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Going to buy a 2007 Prius tomorrow

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by airharm, Aug 29, 2015.

  1. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    Repairs? That depends on what fails. It can easily go into the low thousands with the many unique (and parallel) systems under the hood and in the dash.

    Nevertheless, the Gen 2 has proven to be very reliable so you shouldn't be all that concerned with experiencing major repairs unless you didn't have the car you eventually buy checked out thoroughly before you snag it and make certain you or your mechanic keep up with scheduled maintenance. In that regard, the Prius is not that different than the average late model car.

    But you have to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do you, prospective Prius owner?
     
  2. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I wouldn't worry about "large future repairs" to a Prius. If you were buying a GM of similar age & mileage you'd be budgeting as much if not more for "large future repairs" or the next car.

    You are somewhat at a disadvantage driving onto the lot in a dying car. The salesman can smell the desperation so there's no incentive to haggle.
     
  3. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    I think the point that's being made isn't that the Prius is a ticking time bomb, but that while the Prius is reliable, its not invincible. With any car, having some money set aside for repairs is a good idea. Spending all your money on any 100k mile car means there's a chance you could end up having a 101k mile paperweight that you can't afford to fix.
     
  4. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    I don't know how old you are JimN, but you may be suffering from hyperopia. GMs routinely make it to 200K miles without major repairs these days. I'm not saying they make it to that mileage easily - just that they make it. My last two GM cars reached that threshold and were still running when I unloaded them and one of them might still be running. One was a 99 and the other an 04. So why did I sell them? Worn out shocks/struts, oil leaks, inoperative switches, etc. minor issues that were happening more frequently the longer I owned them. I enjoy working on cars but not that much.

    100K miles today? If a car doesn't make it to that distance without major repairs or requires one or more the next 100K, it's either a lemon or the owner just didn't take care of it properly and/or drove it into the ground so to speak.
     
    #24 jadziasman, Aug 29, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    right, even if the odds are low, there are too many horror stories on priuschat. aside from that, you've got the serpentine belt, potential water pump, coolant, plugs, tyres, 12v battery, shocks/struts, brakes, throttle body, pcv, tranny fluid and etc. coming up. how much? idk, i've never kept one that long, but any trip to a dealer is usually good for a few hundred minimum.
     
  6. airharm

    airharm New Member

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    Yeah you guys were right, fees associated with dealership prices is ridiculous, and the dealerships I went to don't allow any room for negotiating whatsoever. Haven't bought anything yet, just gonna scour craigslist until I get lucky I guess..
     
  7. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    had no luck on craigs list, try auto trader or e bay, or buy from the rental company directly..hertz has a website
     
  8. kinglew

    kinglew Member

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    Stay away price to high many Prius around lower gas prices
     
  9. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    My 2000 Intrigue & Mom's 1999 Delta 88 didn't hold up. Mother's car was low mileage. Both were maintained. From your point of view, it's a one off lemon. From my point of view they are all POS and Mr. Badwrench isn't worth his weight in warm sh!t (Dakis & Burlington Chevy). I had to find and print out the instructions for him to fix the air conditioning. I did remove the derogatory comments before printing.

    Maybe they are "better" now. Some might consider them "good" but I don't see them at the top of anyone's quality or satisfaction list so I'm not buying it.

    If you believe they make great cars then fine, you can buy them. If you believe they are a great company then you can own their stock. I choose to spend my money elsewhere because I shouldn't know the names of everyone in the service department.
     
  10. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    Okay. Perhaps I misinterpreted what you meant by "large future repairs".

    Here's what I think large future repairs are: transmission failure or engine failure.

    My 1984 Chevy Cavalier and my 1985 Renault Alliance both needed new clutches with less than 100K miles on them, but since then I haven't had a car that needed a major repair like that.

    To be fair. My wife and I currently own two Nissans and a Toyota. As I mentioned in my last post, I got tired of working on the minor stuff on American cars. We have had more success with Japanese cars.

    What large repairs did the 2000 Intrigue and 1999 Delta 88 require? I don't see how A/C qualifies as it is not essential
    to move you down the road.
     
  11. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    After the AC trips I gave the car to my brother. I know he had electrical problems with the dome light discharging the battery. At the end the engine blew. The engine burned a quart of oil every 3000 miles from day 1. When I brought this up to the dealer I was told, "That's nothing, it can burn a quart every 1000 miles."

    By your definition, there weren't many "large repairs" but there were a number of "small" ones and it always took two trips to the dealer to fix. The only time something was fixed in one trip was when they replaced a light bulb.

    One problem was that the light switch fell through the dash. After that got remounted I found a fastener on the floor one day and another hanging done from the bottom of the dash. I ended up spending half a day hanging out at the dealer for them to get the slacker to screw the fasteners back in. In my book that car needed too many repairs and too much maintenance. Dakis lost their franchise and the site became a used car lot. Barlow & Burlington Chevy are still in business. I don't think either one is any good.

    The 1999 Delta 88 also had engine problems and that was on a low mileage car as Mother doesn't drive much--I'd guess 4000-5000 miles per year. I'm pretty sure the interior deteriorated and he probably replaced a window motor or two. I know it had a brake problem early.

    I didn't pay too much attention to her Delta 88 as my brother is the mechanic in the family.
     
  12. daisy555

    daisy555 Senior Member

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    Sounds like you're looking for what I'm looking for. : ) Good luck! I would think there would be more in CA but people probably hold onto them longer.
     
  13. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Try cargurus.com That's where we found our Prius for $8500 and our Echo for $5900 in the last few months. Both very clean with decent CarFax reports on them. Personally I think we overpaid a little for the Echo (major Toyota dealer) but the Prius deal seemed right (small private lot we've dealt with before and trust). My wife was not about to let that Echo go, though. It was love at first sight.

    Check as many sites as you can (autotrader, cargurus, cars.com, etc.). There are a lot of decent Toyotas listed between them here in the southern part of the state.

    If you have the time and the patience you'll come across something you'll be very happy with.
     
  14. Southpaw1969

    Southpaw1969 New Member

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    Where in Cali are you? I see tons of Prius for sale on Craigslist in the LA, SF, SD areas.

    I have a 2007 that has leather, Nav, backup camera, JBL sound, fog lights, you name it, and I paid very much less. High miles, but all service on record done by Toyota and new hybrid battery from Toyota.

    $9,000 sounds high, I'd keep looking.