I'm in need of a car with which to drive allll the way across the US and back (not keen on doing it with my current battery-only EV) and right now I'm looking at a 2007 Prius with 140k miles on it. I'm not really a car person although I am very DIY-capable in general, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get something that old and simultaneously new to me and almost immediately take it on a 5000-mile trip. However I have heard very good things about Priuses, so I was hoping to get some insight from people who know more than I. What I know about the car: 2007, 140k miles, hybrid battery has been replaced at some point although I'm not sure how recently Has some decent-sized damage across the passenger-side doors so I'm assuming it's been in an accident of some kind They're asking 5k for it. I was able to drive it around the lot but not take it on the road because "we're selling it as-is, we don't know anything about it and don't want to be liable if it explodes" (paraphrased). I am definitely leery of buying a car when the top speed I've taken it to is 15mph. I asked the dealership to do a "pre-trip" inspection on it since they just threw it in the back corner to be ignored, and they came back with this: engine oil needs changed, front brake pads need replaced, timing cover and valve covers are leaking (I have NO idea what these are), alignment is off, one taillight is out, and the spark plugs are worn. I'm positive I can handle the oil change, taillight, spark plugs, and brakes myself. Well, I might pay somebody to do the brakes. But are the other items concerning, or is there anything else specific to 2007s I should ask about or check out myself before getting serious about it? Should I pass entirely on something I can't give a real test drive? I enjoy a good project, but I also value getting from point A to point B in a timely and relatively inexpensive manner.
Usually when you have a failing hybrid battery it's not an issue driving slowly around the parking lot but becomes an issue soon as you start driving around at faster speeds. If you tell us what region or city you live in you might be able to find someone on here with a reliable older Prius for less than $5K that will get you across the country and back... I have an '05 and an '04 I'm looking to sell in my city of Olympia, WA. for example.
IMO, you would be better off renting a car or a short-term lease of a car rather than buying an old car.
you could get lucky and have a fairly uneventful trip, (if the car runs well after you buy it) or you could wind up junking it somewhere along the way and having to figure out how to proceed. there's no inspection that can answer that question.
Makes sense, thanks. I was less concerned about the hybrid battery than just other general problems it could have, as I believe the battery was replaced in the past 3-4 years (I assume that's recent enough to not be concerning?), but I would have to try to get them to nail it down. I'm not averse to fixing any of said general problems if they're not bank-breaking, I was just hoping to be forewarned about what those problems might be. I'm in western Colorado but could definitely drive anywhere between Denver and Salt Lake City for something reliable. I did take a look at the For Sale forum here but didn't see anything near me, unfortunately. Renting a car for 5 weeks and 5k miles would start around 3k from what I'm seeing on rental sites. I could only find two short-term lease sites and one only gave me the option of picking up in Tennessee and the other one starts at well over 2k...and none of those options leave me with a car at the end, so I'm not keen. I was hoping to be able to ditch my current car (and its associated payment) and go Prius-only since I know so many people love theirs and they have a reputation for being reliable.
You need to give us more details about your round trip. Headcount, cargo, stops along the way, time, ect...
IMHO; you should buy an old beater ICE Honda or Toyota. Parts are relatively cheap and any decent mechanic anywhere can repair it. That's better than trying to find someone in po-dunk, no-mans land to try to fix an old beater Prius much less drop ship parts out there. Doubtful they would have a Prius aware OBD2 scanner laying around. Just my 2-cents...
No deal. Any seller will let you drive a car that has no obvious issues. This is important. The majority of shops will not work on hybrid related issues (although many issues are ok). For example brake rotors, calipers and pads are the same as a conventional car. No problem fixing it anywhere. The brake by wire master cylinder is dealer only to buy and most non dealers won't install it. So that one part alone might cost $2500 to fix somewhere in Kansas.
