I want buy a Prius but need some help/suggestions

Yep, that looks like a Three. It also looks like it's missing its wheel covers though, but some people prefer that look.

32,000 miles is definitely below average for the age. If the service history checks out on that car it might be a good buy even at $8500. Did you get the VIN? You can check on Toyota's website for free if the car has been serviced by a Toyota dealer.

EDIT: Found it on Craigslist. Salvage title. I'd stay the heck away from that but that's my own personal preference.

 

...yes, but I was thinking it could be a rebuilt as well. Slightly embarrassed.

Go here: Track Your Service Records with Your Toyota Owners Account Make an account and just pop in the VIN. Or spend the money on the CARFAX in case the Salvage title was because of an accident. But since you are going to buy it anyway, congrats!

 

Well... twhen u turn off the car it goes into park by itself, its good to have it as a routine to click the park button, but its nothing to freak out about if u forget to click it before turning it off.

 

Congrats. If there's a car to buy as a salvage, it would be the Prius. Small fender benders seem to have the insurance companies declare them as totaled. Keep us updated on how the car works out for you.

 

Thats for sure, look at how my car looked like before i bought it...




Abselutely horrible... Rear bumper was changed, i got a new front bumper waiting to be painted, tail lights changeed, fog light replaced, wheels r thrown away... it even had 2 differetn colors of black on the mirrorhousings... like Wth... and now it looks like this. I get depressed looking at how the previous owner abused it, what an idiot.

 

The beeping sound can be reconfigured at a Toyota dealer or by using the Carista OBD device + mobile app. When reconfigured it only beeps once when you shift into reverse.

As for the driving modes, I personally have gotten my best fuel economy just leaving the car in normal and letting the computer decide when to switch between electric and gasoline. "EV" mode is best engaged when you just need to go a super-short distance, for example moving your car in your driveway or moving to a different parking space nearby. "Eco" mode adjusts the throttle response on the low end to give you more control of your power level in around-town driving, and it reduces the performance of the Automatic A/C mode. "Power" mode adjusts the response in the other direction, making it touchy but useful for highway merges with a short distance before the lane goes away.

 

Normal mode is when none of the other modes are engaged. When you engage one of the driving modes (EV, Eco, Power) a little light will illuminate right above the speedometer. Press the mode button once, it's on, press it again, it's off. You can switch between them, turn them off, etc on the fly, but they take a few seconds to engage / disengage and you can only engage EV mode under certain circumstances.

Take some time and read that owner's manual! Especially since you're coming from a drastically different vehicle.

Your car is a third-generation, model years 2010-2015. First-gen is 2000-2003 in the United States, second-gen is 2004-2009, and the current fourth-gen has been on sale since 2016.

 

I'd also do some of the obvious stuff. Look carefully at the interior for wear, listen intently to the engine when cold and hot, look at the color of the oil/brake fluid/coolant, test everything in reach of the driver. Check the resting voltage of the 12-volt battery with a voltmeter or see if you can find the diagnostics tricks to report it on the dash. That may eliminate some of your options.

 

ECO mode seems to me to have a negative effect, it makes me use more petrol... i think its because it forces the engine to start and stop all the time while in Normal mode its either on or off and not switching between both. The modes only changes the throttle response tho, nothing more. Or well.. power mode keeps the petrol engine on standby if u drive over like 40kph, in normal its not on standby before u reach like 80kph, its not constantly on as many people here have said. I find normal to be the best mode, then i use power mode for when im going on the on ramps and stuff.

Also one thing i do all the time, when i reach the speed limit, lets say thats 60kph, i let go of the throttle, cause that turns off the petrol engine, then i push it halfway in, cause then it keeps the petrol engine off and let the electric motor hold the speed limit. The blue bar i have made here is only the electric motor, and the red is electric motor and petrol engine. It moves constantly and shows u how hard u press the throttle. Sometimes it will force keep the engine on tho, because it needs to charge.

 

I dont understand why he would say that tho? Its not dangerous at all to flat out the throttle, the car can go flat out for aslong as u need it to. So i dont see why he would say that, it acts pretty much like a normal car.
Only thing thats not good for the prius is to have the engine constantly on for hours and hours, cause that wears out the planetary gear. But thats nothing to think about when u r just accelerating.

 

You'll lose any remaining Toyota powertrain warranty. Sorry to rain on your parade. Some good news is the HV battery might still be covered under the emissions warranty.

My vehicle has a "Salvage" title. Is the New Vehicle Limited Warranty still valid?