Strongly Considering an '07 - any help much appreciated.

Good Day Ladies and Gentleman,

To preface I would just like to say thank you for any help you can offer and I look forward to becoming a member of the Prius family. Additionally in the past few weeks (since starting my search for a Prius) I have perused the forums here in hopes of answering as many of my questions as possible before posting the following inquiry.

Cheers


With that being said, I am considering a 2007 Toyota Prius with 90K for $11,000 OBO, seems like package 1 or 2 as it has a backup camera and keyless. I have the VIN and have gone on to the My Toyota site to see what if any records are available. Unfortunately, there are only two records: the first at ~ 5,000 miles for a typical tune and oil, and then another at ~ 7,800 for a "Reset Tire PSI and Reset Light". Other than that there is nothing else. The Prius was traded back to the original dealer and sold as a Recertified Toyota in Sept 09 with 36K on it and purchased by its current owner.

Now the potentially tricky part: this Prius was purchased by an owner that resides...how do you put it..."out in the sticks" and a little over 2 hours from the Toyota dealer. Therefore, and maybe just because (he's country folk and bought the Prius as a commuting vehicle) he has done what little maintenance himself. He claims it runs and drives fine and now that he has finally retired he no longer needs it and has recently purchased a pick up truck which apparently suites him better.

Lastly, the current owner and I have had a pleasant conversation on the phone, he seems like a good person and he has also provided me with more pictures of the interior and exterior. He just purchased new Goodyear Viva 2 tires for it and a complete detailing of the car. When he purchased the Toyota he also paid for the Paint Protection Film. Insofar as any damage - the title is clear and there are only two small scratches on the car (both included in pictures he provided me) one on front bumper and one on P side - both small and easily made acceptable with touch up paint. He also says he did occasionally smoke in it but that any smell has been removed from the detailing service that he paid for (???). Other than those facts, he claims that the Prius runs and looks new - inside and out.

After reading these forums and with basic sense I have already contacted the local Toyota dealership and the service department has scheduled an "Inspect and Advise" inspection. I called back to further inquire what this all entails - questioning whether it was equivalent in nature to the 160 point inspection that is used for Certified used Toyotas. I was told it was and also when I inquired whether a certified Prius technician would be doing the inspection, she confirmed to me that that would be the case.

I also asked if they would be able to provide me a report of the car's history and she said she would be able to do that included with the Inspect and Advise.


Now with all that said:

1) Do you feel the Toyota dealership will provide me with enough info on that report and/or could I talk them into giving me a CarFax on it?

2) In regards to the "Advise and Inspect," does this sound like a sufficient inspection considering the nature of the vehicle not being in a Toyota dealership for ~ 2.5 years?

3) And this here is the "Whopper" - would you buy this car if everything checks out?

Thanx again for the help.

 

I looked around and I can't find a place to get a cheap CarFax, if someone can point me in the right direction - I would be truly appreciative or if anyone has a Carfax they would be willing to do for me it would be greatly appreciated. I would even Paypal some money to them for the help.

The Vin is jtdkb20u877626866. I can shoot you my email privately, etc.

Thanx again

 

Thanx for the response. I currently am at the dealership doing the Inspect and Advise. I hope to pick everyone's brain once I hear back from the mechanic. Also to update the price OS 10,500 obo and I drove it over an hour to the dealership and it sounded and ran great. I also reset it as soon as I got in it.

cheers