I have a family member wanting to sell me a 2004 Prius with 208000 miles on it for 4,000. They just had a brand new factory battery put in 2 months ago. My question is, is this a good deal? Can I expect a decent amount of life from this thing? What are other major repair expenses I might run into? I'm looking for a cheap car anyway right now for work and $4000 was pretty much my budget anyway. Thanks for any advice or input! Edit: looking at KBB, $4000 might be a little high. They list it as $3200 for private sales. Does that sound right?
If in good shape with good paint and interior with no oil consumption then I definitely consider $4k a good deal. Heck the battery is worth $1200 or so alone. Prius are very good cars so 208k miles is not crazy high.
welcome to p/c! was it the hybrid battery or 12 volt battery? how much did they spend? who replaced it? did they maintain it well with all records? i sold my 04 with 100,000 miles a year ago to a complete stranger for $6,000. all the best!
It was the hybrid battery. They took it to the dealer and paid around $3000. They didn't know they could have got it cheaper elsewhere. Yes, it was maintained well. I'll be test driving it this evening. So the general consensus is that this is a good deal? I spoke to them about the price and they are firm on $4000 because they just dropped $3000 on the battery.
i can't speak for price, just a general fyi. car could go another hundred thousand with no major problems, or, there is always potential for another four digit repair. hopefully not the battery since it is new, but it only has a one year warranty. there are a few other expensive pieces, much more costly than a standard car. although, on a standard car with 200,000 miles, you also could see an expensive tranny or engine, etc.
For 4 grand and a new traction battery I'd buy the car and roll the dice. Just be prepared to possibly drop a few Benjamin's for additional repairs.
