# 2010 Prius with 125,000 miles for $9,500 Buy or Pass?



## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Went to a toyota dealership today and was offered $9,500 for a 2010 Prius before fees. Originally the car was advertised for $10,400 but after I presented the the Blue Book value which was 9k they decided to "give me a discount".

The car looks clean, carfax is clean too, only one owner and with basic maintenance every 5k or so. The dealership has supposedly done 1k worth of maintenance before putting it up for sale. Unfortunately they are selling it as-is and I would have to pay extra for extended warranty. 

My main concern is the battery, with 125k miles I probably have about than 6 month before the warranty runs out. Is the car worth it or should I look around for better deals?


----------



## Tired of this (Apr 10, 2015)

My opinion would be to pass on this one, at least at this price. Price seems a bit high given the mileage and you can probably find a similar model with less miles.

What's the price after all the fees? If blue book is 9,000, don't pay more than 9,000. Trust me, I made this mistake when I was desperate and paying $40 a day for a rental car, so I gave in and purchased a car that while late model, had some body damage, poor maintenance history, bad tires, etc. at KBB fair price. When you pay more for a car than it's value, there is a psychological barrier where you don't want to spend any more money on it since you already overpaid and you're stuck with the reminder for a few years.

If they do dealer fees, like FL does, 9500 is really an effective price of 10,200 factoring in a $700 dealer fee. 

If you have the time and patience to search, I'd say go for a 2007-2009 model. California has battery warranty of 10Y/150K, so you'd be covered there.

Good thing about the Prius is that most people cannot tell what year the car is, even people who own a Prius. I've had someone ask me if mine is a new car after I cleaned it up. Another pax who drives the 2010+ model told her boyfriend that mine must be the newer model since it had GPS and back-up camera.


----------



## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Tired of this Bullshit said:


> My opinion would be to pass on this one, at least at this price. Price seems a bit high given the mileage and you can probably find a similar model with less miles.
> 
> What's the price after all the fees? If blue book is 9,000, don't pay more than 9,000. Trust me, I made this mistake when I was desperate and paying $40 a day for a rental car, so I gave in and purchased a car that while late model, had some body damage, poor maintenance history, bad tires, etc. at KBB fair price. When you pay more for a car than it's value, there is a psychological barrier where you don't want to spend any more money on it since you already overpaid and you're stuck with the reminder for a few years.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice. I've had experience of buying a lemon from an auction which is why i'm gun shy on this one. Like you said they do have bunch of fees and they quoted me the total price with taxes and all around 10k.

Honestly the car look in excellent condition. It got new tires and shocks but it has a scuff mark on the bottom right side of the car.


----------



## Beur (Apr 14, 2015)

saucy05 said:


> Went to a toyota dealership today and was offered $9,500 for a 2010 Prius before fees. Originally the car was advertised for $10,400 but after I presented the the Blue Book value which was 9k they decided to "give me a discount".
> 
> The car looks clean, carfax is clean too, only one owner and with basic maintenance every 5k or so. The dealership has supposedly done 1k worth of maintenance before putting it up for sale. Unfortunately they are selling it as-is and I would have to pay extra for extended warranty.
> 
> My main concern is the battery, with 125k miles I probably have about than 6 month before the warranty runs out. Is the car worth it or should I look around for better deals?


The battery is close to its 150,000 mile warranty that's mandatory in CA. Ask them what the cost of new batteries would be. A friend in Baltimore just paid $3,500 for his. Also inquire about the warranty on replacement batteries, then make your decision.


----------



## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Beur said:


> The battery is close to its 150,000 mile warranty that's mandatory in CA. Ask them what the cost of new batteries would be. A friend in Baltimore just paid $3,500 for his. Also inquire about the warranty on replacement batteries, then make your decision.


They are selling it as-is so my only warranty is the one from the state. Without the warranty it will cost me at least 3k and a bit cheaper for a refurbished one. But after watching a bunch of videos online, it doesn't seem impossible to be able to fix the battery with replacement parts from eBay.


----------



## Beur (Apr 14, 2015)

Consider looking in other markets for a Prius. Palm Springs always has a ton of low mileage cars


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

saucy05 said:


> Went to a toyota dealership today and was offered $9,500 for a 2010 Prius before fees. Originally the car was advertised for $10,400 but after I presented the the Blue Book value which was 9k they decided to "give me a discount".
> 
> The car looks clean, carfax is clean too, only one owner and with basic maintenance every 5k or so. The dealership has supposedly done 1k worth of maintenance before putting it up for sale. Unfortunately they are selling it as-is and I would have to pay extra for extended warranty.
> 
> My main concern is the battery, with 125k miles I probably have about than 6 month before the warranty runs out. Is the car worth it or should I look around for better deals?


Any used car is a gamble, but if you can get this one at what you feel is a fair price, the battery shouldn't really be an issue. They have been known to last for over 400k miles. That being said, I wonder what parameters Toyota has for their certified previously owned vehicles? Is this one too old, or is there some other reason? Ask specifically what work they did on it.


----------



## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

If paying cash or byof, you can get a newer, cheaper & less mileage one. Talk to a used car dealer about picking one up from auction.


----------



## sUBERu2u (Jun 18, 2015)

I just bought a 2010 with 41,000 miles for $10,000, so no, I would pass. (Bought it in Florida and drove it to California)


----------



## Cosmosof (Apr 6, 2016)

I have a 2010 Prius 160k still getting 45+mpg average, those batteries should be ok for 500k, but engine drinks 1qt per 3k Miles, so my suggestion go with 2010 + Prius with high mileage, pay under 8k, watch your engine oil every 2k add oil if needed, never pay more than 6-8k


----------



## Zenner (Mar 29, 2016)

saucy05 said:


> they are selling it as-is


Pass.


----------



## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

saucy05 said:


> Went to a toyota dealership today and was offered $9,500 for a 2010 Prius before fees. Originally the car was advertised for $10,400 but after I presented the the Blue Book value which was 9k they decided to "give me a discount".
> 
> The car looks clean, carfax is clean too, only one owner and with basic maintenance every 5k or so. The dealership has supposedly done 1k worth of maintenance before putting it up for sale. Unfortunately they are selling it as-is and I would have to pay extra for extended warranty.
> 
> My main concern is the battery, with 125k miles I probably have about than 6 month before the warranty runs out. Is the car worth it or should I look around for better deals?


Sometimes Hertz sells its Prii at its used car lots. 2014s were in the 14K range with 50K miles approximate.

They only have the Cs available right now for 12-13K with mid 40K miles.

http://www.hertzcarsalestorrance.com/all-inventory/index.htm?listingConfigId=auto-certified-used,auto-hertzcarsalespasadena-certified,auto-hertzcarsalescostamesa+-+certified,auto-hertzcarsalesanaheim+-+certified,auto-hertzcarsalesnorwalk+-+certified&year=&make=Toyota&model=Prius+c&start=0&sort=&facetbrowse=true&quick=true&searchLinkText=FIND_YOUR_CAR&showInvTotals=false&showRadius=false&showReset=false&showSubmit=true&facetbrowseGridUnit=BLANK&showSelections=true&dependencies=model:make,cityrovince,city:state&suppressAllConditions=compliant


----------



## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

You shouldn't have a battery issue with a Prius, they are designed to last 10yr/300k miles and most do.


----------



## Chicago88 (Feb 7, 2016)

For Uber X spend way less than 5K.... Try to buy something for $1200.... Work 3 weeks hard and your car is paid for, leave at last pax destination if it breaks down. I'm 1/2 kidding, but seriously spend as little money as you can. I bought a 2004 Honda CRV that looks and drives great - $3800 and I've already earned over 5K in bonus sign ups (Uber and Lyft) and driving mostly surges (I live in a high demand neighborhood). My a/c doesn't work - I won't fix it, so my driving will be limited to cooler days which actually helps keep me from "slaving" for this company.


----------

