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Buying used 2011@173k/25 Service Records/$9k Thoughts?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Itomok, Aug 3, 2015.

  1. Itomok

    Itomok New Member

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    Hello, new to the forum and hoping an upcoming buying decision leads to me being a regular here. I currently drive multiple 2012/III's from my jobs fleet and while I initially hated them they have grown tremendously on me to the point I'm ready to shell out.

    My current DD is a 99 Ford Taurus. I'm looking at roughly $3800-$4200 in repairs to continue driving it another year with my own labor which is why now seems like a good time to upgrade.

    My desired price range is $9k-$11k, though I could afford up to $15k provided HV/transaxle/inverter doesn't come up within a year, meaning I would be gambling on a model with 60-75k miles. I will be putting around 2-4k down and financing the rest.

    I drive around 3200-4500 miles a year so I am not purchasing because of fuel economy. This is how many miles I would continue putting on until I had enough saved to replace HV/transaxle/inverter simultaneously.

    The one choice in particular I would like to hear the communities opinion on is a 1 owner, 2011 IV with 173k miles. Interior is like new and exterior only has the basic paint chips on the front end. There are 25 service records on file at Toyota Owners with services roughly every 1.5 months/5-6k miles at the same dealership everytime(NOT THE ONE IT'S BEING SOLD AT, within 100 miles though). The records are mostly for tires being aired/repaired/replaced/rotated with some filters being replaced.

    The only record that stood out to me was "REFLASH MOTOR GENERATOR & POWER MANAGEMENT ECU-PRIUS" at 122k. Does this have something to do with adjusting parameters for fuel economy due to decreasing HV cycles/capacity?

    Every other record or so shows "PERFORMED SERVICE", or every 10k miles essentially. Is this where oil/filters are changed? Specifically transaxle? Only 1 other listing possibly related is PERFORMED DRAIN AND FILL at 50k.

    Also, I see that anyone can add records to the VIN, choosing date/mileage. Although this dealership is fairly reputable is it possible they could have forged records to make it seem as if it was well maintained?

    I look forward to all thumbs ups and downs or any gotchas in-between!
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    $9000 is a lot of money for a car with 173k miles
     
  3. Itomok

    Itomok New Member

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    I have no doubt which is why I was wondering if the level of maintenance and condition is a good enough indicator that it would be worth keeping for another 5-8 years after expecting to do major replacements within a year. I could buy another clunker with the down payment but that's what I've been doing for the last 15 years and has ultimately kept me perpetually broke.

    I've always driven lower mileage vehicles ranging 80-140k miles but its the age of components(90-00 years) hitting my pockets rather than high mileage. I certainly don't want to repeat the pattern if high mileage on a newer vehicle results in the same expenses.

    My current vehicle is going to evaporate within the next month or so if I don't blow my down payment on repairs to last another year, otherwise I would without question wait another 4-5 months and go into the $15k range for lower mileage. Quite the predicament.
     
  4. sillylilwabbit

    sillylilwabbit Active Member

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    If I were you, I wouldn't even buy a Prius, especially with the insane mileage.

    You should buy a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic since you only drive 3 to 4k per year. The Prius is not worth the premium you are going to pay in your situation.




    iPhone ?
     
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  5. Itomok

    Itomok New Member

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    A 2010+ 100k corolla is roughly $12k with civics being a little higher, unless I went with say an 02-05 for around $6-7k with 120k+ miles. I really don't want to half finance-half out of pocket for some repairs. I should mention I am going through less than certified dealers with in house financing being that my credit history is lacking, though nothing bad. My income is only 2,600/mo which I have little room to work with while I'm supporting my disabled mother for the next 6-8 months or so, which is why I really want something dependable.

    My main attractant to the Prius is its low maintenance. We drive the company cars pretty ridiculously. We usually have 2-3 of the 2013/2014 Sentra in the shop in any given month for transmission/ecm failures at as low as 20-80k miles while we send at most 3-4 140k+ prius to the shop for headlights or wiper motors in the same month.

    I would like to do some cross country next year as well as freelancing onsite computer repair so I would like to go with lower miles to give me more headroom over the next few years which is why I'm still considering taking on the upper limit of what I could afford being $15k.

    One of the holdouts for me on a lower mileage(60-75k)/higher priced prius that I've checked out through various dealers is that many of service records are either not there or shows questionable repair rejections or large time lapses after check engine lights were reported but with no details about the issue indicating to me they were sold once the problem arose and potentially handled by non certified shade tree mechanic.

    So the issue I'm wrangling with is - do I go with high mileage that was well maintained for a cheaper price, or take my chances with questionable servicing and hope I don't run into the same expenses that could be expected at 175k much earlier on all while having already paid for the cost of those being that it was lower mileage and more expensive. I have been leaning towards the latter for the last few weeks.
     
  6. CollinPark

    CollinPark Junior Member

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    I agree that a prius with 175k miles for 9000 is highly overpriced
    having said that, how the car was utilized also determines the quality such that a prius with 50k miles may be in a worse shape than a prius with 175k. and from what I gather you know your car so you'll do your due diligence I am sure.
    However, you should also consider the warranty,
    the hybrid battery is covered for the first 8 years or the first 100k miles.
    If you bought that 175k prius for 9000, you'll be on your own if the battery broke down. (cost 1000-4000 to recondition/repair) other parts will start requiring regular maintenance too.

    in terms of financing... I looked into that option once, they offered great rates (we got a quote as low as 1.5% apr) but the catch was that we would need to pay for premium insurance (comprehensive coverage, full tort and other premiums that I didn't really care for) to protect their asset [required by the lender]. we decided that it made no sense to pay an extra 100-200/mo which adds up pretty quickly over the years (200 extra/month over 12 months is 2400 = 1/6 the price of your car.. do it for 5 years of financing and you'd be down $12,000).

    I'm currently in the process of purchasing a 2013 ex-rental prius for 12200 (it's usually ~13500 but I managed to get a super slick deal by checking the website every 3 hours like a hound and also found a 100$ online coupon which worked), it's got 55k miles but comes with a 12 month 12k miles powertrain warranty backed by hertz, still got some powertrain warranty on it from the toyota factory not to mention the hybrid warranty.
    exterior and interior checks out and a toyota dealership gave us a clean bill of health (par 2 tires which need replacing, hertz have offered to replace them for us if we can get written proof from a third party).

    I think you should look around the market and find a better deal than the 9000 (unless you're sure it's the one/you're in a rush to get a car).
    kbb is great at giving guideline for the price of the car (they price the 2011 prius IV at 7500 if it's from a private party)
    I usually dont even bite unless it's at the lower price end of the spectrum (since tax registration and documentation will add more to the costs)

    the ecu flash is probably the prius recall service to reprogram the ECU to stop the prii from acting strangely
    some owners keep a detailed receipt history,
    regardless of whether you're buying from a dealer/private owner you should ask them about anything which raises red flags.

    I know for a fact that you can pick up great vehicles for $15,000, the best I've seen was a 2014 prius trim five with 21,000 miles from enterprise used cars for 14,200.
    2011+ Ford fiesta/focus are also another great option. they're quite compact but drive beautifully (more fun to drive than a prius) and have ~33mpg

    I have a few tips for sniffing out a good deal for cars, message me if you like
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! at that mileage, your biggest issues will be hybrid battery, engine oil burning and possible tranny issues. along with the myriad smaller issues all high mileage cars deal with. if 9k allows you to take care of any or all of those potential repairs, and it's the best deal you can find, go for it. all the best!(y)
     
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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  10. CollinPark

    CollinPark Junior Member

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    Doesn't have to be a rental,
    There are plenty of cars sitting in dealerships with clean carfax 2011-14 40k-75k miles costing ~10k-15k

    if OP averages ~5k a year, in order to optimize pay/gain he should realistically look for a car which has the 8 year hybrid battery warranty expire at a similar time that the 100k mileage is reached, by which time he should either try to trade up or sell to minimize depreciation.

    The quality of a rental car is largely varied so i agree it's not for everyone, research and preparation is essential.

    I for one believe ex rentals are not all bad. I'm taking what i believe to be a minimalized risk in hopes of saving ~$3,000. It may end up backfiring on me with higher costs down the road, but I'm in my early 20's and this is my first car so if it happens i'll take it as a lesson learned.
    I highly doubt every rental car is abused like that.

    If you think about it, it's most likely that the users will abuse "economy" vehicles that the rentals offer for $26, i don't see too many hooligans shelling out $60 a day to mess with a prius which has worse acceleration, no clutch, can't do doughnuts etc. what would be their motivation of spending more money for less fun?

    as a side note, there are more and more people starting to rent out their own vehicles through car share programs, so "one owner" may not end up being what you think it is, 173k miles over 4.5 years averages 43k miles/year. you should interpret that as you see fit.
     
  11. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    After reading another thread, I checked into what was available from a national rental agency. I found several 2013 & 14 corolla's for sale locally from them in the $12-13k range with only 30k miles. They come with a 12mth/12k bumper to bumper warranty and the remaining factory drivetrain warranty.

    FWIW
     
  12. Snow

    Snow Member

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    I would say shoot for an older Corolla. My girlfriend just bought a 2007 Corolla with 95k for $7000. Corolla's are the best bargain in my area since there are so many of them and they will last forever.