Might buy 2004 Prius with Hymotion L5 pre-installed

... but I am hesitating because something just doesn't add up.

Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Specifically telling me what I can't piece together would be perfect, but giving your gut reaction of "buy it" or "pass" would also be very helpful.

The Prius in question has 165,000 Km (102,000 miles) on the odometer, and has an L5 Hymotion pack installed. The dealership tells me it was a single owner who bought the car in December of 2004, and he was a bit eccentric. For a used Prius, is 165k on the odometer too much? (My 2002 Corolla had 86,000 Km on it when I bought it.)

If the previous owner got the car in late 2004, the Hymotion pack wasn't even available until mid 2008. Assuming he got his pack early, it would mean he only had the L5 installed for a year and a half maximum before trading this Prius in for a newer 2010 gen3 model. Why give up a PHEV?.. red flag?

The car has no collisions in its history, but it did have a scratch (maybe a gouge) on the front driver side. For the life of me I couldn't see where it would have been, the work done was very professional. I checked all the lines I could find and they all matched up exactly. However, the car was completely repainted; not just the section where work was done... red flag?

The maintenance was all done at the Toyota dealership, and the maintenance was extensive. A page and a half of items, most were regular service (oil change, air filter, etc) but there were 3 instances of "check engine light" in the latter half of 2008; though nothing major since then. Still, having that much maintenance on paper raises my eyebrow... red flag?

Finally, and probably the biggest oddity, the price: $12,000 CDN. The price is downright cheap. Looking at other 2004 Priuses (Prii?) with the same mileage, they are about the same price. In fact, I see a few which are more expensive with just 10,000 Km less on the odometer. (for reference, an 04 Prius with 140k is about $13k, and 100k is $15k) It's as if the dealership is not counting the value of the Hymotion pack... what the hell?

I did a 3 hour test drive with the thing (yes, I got lost ) and it felt like a good ride. Nothing stuck out like a sore thumb, everything worked as advertised. Drove for about 5 minutes straight on EV only (man is that cool) which only ended because I got on the highway.

So my thinking is one of the following:

1. I won the Karma lottery
2. The dealership is unaware of a major problem which was been dealt with off-title
3. The dealership is aware, but hiding this theoretical issue
4. The dealership doesn't factor in the value of the Hymotion into the price; using it as a sales incentive instead

The sales guy I spoke with knows that the pack is worth $8k (according to the previous owner), so if that is the case, why are they selling it for only $12k?

I am regularly a cautious person, but I do regret missing some opportunities. With my finances right now, I can afford the car and pay it off within two years, but it will mean a tighter budget. My original plan was to buy a less expensive gas-sipper like an Echo hatchback... but can you really pass this deal up?

It's a big risk; do you think it's worth the potential rewards?
Thanks in advance for your feedback and insight.

 

Well, as you can tell by my avatar, I bought the car!

Only put about 425Km on it since the purchase date, and the trip home from the dealership was all highway and zero L5 charge for over an hour... so I'm currently sitting at 3.1L/100Km (~76mpg) and I am very happy!
Averaging about 2L/100Km on the trip to work, and 1.5L/100Km on the trip home again!

I'm going to be starting a new thread in a few hours (or days) with some questions for which I haven't been able to find answers. If you can help out a new PHEV owner, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks to those who posted their thoughts and advice!