New here, purchasing a 2007!

Hi everyone! I am so glad I found this place while browsing for info online about my dream car, the Prius! Allow me to tell you what brought me here (sorry if this gets too long - I am just so excited about the possibility of getting a Prius and I'd like input on whether you all think this is a good deal and a good car):

Not really planning to buy a car, I was browsing the sales area of my local Toyota dealership while waiting for my car (03 Camry) to be fixed (flat tire and both cigarette lighters were fried by a bad air compressor I was trying to use to put air in the tire - sigh). A salesman approached me, of course, and asked if I was interested in a car. I asked if there were any used Priuses available, and he said there was an '07. I have wanted a Prius ever since I first learned of them; I don't think I've ever really become so attached to a certain kind of car.

Well, I ended up test driving the Prius and loved it. I'd driven a similar one, a rental, 1500 miles out west the year before, so I knew what to expect. While I declined to purchase the car that day (after all, I'd just gone to the dealership to get my tire fixed), the salesman talked me in to driving the car over the weekend. So I took it home and of course fell in love. I took it back the next Monday and said I was not ready to make a decision, and was sent home with it yet again! The next day, I took it back again, and I said I wasn't going to buy it. I didn't want to make a hasty decision, and I wanted more time to think about it. As I was leaving, a manager approached me and gave me a paper to look over. The deal is amazing!

The blue book trade-in value of my car is $3600 in good condition. The first offer from the dealership was $5200 for my car and $15988 for the Prius. Well, when I turned the sale down that Tuesday, the new offer was $6900 for my car (which has 112,000 miles) and $15482 for the Prius. It needed a little work and is currently getting fixed (it had a dent below the driver's side door and some chipped paint on the front bumper). It will be ready Wednesday, and I am almost 100% sure I want to get it! The car is silver and has 42,000 miles. I was given its Carfax history - it has no reported accidents and ended up being for sale again because it was repossessed one year after purchase - I feel really bad that someone else lost it The car has been for sale since 2008 when it was purchased at auction, and honestly I'm not quite sure why it hasn't sold in such a long time. It has accumulated a surprisingly high number of miles while at the dealer lot here; 8000 to be exact. I guess this is because the salespeople have accompanied drivers on many test drives and/or sent the car home with potential buyers. It is a Certified Used Vehicle.

The salesman tells me that the car was acquired by the dealership in June of 2008 when gas prices were high and the demand for Prius was really high (he even said the dealership overpaid to get the Prius). Then prices dropped and they couldn't sell the car. It is one of 5 that were brought in when demand was high, and it's the last one left on the lot. Other than the dent and the chipped paint which are being taken care of now, the car has no problems. It's in great condition. One thing that does concern me is that occasionally when in idle, the gas engine comes on. I asked the salesman about this and he said that could result from the car sitting on the lot - that the battery got low and so the engine turns on to charge it. Sometimes the engine comes on when in park or idling, sometimes it doesn't. Is this normal? I don't remember the rental Prius that I drove doing that.

I also drove a 2010 to compare, and I can honestly say I prefer the design of the 2007, so I'm not contemplating whether to buy used or new. I like its look and feel better than the new model. And I also love the tough screen which is only available in the more expensive models of the 2010. I just hope I am buying the *right* used car. Does this seem like a good car and deal to you all? Should I try to get a better deal on the Prius? Or is $15,482 a great deal that I shouldn't even consider passing up? The Prius has the back-up camera, the smartkey system, alarm, red accent stripes, and tinted windows. Everything else is base, I think. I've never negotiated about buying a car before, and it's an overwhelming process to say the least! I apologize for the length of this post, and I thank anyone who read it! I look forward to seeing your responses!

*Edited because I just thought of another question: In my Camry, I have a JVC CD player installed with bluetooth and a USB input so that I can play and control my iPod through the radio, not the iPod. I know this is not an option on the 2nd Gen Priuses, but has anyone used their iPods through the Aux input? Is the sound quality good? I do not have one of those cables so didn't try that when I was driving the Prius - I only want to buy one of those cables if I do get the car. I am going to miss the USB port not only because I can control the iPod through the radio but also because it's always charged! But I've decided to get a car charger and solve half of the problem

 

Thanks so much for the info and the welcome, Rokeby, Doc Willie, and rumpledoll! I will check and see if the tires have been replaced Wednesday when I go back to the dealer, and I will also ask to see the title. Thanks for letting me know that Carfax may not always be 100% accurate. I have the VIN #, if anyone could do the search with the Toyota database - I tried to find it but I am not sure where to look. I would greatly appreciate if anyone who has the know-how to do that type of search could help me out with it! The Vin # is JTDKB20UX77562703

I really hope it's not a salvage vehicle, and if I find out that it is, I won't make the purchase. Is it common to see salvage vehicles as Certified Preowned? It would seem a huge expense to dealers to certify them since they can have so many problems.

Thanks again everyone!

 

Thanks so much for the helpful advice, Rokeby! I will be sure to pass on this Prius if I have any trouble getting that information. I am so glad to have found this place; I know little about what to see/ask before buying a car! Maybe I'll be driving my dreamcar tomorrow; hopefully it will have a clean history!

 

Hi JimN! Thanks so much for all that info! Do you think anyone knows what happened to the Prius when it was at the Hilton Head dealership? Even though those records seem to have bits and pieces lost would it be possible for the dealer here to find out what happened and what work was done?

About the dent in the door: I didn't even notice it until after the salesman had sent me home with the car. It's well under the door, on the bottom part of the side of the car (not sure what that part is called). When I returned the car, I asked about it, and the salesman and manager acted as though they didn't know the dent was there (yeah, right was my initial reaction). The manager said it looks as though someone tried to drive it over a curb. It's not a major dent... just circular indentation. Actually I have some pictures of the Prius on another site; I'll go get them and put them here in a minute so you all can see!

OK, here are the pics! In the first one you can see the dent and in the second one you may be able to see the chipped paint (which is also minor).

 

Well, I'm driving the Prius again... I went to the dealership today and asked about the 12v battery reading - but the tech didn't know how to access that screen. The salesman was also busy with another customer, so he encouraged me to drive the car tonight, make a list of things I want to ask (I noticed some minor damage to the upholstery and a big scratch right under the Toyota logo on the hood as well as some more chipped paint - but these things are all very minor and the dent has been fixed and the front repainted). He also wants me to show him how to access the diagnostic screen through the MFD. So I came home and found on here how to access the diagnostic screen. I think I should get a big discount for showing the Toyota dealership how to find this function on their own car!! The reading for the battery fluctuates between 11.7 and 11.8. What does that mean? Will the car need a new battery soon? I think it also has the original tires, so I am going to try to negotiate a lower price since it will need a lot of money spent on it in the near future to replace tires and battery. Do you think this is fair? Do you think the dealer will go for that? It's certified so to me that means it should be pretty much ready to go and in pretty much perfect condition aesthetically as well as mechanically and not immediately be requiring me to spend money on it... I am hoping to get a lower price.

If someone could let me know soon about that reading (11.7-11.8) I would greatly appreciate it! I've tried to do a search here for that info, but I have been unsuccessful in finding a thread about what the battery voltage should be.

Thanks so much!

 

Thanks Rokeby! Your information has been so helpful.

I purchased the Prius today! My parents came to see me because my birthday was Thursday, and I asked them to accompany me to the dealership to see what they thought about the car and the deal. To make a long story short, the salesman was incredibly rude to us (he just blew up at my dad for no reason at all, and started yelling at him and getting in his face), and I told him I wouldn't be buying the car from him and told him I wanted my car keys back. He went for a manager, and thankfully the manager helped us out and apologized profusely for the behavior of the salesman (who has been at the dealership for only a few months).

Anyway, after meeting with the finance manager for about an hour, I felt like I was getting a real story about the car. I even saw how much it was purchased for at auction (22,000 dollars in early 2008). It acquired so many miles at the dealership because it was used as a car to drive customers to and from places, and it was also used when the dealership employees had to go to other dealerships to look at and pick up cars. So, that explains the wear and tear and the damage that it took while sitting on the lot at Toyota.

I got a great interest rate (way better than what the salesman told me I could get - a lot of his info was inaccurate) and my monthly payments are super low! I thought about getting a 2010, but the payments would be over twice as much for that. They gave me a great deal on this Prius because it had been on the lot for a really long time, and they were ready to sell it.

I am getting a new battery installed by the dealership (not paying for it) and they are getting floor mats for me at no charge. I think the original ones are no longer in place because they were involved in the floormat recall. So my new floormats should be ready Wednesday. I also get my first 4 oil changes free! I bought the wrap-around warranty which covers door locks, power windows, and other electrical things such as the mfd, air conditioner, etc... pretty much everything but the radio and the big battery but I don't expect to have any problems with either of those things. The finance manager even added that if the battery malfunctioned within the first 6 months after my purchase, it would be replaced at no cost to me. I also found out that the car got 4 new tires in 2008 when it arrived at Toyota in Statesboro.

Thanks so much for all your help, everyone. I'm so glad to have a Prius and now to be a part of this online community!

 

Hi KLear! The warranty is a Toyota warranty and was around $700. It added about 10 per month to my monthly payment. Since with Toyotas I´ve driven in the past, there have been absolutely no engine problems but I have experienced problems with other things such as automatic door locks, I figured it would be worth it to go with this warranty.

Edit to add: About the salesman... we were told this was not the first incident with him, so I doubt he's still working there. I was absolutely MORTIFIED that he acted the way he did to my parents since I've been talking to my parents on the phone for weeks about this car and the work I've done with the salesman to get a good deal and get the dent fixed. We had only been there about a minute when he started yelling (what initiated his anger was that my dad asked a simple question about having the filing fee waived - he and my mom bought a 2009 Camry last year and got the fee waived. The salesman got rude and defensive immediately). It was unbelievable.

 

Thanks! The warranty for this one is 7/100,000. Not too bad, I guess.

 

Just want to update... every day I feel happier and even more certain that I made the right decision; I love love love love love this car!! I don't know how I survived without SKS before! No more fumbling around in my purse trying to locate a key so I can load tons of bags into the trunk... ever! I love the hatchback; storing things back there certainly beats putting them in the trunk then having to basically climb in there to get the stuff back out! This car is so fun and so practical!