Going to buy a 2007 Prius tomorrow

I would think the battery that was replaced at 30,000 miles would have been the relatively inexpensive12v battery and not the traction battery.
Did you happen to notice if the entire car history was in California?
If the vehicle was purchased and continuously registered in a CARB state the traction battery would be under warranty for 10 years / 150,0000 miles.

 

to me a used rental is always a red flag, while it only had 30,000 miles it had 200 drivers beating on it..
if you would not marry a hooker don't buy a used rental car..

why are you going through a dealer for such an old car?
you will pay retail plus dealer fee's and what ever else they add on.

have you tried private sellers or e bay?
you get the same warrantee (none in most cases)
and they are always a lot cheaper, you can still run car fax from your phone while looking at the car.

good luck

 

When you said it is a "good buy" it would be helpful to us if you mentioned what the dealer wants for it so we
could tell you if it really is a good deal or not.

You shouldn't pay more the $10K for it - especially because it had been a rental.

Assuming the car is in overall good condition, I would offer no more than $9000 out the door for it.

There are plenty of fish in the sea.

 

Find a mechanic that has inspected at least one Prius before you buy it. The mechanic you go to needs to have Techstream software to fully evaluate all the hybrid systems on the car. I know you're anxious to "pull the trigger" but you're putting 9 large on the line and you should err on the side of caution.

I got lucky when I bought my 2005 five years ago for $7500 out the door. I didn't know s*** about the Prius when I went to see it. No warranty and more miles than the one you're looking at. But it was only five years old when I bought it. The one you're looking at could be up to nine years old.

Go the Toyota Owners Official Web Site, register, and enter the VIN. There might be more information than Carfax lists.

 

If sold by dealerships, you won't need to subscribe to Carfax. The history reports are readily available. You can even search
on Carfax.com.

For private, craigslist, and ebay sales, you probably would need to buy the Carfax.

Personally, I prefer buying through a dealership even though it usually costs a little more. It really depends on the dealer. I thought my 2005 was underpriced by the dealer I bought mine from. I traveled 220 miles to buy it. Again, I got lucky there wasn't anything wrong with it - except for the HID headlight leveling sensor which gave me trouble for a little while four months after I bought it. Not an issue for a California car I'd wager.

Okay, I think I finally found the car you're interested in. Took me a little while to find it but it matches the description you provided.

Internet price. They might pressure you into paying more than that price. Don't let them.

Brand new tires - not a good sign. You don't know if the tires were wearing unevenly due to a prior unreported accident. Believe me, that happens more often than you think.

Lower trim level model.

Manufactured June 2007 so only 8 years old - not bad.

Car was driven 38,000 miles in 14 months by the second owner. That's a little unusual.

Has been for sale since April 2015 ???? Big red flag!

 

You don't always get to pick what car you rent. It could have easily been rented by a few Prius haters who beat on it in frustration. However, the fact that its gone 76k miles since then is a good sign. I would still have it checked out first. If it hasn't sold since April, you'll probably be fine waiting til Monday.

 

gas is still high in cali,im trying to sell 2 in florida with no luck unless I want $2500 LOL (asking price $4000)

 

remember the new models come out in September so it will be worth less in a few weeks..if you are paying cash offer 6500 out the door

 

It's almost 8 AM on the left coast. Maybe the OP is on the way to see it as we text.

 

My opinion USE to be don't buy a rental. But a lot of people seem to purchase them and get years of use and are happy.

So my opinion has changed.

Even in this case, it WAS a rental, the 2nd owner bought it, and it appears put roughly 80,000 miles on it. Not bad for a rental.
So actually, I wouldn't worry too much about it having once been a rental.

I might worry about EVERYTHING else.

I would definitely NOT be rushed. I would definitely have it inspected. I think regardless of what the dealer might be telling you, the risk is minimal that it be sold out from under you. If it does happen? There's always other deals.

If it checks out from independent inspection, including alignment, then it's a viable purchase. There IS no way to buy a used vehicle devoid of all risk. I agree that as a 8 model year old Prius, you "might" be able to find better deals if you have the time and patience to hunt private party. But then of course the evaluation process of the potential vehicle resets.

 

you're closing in on a 10 year old car. do you have money left over for repairs? can you diy? after 100k, you're starting to get into serious maintenance like fluids, pumps, plugs and etc.

 

Are you sure it is a Touring? 16" wheels, larger spoiler, touring suspension...

Asking for an "out the door" estimate is not fair. Most of us have no idea what your taxes and fees are. Look at truecar.com and see what others are asking.