Tips for a used Prius v buyer??

Our last Prius a 2006 we kept for 9 years and put 110,000 miles on the car. Other than the air conditioning (expensive) I had really no issues. And even that was covered 2/3 by Toyota as good will. We sold it for $9000 recently. It was loaded where this one is not, however the v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) is a nice really roomy car. The battery that was changed is the 12 volt and not an issue. They will go dead due to non use. As long as you are happy with the options on the car and don't miss any then the price is not bad. I am sure they will take the $17 even. I am assuming this is a Toyota dealership. If so they will stand behind the car. Decent price for a 2012. They are good for 40 mpg.
Manny

 

I would ask them to extend the certified used car "comprehensive" warranty (12 month 12,000 mile) to a 6 year 125k factory "Platinum" comprehensive (bumper to bumper) warranty. The dealer cost on this is less than a $1,000 (regardless of what they say) especially since they are already giving you part of the warranty.

The Toyota Used Car Warranty that will likely come standard is 12 month 12,000 mile comprehensive and 7 year 100,000 Powertrain.

Maintenance costs on a Prius are minimal and available widely at any third party shop (oil changes, filters, rotations), but repair costs are often expensive and not widely available other than at a dealer. See the following link for differences in the Platinum Warranty and the standard Powertrain Warranty by clicking on each category: Toyota Platinum, Gold and Powertrain Warranty Comparison

 

The dead battery is the 12v battery, the black one found in any car (happens to be under the trunk in the Prius). In a Prius, it doesn't start the engine, just powers up the computers. The big hybrid or traction battery is what actually starts the engine and costs a few grand. That one should be good.
After the 12v battery has been drained fully, it'll never hold a full charge again. I would have a new 12v battery be a condition of buying the car.

 

+1 on getting the new 12v battery, its a must-do.

 

Top 10 Ways to Beat a Car Dealer

 

She said in the original post they changed the 12v battery.

 

Doesn't hurt to double check, they may have just swapped it to put the old one on the charger.

 

Been on the lot 6 months, I imagine they're ready to get rid of it!

From their pictures on Autotrader.com, it appears to be a Two, and not a Three. All 2012 Threes have Navigation, Entune, and voice command controls on the steering wheel. The Prius v you're looking at has none of those, and is thus a Two. Dealers commonly mislabel Prius v trim packages in ads. On the plus side, Black Book value for the Nav system is $500, so you can ask for that off the top.