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Opinions Welcome: Gen 2 and 3 Buying Options

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by Chodronish, Feb 26, 2017.

  1. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Well, I went to see the 2009 supposedly Touring green Prius today. It was a mess. Poor thing, I actually took it on a test drive just to get it out and driven! The "needs gas" light went on as I was driving it....I will spare the details, but needless to say, I passed, and it made the 2007 Touring Prius I looked at that is actually fairly loaded as well, and blue, with 73091 miles, look really, really good. I took everyone's advice to avoid the high mileage 2011. I know the HID headlights are best avoided, because I had them and they did go out and have to be replaced. The Touring models do seem to drive better though. Anyway, I called the dealership from the other dealership parking lot, and they were willing to drop to $8,250 from original $8,995 (they had said they would only go down to $8,500), so that is what I am going to do. Unfortunately, by the time you get taxes, tags, and "fees," the total is $9,300. I'm going to ask about the "fees." I'll be paying an additional $2,800 over what the insurance company gave me for mine, but mine had 144,xxx miles, cloth seats, and no navigation.

    Then, upon leaving the dealership with the battered 2009 Prius, I pulled into the Toyota lot just to see what they had (and update my spouse). I parked next to a silver Prius and as I was getting out of my rental, I saw what looked like a salesman check the mileage, so I asked him if it was for sale, learning it was being traded in at the moment. It looked very much like the one I was replacing. It turned out to be another one owner car with only about 52,000 miles, 2008, without bluetooth (boo). I had lunch to give the salesguy time to complete the sale. A man in his 70's traded it in for a new Prius, and he had bought the 2008 there and had it serviced there. So I will be going back to that dealership in the morning with our 2010 Town and Country van to possibly trade it in and replace it with this low mileage 2008 Prius. The van is starting to act up, and the teen drivers are griping about its gas mileage (they buy their own gas). They are asking $9,500 for it, but of course I am going to try to get that down. I have been shopping for a couple weeks, however, and these are actually decent deals around here, considering the low mileage, the condition of the cars, the one-owner status with service histories. I think I will try $9,500 out the door. It's a standard model, but I think they are making it a certified pre-owned car, if possible. If not, I will try $9,200 out the door. Wish me luck, and thanks so much for your input!
     
    #21 Chodronish, Feb 27, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2017
  2. Moving Right Along

    Moving Right Along Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2016
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    $9500 is a bit steep for a 2008, even with low miles, unless it's in really good condition and loaded with features. For comparison, when I bought my 2009 in December, it was advertised at $8000 and I bought it for $7600 plus taxes & fees ($8223 total). My car had 105,000 miles on it at purchase, and it was also a 1-owner car that got regularly serviced at the Toyota dealership that originally sold it (and from which I bought it).
     
  3. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Good point, and I noticed that Edmunds puts it at $8203. I was thinking possibly $9,500 out the door, which would make the car itself closer to $8,500. This car is not loaded with features; it's pretty basic without bluetooth even, cloth seats. Has backup camera and fog lights, but that's about it that I could tell. The 2007 I am planning to get for $8,250 is loaded with features and leather seats and low miles, and it's the Touring so they really sock it to you more for that, though I agree the headlights are a minus rather than a plus. Perhaps I am wrong to pay more for this one than the 2007. It's a year older with about 20,000 more miles, but it's a Touring and loaded. $9,200 out the door would put it at Edmunds True Market Value of around $8,200, though I came up with 8,700 when I reran it with options included. KBB.com put it at Fair Market Range of $8,071-9,782! This does not seem to be the best market price-wise. There are major price additions with the low mileage. Opinions welcome.
     
    #23 Chodronish, Feb 28, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2017
  4. Moving Right Along

    Moving Right Along Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
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    It depends on your or your family's personal preferences. The 2007 Touring would probably be more comfortable/convenient from the options, but the 2008 is a year newer and has less miles. If other family members are likely to be driving the car as well, you could have them test drive both cars to see if they have a preference.
     
  5. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Well, I am definitely getting the 2007 to replace the 2007 that was wrecked by my stepdaughter. So this morning, I am looking at trading in our van and replacing it with the 2008. I am the kind of person willing to haggle and want a great price, but I am feeling like I can't succeed at that in this market.
     
  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    My kid has the same Altima, and I can report that it's a SOLID car for the money if you can find one that's been cared for.
    The mileage is pretty good for an adequately powered car and compared to a Prius it's marshmallow comfy and rocket-ship powerful and since it has adult sized tires it doesn't look (or handle) as much like a dolphin on a skateboard.
    It's STILL a smallish, egg shaped, FWD car with more body rolls than a Kardashian and all of the excitement that comes with a CVT.....but they make for fairly good commuter ships.

    I'm not that wild about Nissans myself but her mileages are in the high 30s and she's logged a half a lunar trip in hers without much in the way of maintenance issues.
    The Sentra is a budget Altima (an extra redundancy) that may also be worth your consideration since it has the same highway performance in a 4/5's scale.

    If you can't afford a sudden, $3000 repair then maybe you ought to be making payments on a newer car until you build up a cash reserve for those expenses. It's not just a hybrid (traction) battery thing.
    There are also inverters, transaxles, HVAC, brakes, emissions, and other things that can jump into four figures very rapidly if you're not careful.
    All of my cars (3) are now north of 100,000 miles, but the reason that we can save on car payments is that we saved for the breakdowns that WILL eventually come.

    If you're going to stick with Priuses......and they do tend to be reliable more so than some of the other cars on the bargain table, learn how to replace the traction battery yourself.
    That can save you about $1,000 - or make it about a $2,000 job instead of $3,000.


    Good Luck!
     
  7. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
    170
    40
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    I once had a 2000 Nissan Sentra, and it was a very good car, except for the paint not holding up, which made it look like a beater. I have read, at least back then, that is an issue with Nissan's, or used to be. Fortunately, these cars are up to date on maintenance and have been taken care of quite well. I must have gotten used to the Prius drive quality or lack thereof. I really enjoyed my rental Hyundai Sonata and have gotten it up to 32 mpg, but the fun wore off and I miss my Prius. And I am really tired of the gas station!
     
  8. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
    170
    40
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    One down, one to go tomorrow. I purchased the silver 2008 with just under 52,000 miles, one owner, etc. New brakes and previous owner had put new tires on, so that's nice. Drove great, with 53 mpg on 30" drive home. No HID headlights, so that's a plus.
     
  9. Chodronish

    Chodronish Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2017
    170
    40
    0
    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Okay, I bought the 2007 Touring and the 2008; combined they have less mileage than my wrecked 2007 (144,xxx). A new hybrid battery installed costs about $2,500, but I will keep my fingers crossed I never need a new one. Condition on both excellent. Got rid of 2010 Town and Country Touring van that was starting to act up and had miles on it.