16 yr old grandson gets a 2008 Prius

Not that I'm aware of! That's decent mileage for the age. Driven daily, but not driven into the ground, so it hasn't sat for too long. I recently bought a 2008 myself and love it. Bought it adjectivally because it was a later model year for that design, so design bugs should be ironed out.

XT1031 ?

 

Yeah, I think 16 is too young to be given an automobile.

 

That Generation started in 2004 and was refreshed in 2006, so 2008 had no 'teething' problems. 2009 was the last Generation 2 Prius.

Any Prius has very few repairs that are common, but when it does need repair it can be expensive. (Mostly because most mechanics are not familiar with the Prius so replace entire assemblies)

Treated the same, I would expect the 2008 to be more reliable than the 2011, which may have teething issues as the second year of Gen 3. Sadly we can't know how well it was treated.

Have them check the age of the 12 volt battery.
Try to find out if the transaxle has ever had a drain and fill of ATF WS.

 

When my daughter was 5 I bought her a 1989 Toyota Corolla All-Trac wagon. (105 HP and AWD) So when she got her license, she had the least sexy, most gutless car driving anywhere in America.

 

I loved those Corolla's.
I owned a Corolla...but not one that nice...really..

I'm just kidding.
I suppose some flashback jealousy, because my parents were nowhere near to buying me a vehicle when I was a kid.

If I wanted a 10 speed bike or a car? .....well I had to earn it for myself.
My parents just did not have the resources to give me a vehicle.
It was with some pained trepidation that my Dad would hand me my monthly bus pass, and that was mostly to get me to and from school.

 

You might be my brother. My dad was the exact same way. Haven't gotten a birthday gift since I was 8. Though there is a stronger sense of ownership when you buy something with your own money.

XT1031 ?

 

I was a single parent working a 9 hour day with a one hour commute each way.
She needed to be self sufficient as I was working 50 miles away and unavailable. At some point you do not want her dependent on boys. Given 10 months of snow, you want AWD. It was 12 years old and had 230,000 miles on it. Great car, unless you wanted speed, looks, or MPG. (28) I got myself a new 2001 Subaru Forester.

 

I'm not criticizing.
Hey..buying a vehicle for a 5 year old...for when they turn 16 is 11 years of forward thinking....

And I'm not kidding when I say, I always liked those Corollas. They were boxy and unique looking...still a style I like today. I always wondered how reliable they were.

I owned a 4 door 1976 Corolla....ugly as sin. But....you couldn't kill it with explosives or holy water.
Cost me $300. Great investment.

 

The 1989 was still in use in 2011, I have lost track of it now.
No major work.
My daughter is on the left, in pink.

 

I hate to say it, but I don't think you will see many Prii at 22 years old, but darned if I'm not going to try.

 

I Still want to buy a 76 or 78 Corolla. Great car to work on and easy to mod up!

 

I still miss my 72 Datsun 510

 

Uh, back to the original topic....

First, register the car on the Toyota owner's web site. It is the official Toyota site. You need the VIN. That will tell what if any service has been done on the car by Toyota and possibly by other service shops.

It will also tell what recall items have been done or not done -- and there are a couple or three of them.

As mentioned, you might want to drain and fill the transaxle -- around $80-100 at the dealer. It needs special fluid, so no generic fluid allowed.

The engine water pumps on these have been a bit problematic, so check around the pulley for any dried coolant. Odds are you are O.K., but...

The hatch lock on the back tailgate -- the thing you grab above the license plate is a bit problematic -- the rubber covering has sort of worn away on lots of cars. An $80 part and about 30 minutes of labor -- but Toyota will charge you close to $300 to do it.

That's all I can think of off-hand. It may need the 100K service, which includes coolant, inverter coolant, etc.
Luck, steve

 

No. There are not any "glaring" problems inherent with any year, AFAIK. The Prius, even "teething" models, is a relatively problem-free car. Of course there are lemons, but the overwhelming majority of Prii are reliable and require very little unexpected maintenance.

As for what should be done to check on the car, you have some good suggestions already. I always register my vehicles through the Toyota Owners portal and check to see what maintenance has already been done. Then I cross check that against the sticky thread in this forum for what services you need and which ones you don't. At 100k, you're due for some minor things like spark plugs (and while you're in there you could consider doing a MAF cleaning, throttle body cleaning, and PCV valve replacement, but none of those are likely to be necessary). You might want to check the serpentine belt wear. ATF. Fluid flushes/drain & fills. Those are the types of things I usually take care of at 100k intervals, especially on new (to me) used.

 

johnnyb588 is right. The early model year Prii are pretty solid. There were some weird quirks like the 299,999 mile odo limit on the 05-05 models, but they were still great cars. Any car that can go 300k miles is a good car.

 

my daughter has my old '08 with around a hundred thousand. no issues other than the recalls. nothing but following standard maint. tyres and 12v battery. car is a gem. all the best!

 

Having a student driver, I found a oil change place that offered 4 oil changes for a fixed price, and bought her that coupon each year. It is not that they don't know it needs service, but food is a priority.