I went browsing around and found an 07 Prius with 221K miles. It has a documented maintenance history, including a full battery replacement at 110K miles. The exterior paint is in good condition with just a slight bit of road rash around the nose. The interior is of high quality with no visible scuffs or scratches. It is base model but has navigation (surprisingly fast and accurate on the test drive). Dr. Prius didn't show any weak cells, but I did not do the acceleration test (sales person in the car). During the 10-mile great circle route test-drive, the MFD was indicating about 42 miles per gallon( after I reset the display). The only driving issue was that the car pulled slightly to the right. All the tires were slightly under-inflated, but were the same PSI. With 221,000 miles, is there anything outside of an alignment that could contribute to this? The seller is asking $3800.
Can I ask why you want such an old high mileage car? Unless you're going to be driving a lot of miles, you'd be better off buying a regular non hybrid. If for some reason you want a hybrid, you should get a newer one with much fewer miles. The old high mileage ones will end up costing you more money than you're saving in fuel costs
The reason is because my wife is making several trips across the city every day, and her Ford Fiesta(with the defective transmission) is almost useless.. This looks to be an inexpensive replacement that she already would be familiar with.
The 2007 you're looking at is not a base model if it has navigation, that would be a higher end model. Although the price of entry is very attractive, at 220+ thousand miles, the car will need many expensive parts in the near future. 1. Hybrid battery replacement ($2000) 2. Combination meter 3. Brake actuator pump 4. Inverter coolant pump These are just the hybrid related expensive repairs, you'll have your traditional brakes, shocks, struts, wheel bearings, burning oil, exterior paint wear, etc problems that come with a 12 year old car
The base model can have navigation if it was equipped with Package 5 (maybe Package 4 as well? I am not sure). If you drive > 20K miles per year, the Prius will pay for a new battery in fuel savings easily. If you drive <15k miles per year, then I recommend not buying a Prius due to the added cost of the battery (used) or higher price (new). Few cars are worth $3800 with over 200k miles. The Prius is not one of them, unless all the items that @JC91006 mentioned have already been replaced. So maybe the ideal time to sell a Prius to avoid the costs is around 200k miles? But many report going to 300K+.....do they just plug in the cash? Hm. Looks like a gamble.
I have a 2005 that has just reached 205k miles, I've replaced the following items since 150k miles (not including regular filters and oil changes) 1. Hv battery 2. 12v battery 3. 3 way coolant valve 4. Inverter coolant pump 5. Combination meter 6. Shocks and struts 7. Spark plugs and coolant/transaxle service And the brake actuator is failing at the moment and will need replacement in the very near future. But other than those items, the car runs great
There is a very good maintenance history on this particular car. There are over fifty for service records from the dealership, so some of these mentioned have already been addressed. I don't really know much about the right-drift issue. I've asked the seller if he would get an alignment, and allow a second test drive. He hasn't given me an answer so maybe he's looking for an easier Target.
Right drift should be tire related or alignment issue Don't confuse the 12v battery replacement with an HV battery replacement. I'm pretty sure at 110k miles, it's the 12v. Verify if possible
Yes, I have an 08 Prius. My wife and I both like it better than the last cars we've owned, so we're considering a 2nd Gen 2.
Thank you for your opinion. We felt similarly, but we're waiting on a response about the wheel alignment. If the car is still on the market in a couple of days, we'll make a counter-offer.
I can think of something. If the car was in an accident and not repaired properly that would do it. A wheel bearing going bad could do it.
The one in my picture just crossed 200k and has leather which is quite a bit more comfortable in my opinion than cloth. Inside great condition. Mechanically might need to add a splash of oil at 2k miles but typically fine to 3k and has a CEL for very small evap leak...but drives perfect. Outside is 7/10. I'll probably get $2500 for it if I were to sell it so $3700 seems high unless outside is a 9/10 on one you are looking at. In my opinion the in/out condition is the most important. I'd rather spend the premium $1000 if condition is a couple points cleaner. So $3700 (offering 3k to 3.4k) is a better deal if it is in excellent condition with very few cosmetic flaws. Zero big repairs since I owned it (145k to 200k so far).
I bought a 2007 prius one year ago for $4,000.00 with a nice regular maintenance Carfax history, and about 180,000 miles. Since then I bought new tires, new spark plugs, new 12v battery, refurbed Combination Meter from Texas Hybrid Batteries, new headlights, and about 4 quarts of oil for it to burn through, without hiring any external labor. I expect to spend about 2500.00 to replace the HV battery within the next year or three. IMHO, like JC91006 alluded to, whether this price of 3900.00 is good depends on which of the typical maintenance tasks (especially combo meter, spark plugs, engine stuff) havent been done yet, and whether you want to pay for the labor or DIY. And whether you think the HV battery will die soon or will last another 5-10 years. The weird thing to me, is, why did the original HV get replaced at 110k? Don't most last until about 190k?
