Used Cars: 2012 Camry Hybrid question

Question
Hi Shane,

I'm considering buying a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE from an owner.  I pulled the carfax and its clean with no accidents, only one owner, but it has 82,000 miles on it.  He's selling it to me for 14k.  I'm getting conflicting opinions from family and friends about buying it or not.  Some say its too many miles and some say its a Toyota and will last a long time without problems.
I would like your opinion if its a good deal or stay away?
I'm thinking about taking it to get a full inspection at Firestone before I buy it.  Is that a good idea?

Thanks for your time and opinion.

Dan.

Answer
Hi Dan, Thanks for the question.  I would strongly encourage you to have the car inspected. Keep in mind that any vehicle with 70-80k miles should need some kind of maintenance so don't be to alarmed if they finds some minor things.  Any good repair shop will find some issues on any 4 year old car.  The miles are not to bad if you consider the fact that a 2012 vehicle very well may have been purchased in 2011.  As weird as it sounds a 2012 car can be 4 years old already, so 82k over 4 years is only 20k a year and that's pretty consistent by todays standards.  No one should tell you that Toyotas or any brand for that matter will last without problems, they are all machines and will need repairs eventually. The question is what repairs certain cars known for and are you willing to deal with them when they happen. The biggest question with any Hybrid are the battery life expectancy.  Toyota has a 8yr\100k mile battery warranty and if the car has CA emissions that warranty jumps up to 10yr/150k. The battery can be expensive to replace($3000-4000)but luckily they are pretty dependable, I have not seen many fail in the first 10 years. As far as if this is a deal or not, Its impossible for me to help you make an offer without seeing the car but I can tell you that the "wholesale" price (what dealers buy cars for at auction) is about $11800-$12000. Retail value appears to be in the $15000+ range.  That being said I don't think $14000 is a bad price. Of course if the car is overly dirty or needs repairs such as tires, brakes, cracked windshield or has any body damage you should adjust your offer down from there.   
Overall I would say this looks like a fair price on a historically dependable car.
Thanks again for your question and I hope I have been a help to you.
Take Care,  Shane