considering a prius--please advise.

Welcome.

First thing... almost none of the advertized touring are actually touring. And no Priuses were sold with sunroofs.

It's natural that all you see are car owners with problems since that's why people ask questions. But the Prius has one of the lowest repair incidences in the industry.

I can't comment on how good a deal you're looking at, but it's likely you're looking at a great car.

 

Might want to call a Toyota dealer and see if they would be willing to check it out. It might be worth spending a little money to find out that it is either a good deal or something to stay away from. I personally don't buy used, since I was burned quite a bit in my pre-Toyota days. On the other hand, I have found Toyotas to be very reliable and, if they are given reasonable care and not abused, would be my only choice if I did have to buy used. I have never heard of the high replacement part prices you mentioned, but I suppose it could be true.

 

Replacement HID bulbs are $100 a pair on ebay.

Replacement Optima 12V battery kit is $175 from elearnaid.com. This prevents most electrical weirdness. It's a great project if you like working on cars in general and want to understand more about your Prius.

Being a 2008 means the inverter cooling pump failure is much less likely.

That covers the major Gen II issues.

Don't forget that there are over a million Prii on the road. You won't see 999,000 stories about how the car is nearly flawless. The biggest problem is that when something goes wrong, a standard mechanic has no idea where to start, and good hybrid mechanics are scarce. Owner education goes a long way, particularly in your case where you have worked on cars. PriusChat is among the best online resources.

I've found my Prius to be far more reliable than my Honda Insight. The only car that I have had in my life that has been more reliable than my Prius is my 2004 Toyota RAV4. At 48,000 miles, the car is still under warranty. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

 

If you are buying from a dealer, do what I did. I wrote an addition to the contract that my dealer would provide free labor for one headlight bulb replacement. The Toyota price for the bulb is $150 and my labor is free.

On the 12 volt battery, replace it the first time it seems dead with the Optima kit from elearnaid. Hooking up jumper cables incorrectly can cost multiple thousands, so never rely on being able to jump start, replace early. $165 is cheap to never worry.

Many maintenance projects can be DIY, one that is not is bleeding the brakes, do have that done at the dealer.

 

Congratulations!

If, after spending a few more days to get comfortable with your car, you can cancel the warranty and get your money back, consider this: The most expensive repair, a transaxle replacement, is the same as or less than $2000, if performed by an independent shop using a high quality salvage part. Also, it may be cheaper to get the warranty via Prius Chat -- there is a link somewhere.

 

I second the idea of canceling the extended warranty if you can. They are almost always universally rip-offs.

The Prius is an amazing vehicle with flat out astounding engineering, and is very reliable.

Save your $2000 and put save it for a PHEV kit later! =)

 

You mean, you hope that the car will need more than $2000 worth of repairs covered by the warranty?

Cancel it. You will almost certainly get back less than $500 worth of repairs covered by it, and most likely nothing at all. Put the $2000 in the bank.

 

I have a 2007 Prius, purchased new. I did extensive research before buying the car. Our daughter has one and loves it. I also purchased a warranty and then went back and ask for my money back. I have not had any problems whatsoever with this car and highly recommend a Prius. I wouldn't drive anything else at this point except a totally electric Prius.

I agree with getting your money back on the warranty. They will balk but so what.

On a special note. The senior members at this site are EXTREMELY knowledgeable. I have learned so much from them and they have saved me LOTS of money.
Congratulations.

 

By the way, now it is time to learn how to Pulse and Glide.

 

Get your money back for the warranty.