[David]

Hey Prius Team!
Thanks for creating this awesome forum and meeting the wonderful people here. I am looking to get a 2017 Toyota Prius vehicle and I am looking to the community to check if there is anything I should be looking out for while doing my inspection. Is this car worth buying?

Things I will be looking out for are
coolant or oil leads
Weird noises coming from the engine
check the transmission for slips and jolt
verify all the electronics are working properly

The asking price is $18,900 and it has 50,000 miles with a Salvage Title.

If you guys have any suggestions on what to check.
Looking forward to joining this family, thanks

UPDATE After everyone's insightful comments I decided to do my due diligence before spending so much money especially after concerns raised here. I requested the VIN number from the owner and started by searching on Detailed Vehicle History Report For any Vehicle - 100% Accurate for any historical records that could shine light into its past. To my surprise, I saw photos after entering the VIN number so my curiosity piqued and I took a bite. Turns out a $15.00 report saved me $thousand and some change to be exact. I couldn’t have been happier overall and will take car buying a lot more cautiously after this close experience.

Here is the car report: https://app.detailedvehiclehistory.com/report/vin/JTDKARFP7H3053593

 

[Easy Rider]

Personally, I would not touch anything with a salvage title unless I could find out exactly what was done to it AND the asking price was way below average retail.
And you absolutely should NOT do it either without having a Toyota dealer do a full inspection on it.
For instance: YOU are not qualified to assess engine noises because they are different with a hybrid.
Same thing for the "transmission" because it is not anything like a conventional transmission.

 

[David]

Personally, I would not touch anything with a salvage title unless I could find out exactly what was done to it AND the asking price was way below average retail.
And you absolutely should NOT do it either without having a Toyota dealer do a full inspection on it.
For instance: YOU are not qualified to assess engine noises because they are different with a hybrid.
Same thing for the "transmission" because it is not anything like a conventional transmission.

thank for your suggestion, I'm thinking of bringing the mechanic with me to inspect the car, but before I go the seller I will run a car report first, to see if this car is worth looking at.

 

[Easy Rider]

The "mechanic" needs to have the car in his shop to test things.
A mechanic without a real shop is not a good idea to assess a hybrid.

 

[David]

After everyone's insightful comments I decided to do my due diligence before spending so much money especially after concerns raised here. I requested the VIN number from the owner and started by searching on Detailed Vehicle History Report For any Vehicle - 100% Accurate for any historical records that could shine light into its past. To my surprise, I saw photos after entering the VIN number so my curiosity piqued and I took a bite. Turns out a $15.00 report saved me $thousand and some change to be exact. I couldn’t have been happier overall and will take car buying a lot more cautiously after this close experience.

Here is the car report: Get Instant Vehicle History Report

 

[Easy Rider]

Good job.
Pretty severe damage.
That doesn't mean that NOBODY should buy it but the odds are that "little" stuff will still keep showing up for a long time.
So my guess is that a fair price might be $1000 OFF of bluebook WHOLESALE price.
I personally wouldn't touch it.

 

[David]

Good job.
Pretty severe damage.
That doesn't mean that NOBODY should buy it but the odds are that "little" stuff will still keep showing up for a long time.
So my guess is that a fair price might be $1000 OFF of bluebook WHOLESALE price.
I personally wouldn't touch it.

Yes you're right, I would rather get a clean title, knowing that when I resell it, it would go faster and doesn't loose the value much.
Thank for you suggestion.