2007 with 200,000 good buy?

Gosh Ritzy, if it were me I'd be conflicted but continue to look... On one hand, this car looks brand new and it sounds like your personal inspection shows no red flags. Where else can you find a 2007 Prius at $7,500? On the other hand that high mileage reflects a boatload of potholes, door slamming, vibrations, computer booting and wear and tear.

As a side note, this Prius with 200K has held up remarkably well! I can only hope mine looks so good when it reaches this use. What evidence of the great Toyota design!

Good luck with your decision.

 

Here's the CarFax. As to whether or not I'd buy it, it depends on:
1. How much can you truly afford?
2. What's your repair budget?
3. How much are you planning to drive it?
4. How risk adverse are you?

If...
1. More than this, keep looking
2. Not much, keep looking
3. A lot, keep looking
4. Very, keep looking

 

forget it. Plenty of others that you can go for with less miles and some still have a warranty on them. This is not a good deal by any means. Its a dealer so I will guarantee that they bought it at an auction and it was for probably about 2500 dollars.

 

To many miles. Car looks great though. If it was a Camry I would say go for it but to many expensive things to go wrong especially if they were not hyper vigilant on trans maintenance. Lots of hills in WA. Hills are tough on a Prius. And your on the original Hybrid battery.

Unless you have alot of tools and nothing on a car scares you trans/engine replacement wise.

If it was me I'd buy a nice used Camry at half those miles.

 

Here is my two cent's worth: You yourself said "I can't really afford a newer one or same gen with a lot less miles the price kinda goes stratoshereic" With that said, it stands to reason you would not be able to repair this car if you bought it "as is with no warranty" and the traction battery or transaxle failed the next day. 200K on the odometer is a lot. I doubt very seriously you will/can get a warranty that will cover the expensive hybrid system on that car. Eng/tranny yeah, but the hybrid part would be real iffy in my book.

Best advice, look elsewhere and try to raise some more capital then pull the trigger.

Good luck and welcome to Prius Chat.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Very well said.. If you cannot afford more than 8500 then you won't be able to afford expensive repairs! 200,000 is a lot of miles with original traction battery. I would recommend you see another car.. I think your monthly payment would be slightly more but that will give you peace of mind!

 

Well... I do not think this is appropriate for someone who has never owned a Prius before, and/or if having to pay $2000-$3000 for a major repair in the first month of ownership is not feasible.

On the other hand, that high mileage, 40,000/yr, means that it has almost always been driven on the highway and has had a comparatively easy life.

Is it a good deal? Not particularly. Are you taking a risk? Yes. Could it go 100,000 miles without a problem, or likewise have a hybrid failed battery or transmission before the ink is dry? Sure.

 

At that price, I honestly would seriously think about it. But I would have some cash on hand, a few grand to cover potential repairs. Don't see it as a $7500 car, but compare it to $10-12k cars; if $10-12k is your budget, get this and you have several thousand to cover repairs--worse-case, as you likely won't need them any time soon.

 

Car looks in good shape, but one thing to remember is the lot detailed it and a good lot detailer can make a hard run car look new.

For $8500 you can get some nice lower mileage (under 100K) mile cars. They might not be the most fashionable, and might be old geez cars, but if you do your research you can find some nice iron. Look in the 7K range out the door and put the other 15K on fuel. Can buy a lot of gas with that cash.

 

Too much for a base 07, even if it was only 120k miles, let alone 200k. Be willing to travel outside of your area to get the best deals.

If you're looking to save money and that is your budget, consider getting a non-hybrid car with less miles with good EPA numbers like a Civic or Elantra. You'll end up saving money when you depart ways with the car since the Prius with 200+k miles will have virtually no resale/trade-in value... Consider the depreciation when thinking of net $$$ savings. This is one reason I couldn't buy a new Prius. To lose $10k in 2 years to save $3k in fuel in 2 years wasn't worth it compared to buying a used luxury SUV still under warranty, which at a great price will only lose a couple grand in 2 years when I sell.

For you, it's a lose lose situation to go for a Prius with high miles like that, even if you work on your own cars like I (try) to. Try asking your insurance company how much it would be insured for if you crashed it tomorrow. Don't pay a dime over that. Stick with your $6,800 (or lower your price) and bring in cash ($20s/$50s). Put it on the table and say this is how much I'm spending OUT THE DOOR, aside from sales tax. No extra "documentation fees", etc. If they don't bite, it isn't worth it.