I was talking to my mechanic today while he was fixing my wife's infinity. He said there are lots of Prius at the auctions like 60 at a time up for sale due to dead batteries. I questioned if it was Gen 1 he said 2005 2006 and 2007's. Even ones just one or two years old. I told him I thought the batteries were holding up except if you leave them sit weeks or months at a time. He said maybe that is it that they can't be recharged. He said the shop owner next store bought one and sold it a year later at a good time. I was under the impression most people love them and would buy them again. Anyone know of a high number of batteries going dead?
What I'm more interested in is the auction vehicles. Can you ask your mechanic how we can get access to these auctions? How about a listing of those vehicles? Any on Ebay? Bob Wilson
If these auctions are/have been stocked with fleets of Prius', then wouldn't we have been chatting this subject up to death on these forums for several years now? Complete bunk if you ask me.
Rubbish. People are full of false stories about Prius. On the other hand, did you know that there is a 100 mpg carburetor that you can put on your F150? Tom
That has to be either BS or people don't know about the 8yr/100,000 mile warranty (10yr/150,000 in CA.)
Sounds like an urban legend to me. Would love to know where I can buy a cheap not running Prius which just needs a new traction battery. Especially if it is under 160,000km and 8 years old, because Toyota will replace the battery under warranty. Please help a lot of Prius fans who don't have a lot of money, ask your mechanic to tell you where the auction house is and what the URL of their web site is. I don't know of any reasonable size auction houses without a web presence these days.
Maybe it is next door to the Government vehicle auction with all those late model, low mileage, cheap Prius. You know: Madoff Motors Auction 3 Dollar Way Bogus, CA 99666 Bob Wilson
Actually he is -partially- correct. There are Prius appearing at auctions in groups. I've seen them in Alberta. They are rentals. They keep them for a year or two then auction them off and get new ones. A few weeks ago there were 10-15 available. A local wholesaler got three. A friend wanted one (base 2009 with 45,000 km on it), and was told he could have it for $15,000. He was slow to react, and a dealer in Calgary bought all three for $17,500 each. Snooze you loose!
If your mechanic was correct, used Prii would not be selling at the inflated rate that they are. Ignorance is bliss.
Your mechanic is obviously a brilliant man. Did you ask him how they charge the batteries in the first place? :madgrin:
