Need Advice: Priced too low? _2008_Pkg._#6_82k_ODO_for_$11.9k________ ( lots of details )

Greetings PriusChat,

I’m a first time car buyer who has been doing research for a GenII Prius for the past 6 weeks.

I’ve found a 2008 Prius Touring Package #6 Leather, nav, backup cam etc.) I have verified 16in 7 spoke wheels and pink/red striped shocks.

ODO:....................................... 82,400 miles
List Price:.................................$11,994 ( Advertised as reduced ) ( Internet Price )
Car Sticker Price:....................$13,991 ( As seen in Photo )

BOOK VALUES:
KBB Value - Dealer Retail:......$13,660
Edmunds - Clean:....................$13,738
Edmunds - Avg:.......................$11,169
Edmunds - Rough…………....…$ 9,366
NADA Clean Retail:.................$12,550

See free CarFax Available with the listing:
…...Originally Sold in CA
…...1st Owner ( Female ) 5.5 years
......2nd Owner ( ? ) 1 month

…...Service all done at Toyota Dealer 5k 10k 15k 20k etc.
…...Sold at ~78k ODO
…...Sent back to shop for maintenance
….. Just recently back on the market.
…...Completed floor mat recall……………......05/2010
…...Complete Steering Rod recall…………....03/2013
…...Replaced 12V battery on……………….......04/2013
…...Front Brakes replaced on……………........10/2013
….. Front Brakes at 9mm………………..….......02/2014
……Rear Brakes at 3mm………………..…........02/2014
……Sold by owner on…………………….….........03/2014
……First time for sale by dealer…………….......04/201
……75kMaintenance performed by dealer….04/2014 ( alignment, oil + filter, cabin air filter )
……Sold to second owner, drives out of lot...04/ 14 / 2014
.......second owner's loan falls through..........
.......dealer reclaims the car............................05/ 20 / 2014
.......Dealer reports WASHING/DETAILING..05/ 20 / 2014
……Back on market for sale………………...05/ 22 / 2014


Toyota Recall Check………. .No open recalls
NCIB Check………………….Never been stolen, never been totalled
NHTSA Check……………….No deactivated airbags
NMVTIS Check……………...Confirms one owner...no salvage...no issues

** See Below Post for updated discoveries. **

( 1 ) What should I look out / listen for in the 2nd test drive?

( 2 ) If you were buying, is the ODO too high?

( 3 ) Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.


I PLAN TO….
1) Check for 195/55R16 on the sidewall if it is actually a touring.. Yes
2) Check for pink and red stripes with blue springs on the rear shocks. Yes, but strips were painted?
3) Ask for all the service records ( already seen records on Toyota owner’s site)
4) TechStream CODES
5) Hybrid Battery Status
6) Engine water pump leak ( pink crust )
7) Verify that there are 2 key fobs Only one.
8) Ask about the sudden increase in mileage. 2nd owner Updated above.

MY DRIVER INFO:
Location…………………...CALIFORNIA
Budget for Car:....................$ 12,000 (Cash) ~11k final negotiated price before sales tax
Budget for Insurance:......... $ 1440 / year ( Male, Good Driver, 1pt. non lethal accident )
Budget for repairs/ misc:.... $ 2k -3k / year ( emergency savings )

…..I plan on picking up DIY auto skills to do some of the maintenance myself to offset parts.
…..I have a skilled family mechanic who is already willing to inspect cars on site with me.
......He actually services Toyota cars at his autoshop.
…..I plan to save money by having most of any repair work done by my family mechanic.
…..I’m aware of a slightly lower mileage for the Touring.
…..I’m a very conservative driver in terms of driving habits.


I have test drive once and visually inspected with my mechanic. I will keep everyone updated as soon as I can.

Thanks to everyone in advance for your help.

 

Yes. That's the fishy part.

Based on the mileage on the CarFax, the Car was sold and while under the care of the dealer, the car gained 3960 miles in 48 Days. * see attached image

* The distance from owner's city and the current dealer's city is 25 miles one way.
* The typical 5 month mileage of the previous owner was ~1000, making her a typical 12k commuter. So no issues there.


Any ideas how this could have happened?

 

Ok, thanks Patrick. I'm probably overthinking things. I will do that. I appreciate the advice.

 

UPDATE: I got in touch with the dealer.

( 1 ) Apparently they sold the car on 04/02 to a 2nd owner who drove it off the lot and used it for a month. Thus explaining the sudden increase in miles.

The 2nd owner could not prove financial capability so the dealer had to confiscate the car and sent it in for reconditioning 05/20.

( 2 ) The dealer has verified the Touring voa email and will allow me to inspect the original invoice and rear shocks.

( 3 ) First OTD quote is:

Vehicle Selling Price:

$11,994.00​

Sales Tax (estimate): +

$1,073.19​

Tire/Battery/MVWEA: +

$8.75​

Tag/Registration Fees (estimate): +

$162.00​

Flat Add/County Fee: +

$20.00​

Electronic Filing: +

$29.00​

Smog Abatement Fee: +

$20.00​

Documentation Fee: +

$80.00​

Balance Due (estimate):

$13,386.94​

Any one think it can go lower if I mention that the car can no longer be claimed as a "1-owner" vehicle?
* Will inspect later today and update.

Thanks to everyone in advance for reading.

 

UPDATE! Thank you to everyone for reading and your support.

I test drove the car and had a family mechanic check the car.
No evidence of any major accidents which matches the records.

However there are a list of discoveries:

( 1 ) The dealer still has to prove to me that they didn't just reclaim the car from the 2nd owner, wash it and then just throw it back onto the lot.

( 2 ) There is no record of the transmission fluid ever being replaced. In fact the service record for the 30k was either never done, or done at another autobody shop and I just don't have access to records of it.

The fluid was black. Note the car is approaching 90k.

( 3 ) The front Windshield was replaced with non-OEM ( Safelite SGC M-48 DOT65 ASI E )

( 4 ) Service Records for 30K and 50k are missing from dealer records.

( 5 ) Service for 35k 40k 65k were late.

( 6 ) While driving on highway, the dash board was rattling.
Service records indicate the 1st owner asked this to be fixed two times. Seems like the fixes weren't permanent?

~|~RATTLE COMING FROM BOTTOM OF ""A"" PILLAR RUBBING

AGAINST DASH. ~|~INSULATED TRIM FROM DASH WITH FORM TAPE.

( 7 ) The 2nd Key Fob is missing and I need to verify if it is a "dumb" black logo key or a SKS silver key on my next trip as well as a physical key for battery failures.

 

Thanks Patrick, I was actually just about to go research that. You saved me some time.

 

Thanks for the advice fatdawg and N.J.Prius