2012 Prius C TWO, 1-owner with 170k miles with fantastic service history for $7.5k, good deal?

sounds like a great deal! how often were the oil changes?

just be prepared for possible multi thousand dollar repairs, like any older hybrid

 

Use Dr. Prius App to do a battery life expectancy test.

 

In my opinion: NO.

While my family has had 4 C's now, none of which needed major work...............
None of them were that old or with that many miles and I think you would be entering a "high maintenance" point in it's life.

The electric door actuators are a high failure item. About $600 each for the dealer to replace.

 

Well then WHY did you ask ????

Please come back every 6 months or so and let us know what has failed.

The oil lubricated parts of the engine are NOT high failure items........but there is a limit.
170K is a LOT of miles.

 

So.....you waited less than 24 hours to make up your mind, assisted by almost NO input.

If you are serious about the original request, you need to wait AT LEAST a week until some folks with C experience in the age and mileage range of the vehicle in question speak up and give you some valuable information.

So far you have........nothing that supports your decision.

 

All the best! One original owner and lengthy routine service records is encouraging. These are also relatively easy cars for learning to do some of your own repairs and maintenance (like oil changes) if you want to save money going forward.

Just prepare your budget for a few major repairs, like a potential hybrid battery battery replacement down the line. This is a great battery option most can install themselves. But these are generally very reliable vehicles capable of lasting for hundreds of thousands of miles.

 

Sure. Most anything is. IF you keep pouring money into it.
I think your "hundreds of thousands of miles" is a bit of a stretch.

 

Is “Toyota” a dealership, and the seller? I’d skip the inspection; they’d probably ignore anything that might mess up the sale, and push you on superfluous extras.

 

I wouldn't expect much remaining battery life (time) for a 2012. You might get lucky, it happens.

The c was the second most reliable car in America during that time period. They really shine from a mechanical standpoint. But the batteries have a finite lifetime and the calendar says this one shouldn't last much longer.

I suggest you ask Toyota to give you an estimate for a hybrid battery replacement, just so you have a number to refer to. It could be next week, could be 4-5 years away.

I don't put much faith in the battery evaluations done by the phone apps, but this is mostly due to my lack of direct experience with the apps. Someone else can coach you there.

The maintenance record looks pretty good to me.

Apart from that it's normal hi-miles car checks:

How badly beaten is the driver's seat? How many kids born in the back? Suspension, brakes & bearings? Put the HVAC through its paces, air conditioning season is coming and that's an expensive subsystem. The heater isn't much cheaper. Tire tread & date codes? Does it come with all 3 keys? Headrests, floormats? Tried it at night, headlights OK?

 

Hey mate, If you like the car and are happy with the deal...............BUY IT [forget all the comments/ criticism here]
Your first question was originally pertaining to Value [which is actually the "fear of regret"]

Once you get your bum into the seat of one of these little wonders you will start reaping the benefits of a relatively trouble free car.

Just a note to all the "Naysayers"
If you pay too much for a car .....You risk losing a bit of Money
But If you pay too little for a car .....You risk losing the lot!

My specific circumstances were , I wanted a sporty little modern hatchback for my wife. And I spied one in a carpark and did a bit of research.
I found one in a nearby city for a reasonable price [2016 Aqua L with 79,000kms] that had just arrived on the yard.
The dealer was not negotiable [which is a difficult concept for me because I'm an ex-car dealer]

So I just "rolled over and played dead" and bought the damn thing and never regretted it since. The only issue I've had was 2 of the cheap Toyo LRR tires that were getting oval shaped [after 16,000 kms of driving] so I replaced the whole set . And I kept the other 2 tires for my 8 x 4 trailer.

With hindsight It was a good decision because the car market turned to shit. I made a decision on the spot without a second thought
The car has been a hassle free ,don't think/worry about it "keeper" [ And I am somebody that normally sells a car after a couple of weeks]

I use it more than my wife


I hope to see you back on this forum ......Proud of your new acquisition [and partaking in some of the discussions]

 

His traction battery test came in at 82.06% remaining . The screen shot of the test is further up in this thread.

 

There’s a big difference between 76,000km and 170,000 miles

 

On a Toyota, It is usually the price.
And some unscrupulous people can alter the mileage and the average pundit would never know [new shocks /pedal rubbers etc help]
This can be the risk for these type of cars....because they attract Non-Car people.

If you measure the Prius/Aqua as having a life expectancy of 400,000 miles [which is very realistic]
The high mileage car has traveled 42.5% of its life expectancy and the other less.

If the $7500 asking price depreciated to $2500 at 400,000 miles it would've only depreciated 2.9 cents per mile
If it was $25000 when brand new, and depreciated to $2500 at 400,000 miles it would've depreciated more than 5.6 cents per mile
[they were probably more expensive than $25k when new]

This ^^^^ is excluding running costs.