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Looking into a 2012 Prius v 3

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by KMichelle, Jun 22, 2020.

  1. KMichelle

    KMichelle New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2020
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    Location:
    Hardy, VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm looking for a new car and the Toyota dealership my family buys from is selling a 2012 Prius v 3 for $7,000. It had 1 owner and no accidents to speak of. The maintenance report shows regular maintenance every 5k miles. The only setback is the mileage is at 120k. Is this car worth considering? I'm a college student only about 50 miles from home so there won't be any long travels made in the car. I know to check on the EGR and see if the battery has been replaced. Anything else I should ask about or just dump this idea altogether?
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I have one with 240k and two people thought I bought a new car in the last week. Its amazing what a wash job and a little leftover Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit can do. The paint is solid as is the body, interior and suspension. It has had a battery, an egr cooler changeout and a brake booster (brake by wire system - also a big job). Original brakes and the tires usually get 90k miles per set. The car has easily saved me over $10k in gas but I have put at least 2/3 of that back into repairs.

    In your case, I would plan on doing the battery possibly in the next year (currently $2250 for new Toyota - highly recommended over "refurb") and egr cooler now ($800 at dealer - expensive parts and hard to access). You may also need the brake booster system at some point (another $2500 at dealer).

    I honestly believe its worth less than $7k with $3k-$5k worth of "maintenance" repairs due soon. The car has a reputation as an oil burner in its old age and has less than optimum crash test results on the front driver's side. If it drives great and you can get it for $5k, go for it... if you really like it.
     
    #2 rjparker, Jun 23, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2020
    Tim Jones likes this.
  3. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Jul 17, 2018
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    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
    No...... get a non hybrid used car. To many things could go wrong that are expensive.
     
  4. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2015
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    Location:
    Maine
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    If you drive less than 20K miles/year a hybrid doesn't really make financial sense -- and given the current price of gas, 20K is probably too low. Even then, I wouldn't recommend it for a college student.

    A 2008 or 2009 with a new (not reconditioned or rebuilt) battery might be a good candidate... if it were well maintained.
     
    Tim Jones likes this.