Should I buy a Prius C Three as my first car?

There is very little maintenance for a Prius up to 8-10 years and 100,000 miles, and then all the fluids need changing and spark plugs, etc.
Not much different than your RSV, but if something in the hybrid system breaks after the warranty, it can be much more expensive, and difficult to find a mechanic who works on hybrids.
So at 9 years you’re heading into that territory and have to ask yourself if the risk is worth the gas savings.
The odds are good that you won’t have problems for a long time. They’re great cars, but you want to be prepared for the what if’s

 

The c is very well made, a very high reliability car.

The most frequent maintenance a c needs is oil changes and basic cleaning, including cleaning the battery cooling fan under the back seat. Easy to do with a vacuum cleaner and a screwdriver; there are youtube guides.

I generally agree with Bisco- the first 10 years of a Prius' life are incredibly low cost because there's so little maintenance to do. After about 10 years you can see some big hits, starting with the hybrid battery pack.

Math says this one is close to its 10th birthday- so you are likely to enjoy normal performance now, but be ready for that expense soon. It is by no means guaranteed or automatic that it goes out at 10 years- some last longer, and a few last a lot longer. Very difficult to predict.

...and once that battery has been replaced, that clock is reset and the car can easily do another 10ish years.

Good luck!

 

It so bugs me that we're still saying this. Gen 1 appeared 23 years ago. A generation of people have become mechanics since! The "gee, I dun᠎no, it's a hybrid" folks should be off sipping cocktails on the beach.

 

You might get lucky with this car. Try to stay aware that a used car is always a gamble. Any car not under full warranty, ie new, can present you with surprises. Priuses are extremely complex by design so that is a factor. If you do get this car you should spend real effort to find a good, experienced, knowledgable Prius mechanic thru friends, family, local people. A good mechanic is like a doctor, dentist, lawyer. These are people you need as friends. You don't want to look for any of these people when you have a problem.
Ideally having 2 used cars can be helpful. Be aware that the appearance of a car is irrelevant - the cheapest thing all sellers do is make the car they are selling look nice. Good luck .

 

To that point, I think there's a fair correlation between "the mechanics who won't work on hybrids" and "the mechanics you wouldn't want working on any car you own."

 

Around here at least, the problem is that there aren’t enough mechanics, so they are too busy doing the same old thing, and there’s no motivation to learn something new unless forced by legislation

 

I think the battery warranty is 8/100, whichever comes first

 

From the description it sounds like somebody only wanted to own it while there was warranty coverage, and now it's time to get out.

Nothing wrong with doing it that way, and there's still plenty of utility left in the car for a future owner as long as they know the score.

 

If you like the car and are excited about making the switch to a hybrid, go for it.
The risk vs reward issues are not all that much different for a hybrid these days than they are for any other similar type regular car. But there are a lot of other differences to learn about if you want to..