Now I want to save one myself, maybe a future project.
Now I want to save one myself, maybe a future project.
Just won this 2005 Prius today. $754 all in after fees. Claims front end damage, guess I'll find out more when I pick it up tomorrow or Friday. Has 260k miles.
This is my first Prius, so I'm sure I'll have questions for IndyGuy and John Welsh.
In reply to untchabl :
Congrats ! The exterior of that car looks really clean. The interior will need some work, but as John has pointed out, the materials are generally robust and respond well to a deep scrub.
Any questions, just ask away.
In reply to untchabl :
So cool. Looks good!
I found the listing for yours.
It is a previously rebuilt car (but that's okay.) I can see that the lower grill is missing one piece where the optional fog light would be. I also see that this lower grill which should be black had been Earl Shieb'ed and painted blue.
Being previously rebuilt the insurance company only valued the car in pre accident condition as $2,812. A front bumper cover alone at shop rates would exceed the half value of the car. I'll bet the car ran fine right up until the parking lot bump.
The run video is on electric only so can't tell from that if the cat converter has been harvested off it??
Fresh plastic to rewrap the electronics of your current clickers are cheap. $10 each
OOOOPS!
I did it again. Won another one, I was only casually going after. It's a Prius V model. Got this one with a bid amount of $525. I'll have to evaluate it once it arrives, but this one might become my personal vehicle (which means I'd sell my current DD Prius).
This one has 223k on the clock.
Ooops. Looks like I've got get busy and turn over some inventory.
Man, when these were new, I LOATHED them. But as cheap flips and/or daily driver fodder, I sort of have a new appreciation for them. It's amazing how cheap you guys that fix/flip them are snagging them for, and by all accounts, they make great road sofas for commuting. It's fascinating to watch!
In reply to Indy - Guy :
I covet a V with a sturdy roof rack for kayaking trips! Nice score.
In reply to John Welsh :
Are the cheap aftermarket cat converters still working ok as replacements for the factory one, if it is missing? I thought I remember you or IndyGuy using them before.
I'm hoping this car will be fine with a good clean up and some basically minor fixes to become my new beater car.
In reply to untchabl :
I have not had to buy a cat but Mr Indy bought the cheapest new one available anywhere and I think it was fine.
John Welsh said:In reply to untchabl :
I have not had to buy a cat but Mr Indy bought the cheapest new one available anywhere and I think it was fine.
Disclaimer: I live in a state that does NOT require inspections or emissions tailpipe sniffing.
Having said that, the absolute cheapest aftermarket converter available from eBay (or was Amazon?) is what I installed on the last one I bought that was missing the OEM cat. It worked perfectly for what I needed it to do. If you need to pass any tests, send me a PM, but the cliff notes version is: buy a GOOD quality o2 sensor. (if the cat was stolen, they most likely stole the good OEM o2 sensor at the same time).
I've been Busy. I was going to give this one it's own thread, but it'll just be tucked in here: 2016 Ford Flex with just 79k miles on it and BRAND New tires :
Here's a peak at what I scored last night before the girls volleyball games.
Fender and bumper cover (matching color) for $149 total.
Tonight I grabbed the tire they swapped onto a good rim I had ($30) labor with spin balancing.
Long time readers will recognize this tire from the first Prius I bought from John Welsh. Indy-kid #1 was in a fender bender with it. It was mounted on a bent rim.
The Flex a keep or flip?
Ford Flex! 
I think there are a few different headlamps for that era Flex and one is EXPENSIVE.
Prius Parts: $149 for the pair. I just paid $230 for the pair!!! But, there was a bargain priced $20 headlamp and $20 steering wheel in the deal.
In reply to untchabl :
Here's a link to my ole Gen2 Prius buyers guide. Its from a few years ago so prices have increased for things like tires but the message is still that they are cheap, relatively.
Sure, a little out of order to buy and then read the buyer guide...
Furthermore, it is GRM tradition to start a build thread before you have actually bought, or taken possession of, a car.
As noted in the buyers guide, the 2004 & 05 (yours a 2005) have a quirk where the odometer only goes to 299,999 and never rolls to 300k. Fear not though. If you are lucky enough to reach that milestone we will share with you how to remedy the situation, for peanuts.
untchabl said:The Flex a keep or flip?
F⁴ = Fix-n-Flip Ford Flex.
I'm hoping this one has the potential to be my highest profit car to date.
Prius buyers are becoming immune to high mileage cars bringing down the values, but ordinary buyers still very much desire low mileage vehicles. ( Flex has 79k)
Your Flex appears to be a low trim model and therefore a non-turbo engine. Maybe even just fwd. From a low maintenance perspective, non-turbo and fwd is the one to have. Sure, not the speed demon of the eco-boosted turbo but easier on the wallet.
In reply to John Welsh :
Yes, front wheel drive. Non-turbo. Seats 7. Cloth seats. Gonna need a driver side air bag in addition to passenger side externals. The frame rail there is straight as an arrow and unharmed.
With airbag blown, check your front seatbelts also. Some seatbelts with emergency pretensioners blow the seatbelt when they blow the airbag.
Net result will be a seatbelt that does not retract/spool correctly.
On some high trim Flex they offered a second row airbag. The airbag was integrated directly into the seatbelt webbing. Imagine a thicker than typical webbing. Be glad you don't have those.
I like the 7 seat vs the 6 seat. The 7 gives the option of 5 seat plus cargo where as the 6 seat reduces you down to 4 seats and cargo.
In reply to John Welsh :
Understood. I'll grab a replacement seat belt assembly or alternatively, I found a service that will rebuild it for $89.
Red got some more lovin' tonight. 
Dash installed and verified working properly. Interior cleaned I went ahead and parked it at the end of the driveway with a 4 sale sign.
Blue joined in on the fun too. Got the old stuff removed.
I just go ahead and replace both headlights with new on these. It really makes them look nice 👍
Both delivered for under $90.
Link to headlamps please.
Earlier in this thread you mentioned you bought a bumper cover and a fender for $150. In searching for a white bumper cover, fender and headlamp I found a listing on car-part for a white car that looked to have the parts. The listing did not give a price but rather just said, "call." Business travels today would take me right near this rural JY so I decided to just stop in. The conversation went something like this.
Me: I see the site says you have a white Prius. Im looking for front bumper cover, right fender and headlamp.
JY Guy: $475
Me: they must be made of gold! I had in mind more like $200 for the combo.
JY Guy: that wouldn't even pay my auction buyers fee on that car
Me: I understand, I buy them the same way.
JY Guy: I couldn't even take the parts off for that price.
Me: no reply and heading for the door.
I had a lot of words I imagined I could have said but I thought it best to just be kind and walk out. My favorite line would have been, "what kind of money laundering operation are you running here?"
John Welsh said:Link to headlamps please.
Earlier in this thread you mentioned you bought a bumper cover and a fender for $150....
Bumper cover isn't "mint" it has a little indent in the lower section (zoomed in from pic above):
In searching for a white bumper cover, fender and headlamp I found a listing on car-part for a white car that looked to have the parts. The listing did not give a price but rather just said, "call." Business travels today would take me right near this rural JY so I decided to just stop in. The conversation went something like this.
Me: I see the site says you have a white Prius. Im looking for front bumper cover, right fender and headlamp.
JY Guy: $475
Me: they must be made of gold! I had in mind more like $200 for the combo.
JY Guy: that wouldn't even pay my auction buyers fee on that car
Me: I understand, I buy them the same way.
JY Guy: I couldn't even take the parts off for that price.
Me: no reply and heading for the door.
I had a lot of words I imagined I could have said but I thought it best to just be kind and walk out. My favorite line would have been, "what kind of money laundering operation are you running here?"
LOL at that junk yard. "Hope you like your parts, because you can keep them" That bumper cover is available BRAND NEW Shipped to your door for under $100. It's not painted, but they are NOT made of gold either.
When using New lights you need to swap over this metal bracket from the old set. The bracket is what holds the upper part of the bumper cover.
Spent a good portion of the day on Blue.
Got the lower panel shaped back where it needs to be. Then hit it with some paint
Fit the light to verify alignment
Grab the heat gun to assist this shape a bit
It's dark out and I'm exhausted, but it's close to being done 👍
Indy - Guy said:OOOOPS!
I did it again. Won another one, I was only casually going after. It's a Prius V model. Got this one with a bid amount of $525. I'll have to evaluate it once it arrives, but this one might become my personal vehicle (which means I'd sell my current DD Prius).
This one has 223k on the clock.
Ooops. Looks like I've got get busy and turn over some inventory.
Picked it up today with the Gambling Armada:
Bent rim will need replacement
Weather Tech Floor Matt's through out
Edit: jump started it and drove it off the tow Dolly.
I snapped this picture right before unloading it at home. You can see Red in the far background, Accidental Blue in the left.
Two minutes after snapping this picture, someone pulled into the driveway and test drove Red Prius. It sold before I could unload the "V". Sale price was $2,200 cash. So a bit over a grand on a one week-ish flip.
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