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Looking to buy a Prius, am I being too picky?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by swamprt5000, Aug 6, 2017.

  1. swamprt5000

    swamprt5000 Junior Member

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    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    So, I am looking at the Sacramento craigslist and the Reno craigslist. Mostly the Sacramento one because the Reno one is dead.

    I am looking to pay less than $5,500 on the car. Ideally I'd get one for cheap with a bad battery and replace the bad cells myself.

    However after a month of checking both craigslists daily for over a month I haven't found anything that really scream BUY ME. I haven't gone to check any Sacramento cars because I live in Reno, but all the Reno ones I've checked have been either overpriced or had problems.

    Right now this one and this one (nvm that one had 3+ owners) look decent but the thing that bothers me is how they have been for sale for a week. If they were any good, wouldn't they have been bought already?

    I posted a fake ad for $4800 on both craigslists and I got tons and tons of text messages and calls of people who were interested (over 100 combined), so I imagine that this is also happening for these people, but for one reason or another, they are still for sale. I imagine a good car would only be on craigslist for one or two days before being sold.

    Anyway my question: is my line of thinking right? Or should I consider cars that have been for sale for more than a week? Also, what do you guys think of those two cars I listed?
     
    #1 swamprt5000, Aug 6, 2017
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2017
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Have you ever truly sold anything of significant value on CL? You will get SPAMED/PHISED/SCAMMED, etc., big time.
     
    #2 fotomoto, Aug 6, 2017
  3. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Laughlin, Nevada
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    Touring
    Try cargurus. It's much more reliable. We've found multiple cars through them for ourselves, family and friends.

    Used Toyota Prius For Sale Reno, NV - CarGurus

    Four cars came up in your price range within 150 miles of Reno, including one in West Sacramento. The batteries might not even be bad.
     
    #3 srellim234, Aug 7, 2017
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2017
    Chodronish likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's hard to be picky under $5,500. maybe watch the bad battery threads here, and see if you can make a deal with someone.
     
    #4 bisco, Aug 7, 2017
    Chodronish likes this.
  5. Moving Right Along

    Moving Right Along Senior Member

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    In order to buy a decent vehicle, it's important to know its maintenance and repair history, get it checked out by a mechanic, and do a test drive. In your case, I'd start with asking for a test drive on one that interests you, and then if you like it, you can ask for documentation and get it looked over by a mechanic.

    I'd also recommend only buying a non-functional car if you've been trained in repairing hybrid systems. And I'd avoid replacing battery modules unless you're comfortable with needing to do so every few months.
     
    #5 Moving Right Along, Aug 7, 2017
    Chodronish likes this.
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Two
    Craigslist is a nightmare of tire kickers and time wasting jackasses. Doesn't help people post fake ads for god knows why. The fact your looking for a sweat deal on CL tells me your going to get burned really really hard.
     
    #6 edthefox5, Aug 7, 2017
  7. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

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    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Wow, very expensive! But I guess it's the area you live in. I just sold my 2011 gen 3 for a little over $5000.

    At those prices I would keep waiting and I do like your strategy of bad hybrid battery for cheap and fix yourself....Because $5100 and $5200 for a gen 2 with 150k and 180k seem like really high and unattractive prices. No wonder they are not sold in a day..Why would they be?

    My gen 3 took about 3 weeks or so to sell...Probably because of the high miles (185K)....First person (a father looking for his daughters....ie the worst possible scenario) said he'd let me know....The second person bought it...So in 3 weeks time I only had 2 showings and really only about 5 inquiries! So you really can't go by the time ad is listed.

    The fake ad is very obvious why you got so many inquiries. It only had 110K on it and was priced @ $4800.

    I tried looking in Reno and there's nothing there...I think I see what is most likely your ad regarding finding a bad battery prius for $2000.

    I would also expand your search if possible seems like a really crappy market where you live
     
    #7 MilkyWay, Aug 7, 2017
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