Buying a 2015 with 300,000 miles, what to be concered about?

Buying a 2015 with 300,000 miles, what to be concer[n]ed about?
Only the parts between the bumpers

Unless you plan to drive a million miles a year, that warranty is valueless, and it's a moronic assumption anyway unless he also replaced the inverter, transaxle, and the regenerative brake components.

- and if he did all that?
You would have a Corolla with 300,000 miles on the odometer, since all of the hybrid components would have been replaced - leaving all of the other stuff that "might" go wrong on BOTH a hybrid and a non-hybrid car with 1/3 of a million miles on the clock.

A car 'dependable car' with 300,000 miles on the odometer is like a 90-year-old human in really good health.
They simply do not exist.
That's not how age and mileage works.....in humans OR in cars.

HARD PASS, and I don't even have to ask about the price.

 

Not necessarily, but you haven't specifically stated your goal. Given only the data you've posted, I could see trusting that car for about 2 more years at 15k per year before it was truly done.

Is it priced such that you can throw it away and start over in 2025 without caring?

You may be shopping for a car here, but the guy you met is shopping for a customer. One who lives locally and keeps coming back with fresh needs.

 

The generation 2 with more mileage will give you less trouble generally speaking if it's on the road when you buy it I don't care about batteries and consumables that's why they're called that. Generation two is a more robust automobile knock on the fenders the hood whatever It's just a more robust car. Now if we've got to keep up with the Joneses and we live in a fancy HOA neighborhood where people will laugh at us for driving the old generation too and all of this so on and so forth well that's another whole issue That's not the car's problem those are people and social problems. I love people that laugh and snicker at my old prii. I think that's the best thing in the world and while they're shucking and jiving and snickering and making all the funny noises I go yeah I got $1,300 in her driver to California in the morning I'm just too lazy. And they're all standing in front of 38,000 plus whatever they are's. So there's things like that I can go on cruises and do what I want and so on and so forth I don't live in my automobile I guess I could but that's not the point.

 

Did he replace the motor with a NEW motor? Or at least a newer 2015 motor?
Which would have the updated pistons and rings?
A 2015 model with have the updated inverter and brake components already so you won't have to worry
about them.
Which battery did he replace? The hybrid or 12v?
Has the egr system been cleaned?
Does he have all the service records?
Do you know how the car was driven?

How much do you plan on driving the car in the next year?
He's giving a one year warranty, what about mileage? Unlimited???
If something fails in a year, will he really take care of you?

 

Interiors and bodies hold up quite well on these cars and tells you nothing about the mechanical, hydraulic or electrical issues of the car, which in this case has little to do with owner’s maintenance. Even with religious “by the book” maintenance since intervals are either too long (oil) or nonexistent.

Odds are the “new” motor is from a 2010-14 Prius which sold many more but had serious engine, brake by wire and inverter problems. These motors are a problem even with relatively low miles because of oil consumption, huge carbon buildups everywhere and engine failures. The brake system is $2500 to fix properly as is a new hybrid battery. Most flippers don’t buy new parts, they simply get different used parts.

If you are on a tight budget a used Prius is the wrong car. Would you buy a 1995 Cadillac with 250000 miles? No. Same deal here. Complexity and design flaws equal an unreliable car that you will regret. Especially if it costs more than $3-$5k.

 

I think it depends. If the interior and exterior are in great shape, that might tell you that the previous owner(s) took good care of the car and you may have fewer issues.

Some of it depends on how good the mechanic is who did the work and what kind of parts he was working with. Did he really put a NEW battery in a 300k mile car? Or a refurb?

I think high mile vehicles are best for people who can DIY and have enough cars that they can manage if one will have some downtime. (This describes me).