Buying advice needed for 2015 Prius v with bad engine.

Hello,
I am looking for advice on possibly buying a 2015 Prius v, grade 4 with a bad head gasket and damaged passenger side front fender. I have heard that the best Prius v's are from 2015 to 2017. The VIN is JTDZN3EU6FJ030287.
The mileage is 127,000 miles, there is coolant in the oil and there is passenger side front fender damage which affects the bumper. The damage is relatively minor and the car can probably be driven as it is, but I would fix that as well. The father is selling his daughter's car. He said he made sure she did the oil changes every 3000 miles and that there were no other problems or damage. He also mentioned that they are not the original owners. He's asking $3500 for the car, as is.
One big problem is that I am about 100 miles from the car. If I buy it, I am thinking about having the car towed by AAA to a local hybrid repair shop for an engine replacement. That's about as far as I've got.
As far as engines go, am I better off replacing the engine head gasket or replacing the engine with a used one from 2015 to 2017? Doing a little research, I can get a used Prius v engine from the Japan market for about $1200.00. I suspect a hybrid repair shop would want to get a used engine they would order (and markup) that they would guarantee. Now that I think about it, maybe a new engine. I've never owned a Prius before so I'm learning as I go. All of my cars are from the last century, so I wanted to get something newer with much better gas mileage that I can take on the road.
Suggestions, advice and real world cost information would be appreciated. Thank you all very much, Thomas

 

Hi Everyone,
I read rjparker's post yesterday and replied to that, but I missed the part where it said "NOT to reply to this post, but to go to Priuschat and reply". That's embarrassing, so sorry about that. Anyway, I went back and reread the seller's post which I'm putting here:
"Selling this 2015 Prius V Gen 5 wagon. Our daughter had a double shot of bad luck. First, she had a fender bender which damaged the front right quarter panel, and then while waiting to get the damage repaired the engine blew its head gasket. This obviously is a project car for someone. I priced out rebuilding and replacing the engine but I just don’t have time to deal with all of it. Message me and I can give you the details. The interior is in very good condition. The car runs and is drivable but I don’t recommend driving it very far. It could also use a nice wax job. Additionally, we discovered through CarFax that there is a potential rollback of the odometer which was not disclosed to my daughter when she bought it a few years ago. We are selling as is and will create a bill of sale stating that the car cannot pass smog at this time and is not the actual mileage. If someone has the skills and/or connections to repair it, I think you could end up with a nice car for well below it’s value. Our daughter has the title but we will have it on Monday June 24th."
Upon rereading this information, the thing that caught my eye was the Carfax odometer rollback issue. At the very top of their listing, they described their Prius v as having 200,000 miles. A picture of the odometer reading shows it as having 125709 miles. I don't know a lot about modern cars, but I would have thought that it was a very difficult procedure, if not almost impossible to roll back the odometer. Shows how much I know. So, apparently the daughter bought the car a few years ago with a lot less than the 200000 miles the seller is guessing this car really has. Mendel Leisk mentioned that bad head gaskets seem to happen in the 150k - 200k mile range. Mendel seems to really know his stuff. And that's why I'm here.
PriusChat member, rjparker suggested visiting Hybrid Pitstop in Buena Park, which is a bit of a drive, but there's a well-reviewed hybrid repair shop about 3 miles from me called Electric Avenue in Silverlake. I would probably go there.
The seller seems to be an honorable person and has been upfront about the mileage discrepancy. I am a little leary of buying a car with a mileage discrepancy like the seller has mentioned so I went over to CARFAX and entered the VIN JTDZN3EU6FJ030287. It said, "Bad News! Odometer Fraud has been reported to CARFAX, get the CARFAX." I'm starting to see this as a real Red Flag kind of a deal. It might all work out, but on the other hand.... What do you all think? I'm starting to think the $3500 price would need to be a lot less for me to take a chance on an uninspected as-is car with much higher mileage.
I know about the battery life and what that entails, but can someone tell me about brake booster problems? Thank you all for your time answering my beginner questions. - Thomas

 

Bisco,
Thank you for your reply.
I am a very mechanical person and have done repairs on my cars for many years. It's just that all of my cars are much older. My newest car is a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder. Today's newer cars, especially hybrids are full of new technology so I was willing to use a shop to get the car sorted out with the intention of doing most, if not all the the repair/maintenance work myself.
In looking at cars in general, it appears that used car prices are falling and repossessions are way up. People are stretched thin financially and are having trouble with the basics like shelter, buying groceries and keeping the lights on. I may be able to get a good deal on a fully running car in great shape for a lower price than I would have paid a year ago. Maybe I should wait and see what the car market is like down the road a bit. - Thomas

 

rjparker, Thank you for the reply. This mileage rollback thing could be a much bigger deal than I thought to the point of making a Prius v ineligible for brake booster or battery warranty work. The good news is that I now know that it's easy to go to CARFAX and check the mileage on a possible Prius v purchase.

Also, thank you for the information about Hybrid Pit rebuilding their own engines. That's good to know.

 

Thank you Biomed01 for your advice. I'm learning a lot from you all. That's why I came here. As much as I like a good deal, the risk here can be many thousands of dollars. I will keep my eyes open for a running car (a 2015 to 2017 Prius v) in good shape with lower mileage. If I find a car that I like, the one thing I will do is pay for an inspection by people who know these cars inside and out. That would be money well spent.

 

Hello All,
Just a short note to say thanks to you all for your help and buying advice for this 2015 Prius v. I checked the listing the other day and noticed that it has been sold. I'm in no rush, but I think I'll keep my eyes peeled for a ready-to-go Prius v rather than a mechanic special with questionable mileage.