Thinking of buying used 2007 prius

If the 2007 at 122k miles has been properly maintained, it's a reasonable purchase at $8k. The engine will hold up well past 200k miles as long as the oil has been changed regularly. The coolant loops (yes there are two) were to be drained and refilled at 100k miles (will need to be done again at 150k miles) and it is likely that the serpentine belt needs replacing (as will both coolant water pumps) if not done already. The transmission fluid should have been replaced twice by this time, if not, do it immediately to prevent failure of this expensive component. There is a history of the little 12v battery giving out, but this should cost less than $200 to replace.

Check the date of manufacture. Early 2005s (and 2004s) had a manufacturing defect in the MFD. If this problem shows up. ask on this discussion group as it can be repaired for less than $400 (I fixed mine myself for free). Dealers will be very expensive for a new MFD so don't ask them to fix it.

My 2004 Prius is at 193k miles and has been a great car.

JeffD

 

If the engine oil and oil filter has been changed at 5K mile intervals, then I agree with your conclusion that there is little need to be concerned about the gasoline engine.

The list of "other things" that you provided are largely mechanical in nature. If you have a failed wheel bearing, a transaxle shaft seal, or a serpentine belt, those parts are relatively inexpensive and are not difficult to replace since the process is similar to other front wheel drive vehicles of conventional design.

You potentially should be more concerned about the electronics and hybrid vehicle components that might fail: transaxle, inverter, traction battery. Although the failure rate is low, if a problem happens to you and you must rely upon dealer service, plan to spend a low to mid 4-digit figure.

If your 2007 has HID headlights, the bulbs have been a trouble area. The car may be subject to a limited service campaign to replace the inverter coolant pump. I suggest that you have the car checked out by your local Toyota dealer to see if there are any problems that were not obvious to you.

 

That sounds like a good deal. Does it have Smart Key?

If you buy it, the main suggestion is to change your transaxle fluid immediately and every 60,000 miles thereafter, and spark plugs + PCV now and every 120,000K.

Look at the 200,000 and 299,999 mile club stories. PC user 2 fas 4 u has 325,000+ miles on his car on shockingly little preventative maintenance and no breakdowns, other than running over a tire tread on the freeway that caused some body damage. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...0849-recommendation-break-fluid-exchange.html