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To buy or not to buy?

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by newbe666, Mar 15, 2017.

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  1. newbe666

    newbe666 New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Hi there, newbie here.

    I have a 2011 white Prius I with 95,000 miles for sale at 8800 dollars at a local dealer. I am really interested in purchasing it. My wife has been crazy with getting a Prius for the past year. My main hesitation is not having service records for the car. I like to see that a car with that many miles was serviced properly. The sales man said it was a trade it at their main dealership and it was a local owner who took good care of it. It drove just fine and was in great condition overall, however I do not have x ray vision so I have no idea what is actually going on under the hood haha. I think I've been spending too much time on google because now I'm convinced when I drive off the lot the battery and transaxle are going to just blow up! Any input from Prius owners would be awesome! Thank you!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!
    plug the vin into the toyota owners website. it will show all dealer service. i think the salesman is full of it.
     
    newbe666 likes this.
  3. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Surprisingly, the Toyota Owners Site throws a complete blank service slate on some vehicles. Just looked up a 2012 v on which this was the case.
     
    newbe666 likes this.
  4. 2011RedPrius

    2011RedPrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2017
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    Location:
    NoVA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Interestingly enough I bought a 2011 with 86K for $8780. I was able to find some records on the Toyota website. To me, anytime you buy anything it is a risk. It is just that simple. I think there are things that can be done to help ease your worry, such as taking it to a mechanic that deals with hybrid engines and having the batteries tested. At the end of the day I fully admit I took a chance based on my peripheral review of the car and the reliability I read about on this forum. So far I am 2.5 weeks in and love it. I hope it turns out well for you either way.

    rp
     
    newbe666 likes this.
  5. newbe666

    newbe666 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2017
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Thank you everyone for all the help and insight!! The VIN did pull up on Toyota's website and it had a bunch of info on the car. We are going Saturday to pick the car up and bring it to the local Toyota dealership for a overall inspection before we purchase it. I tried to copy and paste the records below I deleted the dealers name, the only weird area is the no start and 12volt battery replacement on 9/02 and then the car was then traded in on 9/22. I'll see what the dealership says about that.

    09/02/2016 Dealer Toyota
    94,026
    NO START, MULTI POINT INSP.,
    "BEST" BATTERY


    05/06/2014 Dealer Toyota 58,934
    FREE STATE INSPECTION, OIL
    CHANGE, BATTERY FREE CHECK,
    27 POINT CHECK, ROTATE,
    CUSTOMER STATES CHECK FOR
    RECALL


    07/19/2013 Dealer Toyota 45,291
    OIL CHANGE, BATTERY FREE
    CHECK, 27 POINT CHECK,
    DIAGNOSTIC, AIR FILTER


    09/10/2012 Dealer Toyota 28,294
    27 POINT CHECK, BATTERY FREE
    CHECK, ROTATE, WE HAVE
    SCHEDULED YOUR NEXT APPO


    07/03/2012 Dealer Toyota 22,903
    27 POINT CHECK, BATTERY FREE
    CHECK, 20,000 MILE SYNTHETIC
    OIL CHANGE


    05/22/2012 Dealer Toyota 21,231
    STATE INSPECTION, 27 POINT
    CHECK, BATTERY FREE CHECK


    03/27/2012 Dealer Toyota 17,768
    27 POINT CHECK, BATTERY FREE
    CHECK, 15,000 MILE SYNTHETIC
    VEHICLE SE


    12/12/2011 Dealer Toyota 12,414
    BATTERY FREE CHECK, 27 POINT
    CHECK, 10,000 MILE SYNTHETIC
    OIL CHANGE


    08/29/2011 Dealer Toyota 6,870
    RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT, 5,000
    MILE SYNTHETIC VEHICLE SER, 27
    POINT CHECK, BATTERY FREE
    CHECK


    05/13/2011 Dealer Toyota 1
    PRE-DELIVERY SERVICE FOR USA
    INS
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    probably needed a new 12v, and they were ready for a trade in at that mileage.
     
  7. jscoot

    jscoot Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2017
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    4
    Location:
    PDX
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    if that's accurate, it's gone 36k miles without an oil change.
     
  8. newbe666

    newbe666 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2017
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Hey everyone, just wanted to update. We took the Prius to the dealership and everything checked out great! We ended up buying it and it is an amazing car! We have a car trip to Maine planned for May, we live in VA. Thank you all for the insight.
     
    jerrymildred and bisco like this.
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats! all the best.(y)
     
  10. 2011RedPrius

    2011RedPrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2017
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    Location:
    NoVA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Congrats! I just took mine to the Shenandoah over the weekend. Had a great time.

    rp