Thinking about taking the plunge with a vehicle with not great maintenance documentation

welcome! one thing to consider is whether you have an 8/100 or 10/150 warranty on the hybrid system. but even the 10/150 only leaves you with 30k left on the battery.

 

so that's one thing to consider. you can get all the dealer maintenance records by plugging in the vin at the toyota owners website.

 

It's 6-5 and pickem.

Personally I place not much weight in whether or not a vehicle has dealer-documented maintenance. This is because I see a lot of posts on this forum where people have a closed-hood maintenance philosophy, where they take their car into the dealership every 10,000 miles for an oil change and call it good.
In other words, they confuse a 10,000 oil change interval with a 10,000 mile oil CHECK interval, and that's only if the dealer actually checks the oil level before they change it.
In fact.....it's been my experience that many "Gen-U-whine" mechanics don't even properly check the oil level AFTER they've done the maintenance.

My work car (a 2010 G3) had NO dealer recorded maintenance, but my beloved company at least changes the oil every 5K, and the loudmouth that drives the car checks the oil level every 1K or about every other tank---but this is only one data point.
If you look at the schedule of maintenance for a Pruis, there are a lot of inspections that are sometimes not properly performed by the wrench in the dealer who is much more interested in selling you stuff that's NOT on the maintenance schedule.

OK....
So if the owner gets you paperwork, you can still glean some valuable insights on how the vehicle was driven, and these observations can always be buttressed by paying a mechanic a few hours of labor to inspect the vehicle.

Things I would look for:
Number of owners.
Whether or not the car has ever been used commercially.
How many sets of tires were replaced on the car, and when.
Brakes. Are they still OEM----evenh at 120K they should be for an adult driven car, or if they've been replaced find out when. Also be advised that at 120K the OEM brakes might need new pads. Prius owners sometimes over pay for this.

Excessive aftermarket additions indicating a non-adult previous owner.

New catalytic converter or other emissions device indicating excessive oil use.

Anything in the engine compartment that's newer than anything else in the engine compartment....or an engine compartment on a 120,000 mile vehicle that's very clean...indicating that it's been recently cleaned......like to hide something.

Signs that the hood, hatch, or doors aren't aligned properly indicating a previous visit to the Beat and Bang Body Shop. (It's not always on CarFax........trust me.....I know!)

Plastic headlamps that are bright, shiny, and new looking on a 6-year-old car with 120,000 miles.

Itty-bitty cubes of glass in the spare wheel well or in out of the way places when you look for discoloration on the underneath side of the carpet from previous flood damage.




Good Luck!

 

I see three for sale but one is a rebuilt status, another is lien and last one is clear.

 

how many miles do you hope to put on her before moving on?

 

The car is either a IV-Nav (unless the leather is aftermarket) or a V-AT. If it has the Advanced Tech Package there is a button on the steering wheel to toggle through the following distances. Get two key fobs.

Keep us posted.

 

even though many members here recommend an early tranny oil change and then every so many miles, we have no documentation of reduced longevity for those cars who haven't had it done. and that's a lot of cars, seeing how small a percentage priuschat members make up of all prius on the road.

more importantly, you're buying a car with 130k on it. it's already due for fluid changes, spark plugs and etc., so, you're well into the more intense maintenance mileage. many of these cars go 300,000 plus, but not without major repairs in many cases. the value of the vehicle quickly drops below the cost of a hybrid battery, a/c compressor or brake actuator, leaving owners in a quandary.

 

The 2010 Prius V (Five) model also has the LED headlights.

 

Salvage Company? Walk away...fast!

 

To expensive for a rebuilt (titled) vehicle. With that quantity on miles.....($7,000.00)

 

I still say walk away from this one. Best wishes on your search.