I am looking to buy a Prius. I found a 2007 Prius that has only 22,000 miles on it. The first owner drove it only 18,000 miles in over 5 years and 7 months. The second owner had the car for 19 days drove it 4,000 miles and turned it in back in to the same dealership he bought it from. I test drove the car and got 34.4 mpg on a 50-50 mix of highway and city driving over 14 miles. The car seemed to be in good shape. The outside was good the inside was clean and the carfax report was clean as well. The car is being offered with a toyota certified pre-owned sticker. So it passed inspection and is ready for sale. The car is being offered for $16,700. I have talked the guy down to around $14,500. I need some help on the following questions. -Does the HV pack drain during the time of little use during the first owner's history? (if so how much did it drain? I looked on the main display while driving and the electric battery was 2 bars from the top when we started driving and ended up full when we stopped.) My main concern is that because the car was used so little the battery has aged 6 years already. So I would have to replace it soon (5-6 years of hard driving). I have heard stories from people on here about how a Prius that wasn't used often the used often only made it 92,000+ and 11 years before having to replace the battery pack. - Should I be concerned that the car has such low mileage? (Do you think the MPG is going to be lower because of its low use age) - Should I be concerned that the 2nd owner had it for such a short time yet drove it for a long distance? I tried to get the story on why the car was returned so quickly but never got a full answer. - I know the KBB value is right around the original price but should I be concerned about paying so much for a car that is already 6 years old? I think I can get him down $13,500. -Do any of you know of any extra concerns I should have about the car before I buy it? Please be honest about your advice. Thanks in advance!
well shoot I thought I posted this in the gen II forum. My apologies for posting this in the wrong forum!
I'm starting to think there is something else wrong with it. The car is certified pre-owned too so it makes me wonder if the low usage had an effect on the mpg.
It could be normal. Without any details we (or at least I) can't judge. Last night I filled up because gas prices are rising. Let's figure I live 5 miles from the gas station. It snowed enough to cover the ground during the night and there was ice on the windshield. Car is powered up to defrost as I spritz the alcohol on the windshield. OAT is 28F. Front defroster stays on to melt ice and I use the windshield washer a few times. 1.5 miles to the highway & after some distance at highway speed I see a low of 31.3mpg. Yup, I've done much better on the autocross. So now we have a salesman getting a car off the lot. He's going to blast the heater & drive it slowly to the showroom so it gets toasty warm for a pleasant experience. Then they sit in the car as salesman shows off the bells and whistles. Then a 5 to 15 minute run through the neighborhood or up & down the highway. Come back to the lot, park the car maybe fiddle with some of the controls before powering down. I'd be surprised if anyone sees "good" numbers on a test drive. Next time there is a post in the wrong forum ask a Moderator to move it.
