Yesterday, on a whim, I checked out a used Prius on Ebay. I found one that was about to expire. The car was a 2004 package 7 with 31,000 miles on it. The car sold for 23,000 USD. I think the price of a new one is almost the same. One oddity is that the pictures show an average mileage of 39MPG. Now I tried to get mileage this low and I wasn't able to even when I tried. If you want to check out the car, here is the link. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=43925
i found that using winter formula gas and restricting my trips to less than 2 miles, i can get it down to 36 mpg. right now, i am making 8 trips per day ranging from .9 to 1.2 miles in length mon-fri. but by mixing in a few trips with distances about 10 miles, that alone kicks my overall tank average to 43 mpg so yes it would be difficult to keep it at 39 mpg for 31000 miles
The Kelley Blue Book suggested retail price for a used 2004 is $1190 more than the original list price.
i guess that would depend on where you live. as i stated in my post entitled "Money in the Bank" my car is worth $2755 more retail and $630 more on a trade in http://priuschat.com/forums/money-in-the-b...?highlight=bank
My local Toyota dealer (Toyota of Durham in Durham, North Carolina) currently has 10 used 2004 Prii (base model with no options) with approx 16k - 40k+ miles on them listed in their inventory for about $27,000 each!! I went in last weekend to put my name on the list for a new '05 (6-8 loooooooong months to wait) and they tried to sell me one of these used ones and said they would "work with me" if the price was an issue. I didn't bite on one of the used ones since I want a loaded '05 with NAV and leather and I have a few other bills to finish paying before taking on a car payment. Still, if you're in NC and are dying for a Prius **today,** there's your chance. Nonetheless I test drove one of these used ones and at the time asked the dealer why he already had used '04s (problems? somebody unhappy with it? - HA, fat chance), and he said that they came from a corporate fleet where the company wanted to take advantage of the tax benefit and unload the cars before they lost value. Makes sense in a bean counter sort of way, but otherwise just seems so... WRONG! - Bill
That seller sure went all out on the photos! Sure helps me remember what everything looks like inside and out while I continue my wait for a new '05. Thanks for the link
I really hope no one is so hard up or stupid to pay the fully loaded price for a base '04 with 15-40K miles. And cars that weren't owned by loving people, but most likely rented. My local dealer called after I bought elsewhere and even had my deposit back, to see if I wanted their loaded TRAC with 7K miles for the same price as a new one. I figured THAT was gutsy enough. Hmmm, could be Enterprise. I wonder if they got a replacement fleet of '05s. They do pretty well given the daily rental rate is much higher than other similar sized cars.
