2008 Touring for 6.5k? Would like to get it but is there a catch?

I don't see any catch, looks like a well taken care of, one owner car that was driven a lot. If it runs and drives good, it should be worth what they're asking.

 

For 204K miles it looks like it has been well maintained.

The CarFax product is meant to serve a a clearing house per se to standardize a vehicle's history when it is time to sell. Goggle CarFax and you will see for yourself. It's not a perfect product but it is better than having nothing at all. Reading the CarFax for this vehicle I don't necessarily see anything that concerns me, pretty typical entries for a car with this amount of miles.

You might consider running the car to another shop/dealer and have them put it on rack and look it over and look for any stored DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes). It might cost you a a couple hundred dollars to have this done depending upon your area but it will provide you wit additional objection information regarding the car's condition.

There appears to be some negotiating room within the purchase price (i.e. it's a little inflated). Again pretty typical of a dealership to allow for the back and forth negotiations between buyer and seller.

No real magic about buying a Prius or any other vehicle. Do your research, (Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Edmonds, forums like this and ask around). The KBB and NADA will give you some idea of fair market values for vehicles in your area. The people I talked to before I bought mine were all excited to talk about their Prius experiences. This is a fairly active forum with some extremely knowledgeable folks (I'm not consider myself among them). Look at a few vehicles in your price range to get a feel for things as you certainly don't have to buy the first thing you see.

Good luck! Its great to see young adults like yourself wanting to learn new things.

 

I don't see how the purchase price is inflated. They're basically asking the NADA average trade in value for this vehicle (certainly due to its high mileage).

 

For a first car purchase at 16 years old, a +200,000 mile Prius might not be good choice. Although the records look better than most, the odds are likely some high dollar maintenance items will be necessary in the next two years. You must be ready to throw a couple grand at it unexpectedly, as Prius repairs are not cheap. The mileage is your red flag. At this stage in your life, a lower mileage Corolla or Civic might be wiser. Just my friendly, but the choice is yours.

 

The three most common problems with Gen 2s as the miles pile up are: failed ICE water pump, oil consumption, and HV battery failure.

It's not easy to tell if the engine is burning oil except to look at the tail pipe. Mine burns about a quart every 3000 miles. The tail pipe is on mine is black with soot. Check this first.

The ICE water pump may be leaking or may be noisy. Leaks are not easy to detect except if the detailer did not wash off all of the dried coolant that collects underneath it. A noisy water pump will be obvious - it will be loud at idle.

HV battery failure is a no brainer if it's bad the red triangle of death will be your constant companion on the MFD. You cannot predict when traction battery failure will occur. There are symptoms - rapidly changing charge level on the MFD is one.

There's obviously other problems it could have - worn out brakes, suspension, etc. What I would do (if I never had driven a Gen 2 Prius before) is test drive an 09 with low miles and compare how it rides, steers, and sounds compared to the one you are considering.

 

Read through Car Buying Guide for New and Used Vehicles | CarBuyingTips.com, don't get emotionally attached to the car, and be prepared to walk away (and do it) if necessary.

Register the VIN at Toyota Owners Official Web Site: Service Coupons, Owner's Manuals, Service Scheduling And More to get the dealer service history. It should match the Carfax report.

 

"I thank you for the advice but, this isn't going to be my car. It will be a family car to replace one of the cars in our fleet of 19MPG vehicles (ouch)."

Then my stated opinion as a father, husband, provider and mechanic would apply more...walk away from this one. Wish you the best.

 

You know, I don't know what your family needs but, here's my take on the vehicle (from what I can see from here). Here is a one owner, well maintained 6 yo vehicle, with all the bells and whistles (leather, nav, sks, jbl, bt etc), that gets 45+ mpg, for $6500. I challenge anyone to find a comparable non hybrid vehicle for that price (or even a lower mileage comparable non hybrid vehicle).

My personal opinion is "any Prius is better than no Prius" so as you can see, I'm clearly biased. Make sure you take that into consideration when you read what I said.

 

"It will be a family car to replace one of the cars in our fleet of 19MPG vehicles (ouch)."

I am rather fond of my Prius, as is usnavystgc and most here, but I purchased mine new. However in fact, I just replaced my wife's +160,000 mile vehicle (not a Prius) with a 2014 Corolla S. As I stated in my first response to you and as was the response on post #6, there are some costly items coming due...especially when you consider the mileage and that it was "previously owned". The variables exist and the odds are against avoiding them in the next two years. The fact that your family has a fleet of 19mpg vehicles already implies high vehicle costs. The chances are "this" Prius will not alleviate the situation, only add to it. My original suggestion toward the mentioned Corolla and Civic specifically applied as your primary first vehicle as opposed to the one being discussed. The Prius is a very good car without argument, but at 204,000 miles, better have a couple a thousand dollars on ready standby. If this is a family vehicle replacement, buy new.

Respectfully these are my opinions...use them or not as you see fit. Best wishes.

 

I'm not sure why "family" car has to be a new car.

It's a great deal for sure, if it is as described. But even if engine or battery fails later, cost of replacement is cheap. I got a quote from autobeyours in IN. A 65K engine installed $1500. Battery installed $1100. I'm sure your car's value will increase after that, to offset the repair.

Buy it, it's no brainer.

I also think it's a good thing you are learning a lot about car by buying a used one. Your analysis, reasoning and good questions indicates that you are capable of handling this kind of issue. I wish you good luck!

 

Who is paying for this purchase and/or future repairs?

 

I 100% agree with this statement. The OP or his family should not buy any used vehicle that has logged high miles (especially a highly complex car like Prius where non-dealer service alternatives are not always available or affordable) without having a multi-four-digit financial reserve. Many systems could easily fail at this point even with a well-maintained vehicle: traction battery, inverter, transaxle, AC compressor, MFD - not to mention the gasoline engine, catalytic converter, front struts/rear shocks etc.

Its not clear how this is relevant to the OP's question, as long as somebody stands ready to fund the likely repairs.

 

My 04 prius had over 200k miles, never had a ounce of trouble with it. The traction battery had been tested at 200k and had only dropped to 92% efficient. I live in a mild state with deep cold winters however. Anyway it was a high mileage prius that still ran like new. Even after it was wrecked it still drove home without a hitch. While there are some prius's that may suffer a rate of failure I find it is usually environmental. In states that are desert, high mountains, and just hot temps when people do not use the ac to cool the interior. Keeping the traction battery cool is key to longevity. I would buy a prius with 200k on the clock and still trust it to get me where I needed to go for another 100k miles. Below is a pic of my 04. It flew off a 15' embankment hit a steel pole dead center the hood, and landed in a slue.