I am currently looking at an '07 decked out with everything locally in hollywood. leather/jbl/mp3/nav etc (for sale by owner) in one of my favorite colors, grey. It's been hard to not find a rip-off price around LA because they are so popular here (so i guess most sales aren't rip offs, just market based), but I feel comfortable paying 13k for it. It checked out at the mechanics (toyota dlr), but the only catch is that it already has 80k miles on it. should I pass on it for now? I really don't want to go above 13k threshold but in LA this mileage is pretty much standard for the price range. I've already missed out on a few local deals around the same price with the same mileage so I'm just wondering if my expectations are too high for 13k in LA. Are they reliable enough for me to get a relatively long life out of it even if it comes with 80k already?
A sensible owner would only pay "the Hybrid tax" it they planned to drive a lot. 80,000/5 is only 16,000 a year.
You found yourself a great deal... There's a reason why these cars are in such high demand and much has to do with their durability. You won't find a better deal than that... If you really want to know how good of a deal you're getting read this entire thread: 200,000 Mile Club | PriusChat
Oh I heard it was only 100k. I was worried because it's getting close to 100k, and have been told that the warranty is through 100k, but now i feel a lot better. It seems like a decent deal, I missed out on a similar deal at power direct last week, they wanted $14k with 81k miles, except it didn't have all these fancy trimmings. 13k feels like it's just the right price at this mileage, i honestly wouldn't feel comfortable paying more than that so perhaps i've found a deal kbb prices this around 14.5k but i've always thought kbb was slightly over priced.
My 2007 has been maintenance-free other than oil changes every 5k miles and the other normal service intervals. I use Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 extra capacity filters. Ask to see the maintenance records.
Battery warranty is 150k in CARB states, 100k in others. If LA means Los Angeles you are in luck, if it means Louisiana, not so much.
I'd say a well taken care of, fully loaded Prius with 80k miles for $13k is a reasonable price. The question is: was it maintained well, and accident free ? My '04 Prius lives outside in a 4 season climate. Over 8 years and 148k miles it has cost ~$1350 in tyres and maintenance, and zero for repairs. Details, details.
