[War_Wagon]

I like horsing around with old cars / high FE cars, so I don't get too carried away with what I will pay for them. I picked up my 2001 Prius with 150,000 kms (93000 miles) for cheap off a dealership that had it traded in and had no interest in selling it to the public because they didn't want any grief from a retail customer buying it from them and having issues with it and bringing it back to them as they didn't know anything about it either.

We are kind of in a weird position with older hybrids at the moment. They appeal to a fairly small group of people that know a bit about them and are frankly willing to roll the dice on them. Generally, anyone selling a used 10 year old hybrid privately knows exactly what it is, as they either bought it new, or is one of those people that is in that small group and got a deal on it. Some of them are probably the same people trying to get $11k for them. Man I should do that! Vegas eh?? Hmmm. Anyway, this may be one of the few situations where buying a car from a dealer or from an auction could really save you a lot of dough, but you have to have done all your research and know what you are looking at. From the dealer's point of view, he took in a car that he gave the customer $Xxxx in trade in value for. He already made his money when he sold the new car to the customer. So now he has this 2001 Prius on his lot. He's a Suzuki dealer, what's he know about 11 year old Toyota hybrids? He knows he needs to get rid of it and get at least what he gave the person as trade in for it (well less than that actually is he is a good salesman, it's an artform how some of these guys write in a trade) So you see it sitting in the back of a dealership, go in and say you are interested in it, you know about them, it will probably need some work but you are willing to take a chance on it and not come crying back to him if it goes wrong, as long as he gives you a decent price. Old hybrids are one of those weird markets where the dealer's options really are limited, and the well informed buyer really does have the advantage and the leverage. You have cash, he has what he sees as a possible headache on his lot he wants nothing to do with, and you know your stuff and are willing to take a chance. Just my .02, but something to keep in mind anyway.