Once again Im in the market for a Prius, but this time I have a little extra $$ to upgrade. My past Prius 08' (New 4/08) loved it to the end of her, 06' (Used 12/11) High milage deal, owned it for month then sold it for couple grand more then I paid for it. Now Im once again looking and I can't decide between the two Gen's. I found a 2008' @ $12K (Fully loaded) with 45K miles and includes a carfax report and a book of maintance records. or 2011 @ $20K (package 4 leather, moonroof and lcd screen) with 55K miles, Delership with carfax report. Its a tough one to pick. Save $8K for a 5yr old Prius from a private seller or the 2yr old Prius from a delership with a carfax report.
It sounds like the carfax report is important to you. You can pull the carfax report on the private sellers vehicle with the vin or license plate #. I am trying to make a similar decision for myself on a purchase toward the end of the month.
i like the gen III, the hsi is great feedback, pkg IV is sweet, mpg's are a bit better, it's a bit larger, flying bridge is personal opinion. if you can handle the extra 8k, take them both for a good long drive. all the best!
I also think the gen 3 looks better too! I test drove a trim level 3 and loved the floating console and the hsi display.
