Thinking of buying a 2007 Prius - thoughts please

If your search and read the immense threads, you get to the conclusion that reliability is not an issue in our Priuses, which in fact gets less maintenance and problems than a tradicional ICE car.
Welcome and good readings

 

Welcome to PriusChat. Search the threads and you'll soon discover that Prius is a good choice.

I opted for a 2010 because of the improvements on an already great hybrid system. Since I plan to keep my Prius for many, many years, depreciation won't be as critical as to others who might trade every three years. I'm 6'2 and am very comfortable in the car.

If MPGs, low emissions and technology are important to you, then seek out the Prius.

 

I'm shorter than you (you probably get that a lot ), but only by 5 inches, and I know I can move my seat back 5 inches from where I normally drive. Not sure if you've already tried, but I imagine you'd be OK in the 2007.

My experience is limited to the two months I've had my 2007, but I can tell you it drives like a new car. If you're keeping it just for a year or two you have the very high probability that you won't encounter any major problems. There is sometimes a headlight issue (haven't had it yet, fingers crossed), but with a recently won class action suit against Toyota, they have to pay for repairs related to that up to I think 50k miles, which I imagine won't be a problem for you with your timeframe.

I'd go for the less expensive one.

 

Are you going to be doing much driving? It seems like someone on an island in Hawaii wouldn't put too many miles on a vehicle. If emissions are not your concern, and you're more interested in economics, you should be able to do better with a different vehicle. An '07 Accord or Camry might be a better fit (literally) for you.

 

Looks like a good deal. When gas hits $3.50, it will be too late.

Can't go wrong with the Prius II. Perfect cars, as I can see. Prior to the DOT's anti-Toyota campaign, Prius had the best reliability rep in the trade--for 7 years.

How can a car suddenly go wrong? The answer is it can't.

 

Well, it's too late, then. Gas is higher than that in Hawaii. $3.74 average, from what I can tell.

 

I think between the higher gas prices and the year-round warm weather the Prius is the *perfect* car for Hawaii....

 

55/60 degrees? Do you even need a jacket for that?

The warm weather is a factor because the Prius fuel economy is best in warmer weather. Around here, you see many posts talking about how their MPGs drop during winter. Many folks block the grill during the winter to mitigate this problem. I'm just a newbie, but I did notice an improvement in MPGs when the weather was briefly in the upper 50s/lower 60s (great for January!). I'd imagine the moderate Hawaii temps are ideal, because there would rarely be a need to run either the heater or the AC.

 

Cold weather lowers regular cars' mileage too, it's just less noticeable.

 

Nooooo! (said in Stephen Colbert voice)