don't think Prius makes any economical sense to you, unless you simply like it and willing to pay the extra.

Good luck to your next car hunting...

 

No thats not a good deal really. Thats a fairly old car and for $13K +
I can buy a much newer car.
And mileage will really suffer in Nebraska so if your in love with a Prius move south my man.

But if your heart is set on it and I know that feeling check out eBay as a price reference. You will quickly see 13k+ for an 05 is out of line in the current economy.

 

That '94 Camry is an exceptionally reliable vehicle. Now that it is Fall, you don't need A/C again until May, and it should make it through one more winter. Also, your Camry is probably more capable on snow/ice than a Prius. You lose no value on the Camry by hanging on to it for another 8 months, while being able to save up even more $$$ towards the purchase of its replacement.

As far as the battery, the greatest risk is old age + high mileage, rather than old age or mileage alone. The risk appears to go up beginning at 6 years + 150,000 miles.

And I agree, $13400 is too high. If someone offered me that for my '05 with 85000 miles, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

 

That is important information. Have you driven a Prius yet? It is not that comfortable to drive for a tall person, or so I have heard. The seat does not go far enough back and the steering wheel does not telescope.

If you are buying a house, every penny counts. If you are financing a car, it is definitely much better to get your mortgage first and finance the car later.

It is extremely difficult to judge condition of a car based on miles alone. Some people are so abusive that they wear a car out in 100,000 miles no matter what the brand, while others are so careful that they could put 1,000,000 miles on a Yugo. But in general, Honda and Toyota make exceptionally good cars, and 100,000 miles is not scary at all. I have 160,000 miles on the 04 RAV4 and it has been less trouble than the 05 Prius. The best bang for the buck will be a non-hybrid of 2004-2006 -- Yaris, Corolla, Camry, Fit, Civic, Accord.

 

Just looked again on eBay and there's thousands of them.
You can easily find one that finances and can ship to you
and come out way ahead of the car you quoted.

Also do you have a Craigs List by you? There's a boatload of Prius's on my CL locally.

 

Craigslist and Ebay are great sources for amazing deals, if you look properly and is confident of the seller. However, if you are going to finance, dealerships can have better rates than what most banks/ credit unions may offer.

As of 3 weeks ago when I bought my prius, all CPO prius have 2.9% financing! That is pretty good for a used car. I took the deal, got all the bells and whistles that comes with a CPO car (free maintenance, car wash, warranties, and other dealer freebies).

You have a lot of options! Good luck and let us know!

 

Now your talking. Craigslist only works if you know exactly what your buying and what to look for.
If they have been going for dealer service ask them for there account name and password so you can look on the Toyota Owners Online site for service history of that car.
If they never logged in all you need is the car's vin and there name. There's nothing personal on there just the cars' history at the dealer.
And then run a Carfax on the car no matter what they say.

At that mileage only thing the car will need is a transaxle fluid change and a engine oil change. And maybe the air cleaner & cabin filter. And maybe tires too. If it has Goodyear Integrities get them off the car asap. They are the worst tire ever made. Thats $400 for a different set and maybe $200 for everything else. Unless it has good tires.
Good Luck.

 

:thumb:

That's a much better deal. +1 on everything Ed said about tires and maintenance. You can do the cabin and engine air filter yourself -- aftermarket ones are super cheap on Amazon.

 

OP - If you are dead set on a car and you have $14k or so to spend you can get a pretty decent new car for just a few $'s more - the Honda Fit, Mazda 2, Nissan Versa and Hyuandai Elantra are a couple. Also Toyota has redesigned the Yaris and the pictures at least look good. In that batch of cars the Fit would be #1 for me unless the new Yaris was a huge step up from the old one.

If it were me, I'd hold onto the existing car until February - at least in my area President's Day is one of the best times to get a great deal on a new car.

This way you can get a good and solid car with a full warranty and then take good care of it you will be able to drive it for a heck of a long time.

 

1) 6'4 (I'm 5'11 and 1/2) is pushing it unless you want to modify it.
2) $15000 for a 6-7 year old car is too much especially since you drive ~900 miles/mo. I bought an '07 coming from a '94 Camry V6, XLE (which I bought when gas was $1.33).
3) Very hot and cold climates will result in lower mpg because of the A/C use.
4) Flat surfaces are not good for pulse and glide.

I probably got one of the best deals when buying new for $20,750 and I'm still not sure it was a financially sound decision.

It has definitely been a fun 4.5 years of mostly maintenance free ownership and an overall better car than something like a Corolla.

If I were you, I'd go buy a new Versa or Elantra and keep it for 100+ kmi or a used '08/09 Camry. Especially if I was concerned about the HV battery reliability.

 

fuse, I don't know if you are still with us, but someone just posted a fully loaded in the for sale forum for $10K, out of Illinois.

http://priuschat.com/forums/private-sales/98760-2004-prius-loaded-74k-miles.html