About To Buy 2007 w/39000 - What To Check?

2. Up to you whether to repair the crack or not. If this is as minor as you describe then this is a strictly cosmetic issue.

3. See what the average mpg is on the MFD screen. If it is relatively low (under 40 mpg) then you may want to reset the mpg and then see what is logged during your test drive.

Regarding the test drive, you would look for all the same things that you would with any vehicle - look for any driveability symptoms, make sure that the HVAC system and all accessories work, etc. In addition, once the engine has warmed up you would expect that the engine will turn off when you are at a stop.

If you drive gently on level terrain then you should expect to log mpg in the mid-40s or better.

If you have any concerns about the car but are still interested in it then it may be worth your while to pay for an inspection at a local Toyota dealer's service dept. Good luck with your purchase.

 

Congrats on your (soon to be) new Prius! As you spend time pouring over this priuschat treasure trove of information I think you will grow to love the Prius more and more.

IMO - One question you might ask the seller is if he has replaced the 12 volt battery. This battery seems to have a 5-6 years life span unless its been drained/discharged which can shorten its life. This aux battery makes all kinds of magic happen and when people experience funky car behaviors you can often point to this battery.

Your car has low usage/miles which may indicate the 12 volt battery wasn't charged routinely. That said its certainly not a deal breaker because a replacement either Toyota or Optima run $160-$200 and an easy install if you can follow instructions.

The other question is how are them tires? At 39K are they the original Goodyear Integrity's? Priuschat has a wealth of recommendations and a million comparisions if you are due for a new set of rubber.

I have had my car for just over a year and I seem to want to find more things to check and maintain...Toyota did a great job at designing these machines. Mental note, you'll need new spark plugs in 7 years (100K) at the cars current usage.

 

At that mileage it's most likely that there is nothing wrong. That's like still brand new for a Prius. Except for the small battery as has already been mentioned.

the only other thing to check is to make sure it has never had a bad wreck. CarFax is not 100% certain. My Prius had a previous bad wreck (near total) and it did not show up on CarFax. You may want to pay for a UCI at a dealer or Japanese specific AM shop. Should be < $100. A bad wreck is not a deal breaker if it's been repaired properly but it does knock down the value.

You can have the bumper fixed on the car, not a paintless dent guy but a mobile body/paint guy, they will do it for reasonable, usually less than a body shop.

go here for value and choose "private party" Official Kelley Blue Book Values You Can Trust From kbb.com - Kelley Blue Book

 

You might want to take it for more than 10 miles. You want to get it warmed up before you will see appropriate MPG. I just bought a used Prius last week. I can tell you that that is a nice deal. I bought a 2008 with all the fixin's (leather, nav, bluetooth, smartkey, etc) with 84000 miles on it for $13,500. If I had found a base model 2007 with 40000 miles for a grand less I would have went that route no question. My local dealerships are asking about $16,500 for 07/08 with that kind of mileage. Granted you could probably bring them down to $15000 with the right negotiation skills. Even with clean car fax I would recommend doing your own title search when buying from a private seller. It costs about $5.

 

From a C5 to a Prius. Oh the humanity!

My current favorite Corvette video:

Your right on about the bumper cost. I had both fornt & rear bumper replaced last year and they were $1000 each installed & painted.

But, keep in mind how awesome the package 2 feature is with keyless entry. The base does not have that.
Its the best feature on the car. Never have to take the fob out of your pocket.

 

Wow. At first, I was wondering what was up with the speedometer given he was whizzing by so many cars. I only realized he was past 200 km/h when I saw the speedo wrap back down to 199 km/h.

Haven't watched the whole thing yet, but it looks like he was doing 270 km/h at one point = ~167 mph. That's beyond the max speed of my former 350Z. It was either governed or drag limited at ~155 mph (not that I ever got it anywhere near those speeds ).

 

Glad you liked it Cwerdna. And your right I think top speed was 167
mph. Watch the end.
The first digit on the speedo goes tiny in the top left of the speedo when it hits 100's. Hard to see in the video.

Pro driver on a lazy Sunday on the Abahn. The C5/C6's are truly beasts. This guy had headers & catback exhaust and a CAI.
With a software tune easily hit 185 mph's.

 

When you do your test drive, drive it further than ten miles. The car needs to warm up before it begins to give normal mileage per gallon.

If the MFD reads high 40's to low 50's when driving on a flat road at a constant speed of 45 to 48 MPH, then chances are good that the hybrid system is working properly. If you reset it as was mentioned earlier in the string, you would have to drive the car at least 75 miles or more to start to get a consistant number as the computer averages the figure over time and distance and is forgiving to the higher MPG if you reset often.

Also, visually inspect the brake pads for even wear on both the inside and out. The Prius is very easy going on the pads unless the glide pins get rusty. There are a few post's in the forum that discusses this. If you have any doubts, get a mechanic to eyeball them for you. I uploaded some pic's today on a post that I made concerning what I found on the "used" Prius we bought a year ago.

See post #19 here. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...hooting/79889-pads-changed-25000-miles-2.html

The main thing is to look the car over well as other's have said. Fluid levels are important, especially the coolant bottles (two of them). The fluid should be a bright pink and the bottles should be full to the marks.

If you have any doubts whatsoever, run it by a local Toyota dealer and ask them to eyeball it for you.

Good luck with your new Prius and enjoy the ride!

 

Hi Diane,

Let us know how it works out on the Prius. Also, I wanted to clarify the MPG spec. I mentioned. I forgot to mention that the number's I called out was if you had the A/C on and running. If you have it turned off, the numbers should be higher.

Enjoy the ride and welcome to Prius Chat

Ron (dorunron)

 

We never found out about the 5 buck title search

 

Hi Diane,

Sounds like you got a good deal to me. 12.3K for a '07 with 39K on the odometer is a good find in my book. We paid 18K for a '09 with 43K on the odometer last year.

Depending on your driving habits, you should be able to get better MPG once you get used to driving the Prius. Pulse and Glide does help, but it takes practice and effort.

Good luck to you and enjoy the new ride and the trip home.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Hi Diane,

Congratulations on your "'new" 2007 Prius. I traded my 2007 in on a 2011 about a month and a half ago. It only had 32,000 miles on it at the time. I got what I wanted in the trade, $12,600, which was what Kelly Blue Book said it was worth in trade.

So, you got your car for the trade in value. It seems like a super deal to me.

Enjoy your Prius.

 

Wah-hoo. Glad you had a good test drive, "Overall avg mpg for the trip was 48 mpg" and decided to grab this Prius. It sounds like a great car and what fun you'll have with a 1200 mile drive home to really fall in love! Then more fun bumping up the sound system!