2005 Prius with 160,000 miles for sale for $1,950 in Chandler, AZ

[Xist]

For sale 05 Toyota Prius good tires, Ac , check engine light blinks but is drivable, 160k Miles new battery.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/6784161265.html









What kind of bad, yet drivable, check engine light leads a person to spend over $3,000 in repairs, and ask less than $2,000?

It is academic, that is more than I have.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Ooh, the work of buying a Prius! Took us around a month I think to find a good one for my mom.

Is that really a new hybrid battery I'm seeing? Selling for $2000? Seems fishy. Usually the Prius is a maintenance free car except for larger, more expensive issues. Usually the only things to fail on a Prius are:
- Hybrid battery (usually well past 200K miles, usually)
- Transaxle (upkeep on transmission fluid changes didn't happen)
- MID (multi-information display, $700-ish)

I have a sporadic P0420 (catalytic converter) code on my Insight, but haven't fixed it yet since the light is only on sporadically. Could be something as simple as that or something more serious. Would need to know more specifics on the CEL code.

[redpoint5]

Seems like a higher quality ad than the last one you showed us. I still don't understand why people selling the 2nd most expensive thing they own won't spend more than 2 minutes to properly advertise it. What about the details such as what option package this is, or more photos, or... give a damn.

I'd offer $1k and tell him if he wanted more he would have cared to sell the vehicle.

[Xist]

When I was shopping for my Civic, I also looked at Prii, and the ones in my price range had 200-400,000 miles and two of the following: Salvage title, bad traction battery, and bad transmission.

I had not heard about the display, but I would expect them to make a $700 repair, and price it accordingly.

I would guess that the transmission is going out--it is drivable, but for how long?

Whatever the problem is, it is significant enough that they are keeping it to themselves, but then again, I have seen many ads stating that it needed a new transmission, traction battery, etc.

It could be laziness and\or stubborness.

Yes, it is weird that they say "Serious inquiries only!" while not writing a serious ad.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

The MID is just general maintenance. $700 is pretty inexpensive compared to the displays on a lot of newer cars; I think the new Chrysler Pacifica minivan's is $4000-$6000? So basically the car is totaled whenever the electronics display dies and the computer system needs to be replaced. Bah, Chrysler.

The Prius' transmission is built right into the engine in some way that most places charge like $4000-$4800 to replace the transaxle.

If a Prius has a dying battery, transmission issues, or oil leakage/burning, I would run away fast. Also, 2010 and 2011 are the main years to avoid for oil consumption issues (2012 and 2013 for the Insight).

[Xist]

I wonder how much it would cost to replace the display in a Tesla, although someone on here said that was only a $75 display.

I asked for a source.

RepairPal estimates $4,245 to $4,462 for a Prius transmission, but in my experience, those do not include shop fees, taxes, etc., so it always costs more.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

If it's just the display on a Tesla it shouldn't be THAT expensive, but if the whole computer system died, I imagine it'd be pretty expensive, unless it was covered by warranty. But I would hope that since the computer is 90% of what makes up a Tesla (the other 10% is 9% battery, 1% car body ) that it wouldn't fail within the first 100k miles..

Sounds about right. Prii are super reliable cars with a much lower maintenance cost than normal, but the stuff that does break is usually more expensive due to the complexity of the hybrid system. Honda's IMA systems are simplicity itself comparatively.

[Xist]

According to my notifications, they dropped the price $50, reposted for the low-low price of $1,700 and then apparently sold the car. The listing is deleted. I received notification for another Prius, this time a 2009: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/6784484510.html

Also $1,950, but this time they say it has a bad cell--you can start it, but shouldn't.

The reason I'm getting rid of the car instead of just fixing the dead cell is because I have another car and dont want to continue paying 2 insurances. I am a father of 1 and I am the sole provider for my son and his mother so I really could use the extra cash.

I pay two insurances.

One whole kid?! Oh my goodness! Here, keep the car, but take my money!

Why is he the sole provider of the mother? Is she too busy raising one kid to work?

I do not have $1,950, plus whatever it would cost to replace one cell, and the other battery maintenance, although hopefully it is safe to drive now.

We received about a foot of snow in the last twenty-four hours and, even though they forecast clear weather, it is supposed to continue snowing for the next few days. Three of my clients are down one road that had multiple rollovers.

A woman drove up to see me a week after we met in-person. We barely persuaded her to stay in a hotel instead of driving on in elk country at night with snow and ice, but I needed to check the weather and road conditions, and send her on her way sooner.

It took her seven hours to drive less than ninety miles, the road out of town was just as bad, and all hotels in-town were booked, so I kind of feel bad that she came to see me.

They say the car has 174,000 miles (a bit high for nine or ten years), but the engine was replaced at 100,000 miles.

This is honestly the first time that I have heard of a Prius engine replacement. At 10 ^ 5 miles?!

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Too many red flags IMO. Prii are generally pretty reliable vehicles..

Engine rebuild is probably due to oil consumption. Usually the only way to fix oil consumption on a Prius is to rebuild or replace the engine. 2010 and 2011 were the worst years, but pretty much all older Toyotas are at risk.

Wonder why they just had the cell diagnosed and not replaced. If it was done at a dealership why didn't they have the dealership replace it? Or if they tested it themselves, how do we know the results are accurate and that it isn't the whole battery?

Could be the 12V. The 12V on my mom's Prius has a bad cell and will be replaced soon. It needs to be jumped after sitting for more than a day or two.

[Xist]

So, I finally found a Prius in my price range: https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/6785573982.html

$900 for a 2003. They spent over a thousand dollars on the traction battery!

Yay you.

It can be repaired, but they are in college, so they are selling it for parts.

What does it need to be repaired?! Why is Flagstaff in my feed?!