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Did I make Bad Decision ?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Laura Drew, May 16, 2019.

  1. Laura Drew

    Laura Drew Junior Member

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    Hi All,
    After many hours of research, and reading these forums I went to another state (where my daughter just graduated from college-Oregon) and I purchased her a 2010 Prius roman numeral 5 package.
    The craigslist said it was a V (not a wagon) with Technology package, and it had the solar roof package.
    I think I might have made a terrible mistake (deer in the headlights decision) and got scammed.
    I read somewhere that the V was not able to get the solar/moon roof. Is there any other indications that will tell me what trim package it is?
    I paid $8250 for it and it has 145,000 miles on it. Right before I bought it it made a noise on the second test drive and dealer determined it was shocks. I never saw a repair done so fast in my life but i do have all the receipts. I am terrified I made a mistake and there is not anything I can do about it. I am going to take it to Toyota and have it checked out (day late and a dollar short I know).
    the Vin number is JTDKN3DUXA0148439 - I did look on Toyota service records and there was not alot there. I do have Carfax and overall it seems clean, clean title (it was a repo) The carfax said it has Supercharger (not sure what that is) The carfax said heated steering wheel, Convenience package, Solar Roof Package, Sport Package.
    Someone give me some good news :)
    thanks Laura Drew
     
    #1 Laura Drew, May 16, 2019
    Last edited: May 16, 2019
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's probably fine. no noises on the drive home?
     
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I still have my 2010 brochure.

    Solar/moon roof is a package option on III and IV only, not on V.

    Advanced Technology Package (Dynamic radar cruise control, Pre-Collision System, Lake Keep Assist, Intelligent Parking Assist) is a package option on the V only. V also has LED headlamps and halogen foglamps, while the IV has regular halogen headlamps and no fog lights.

    V comes with 17 inch wheels (P215/45R17 tires), while IV comes with 15 inch wheels (P195/65R15 tires).

    V and IV have leather trimmed seats and steering wheel, heated front seats, power driver seat adjustment. Fabric unheated seats with manual adjusts means a III or less.

    V and IV have auto-dimming rear view mirror with HomeLink transceiver. III has a regular manual mirror.

    I don't see a Sport Package or heated steering wheel on any version.

    The lowercase-v wagon didn't exist until 2012.
     
    #4 fuzzy1, May 16, 2019
    Last edited: May 17, 2019
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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  6. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    "Buyer's remorse" after a large purchase is a strange phenomenon but it is entirely normal for most people.
    We spend more than we are normally comfortable spending and then a thousand different doubts begin to creep into our mind. Did we pay too much? Was the person honest? Is there some unseen catastrophic failure lurking inside the car? Kelley blue book says the price range for a Prius IV in Good condition (that's about 54% of all cars sold) from a private party in Eugene OR is $7,100 to 9,225, so you are right in the ballpark. I hope your daughter loves the car and will get lots of good service from it. See KBB.com
     
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  7. spiralhelix

    spiralhelix Active Member

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    Not to sound like a jerk...but shouldn't the solar roof package be kinda obvious vs a sun/moon roof? If it opens its a sun roof. If it has a solar panel on it, it's a solar roof.

    It's a prius and with a little additional maintenance items, you will get more than double that mileage out of it. For a 2010 price doesn't seem too off to me. Keep in mind 145k miles on say a 2017 is different then on a 2010. The 17 would indicate mostly highway miles on the gas engine. 2010 sounds more like city driving.

    I'd like to know more about this noise! What did it sound like? Where did the sound come from? Has it done it since their repair? I'm sure they wanted the sale, so yeah, they would have prioritized the repair, which imo isn't a bad thing. You got new shocks/struts instead of 145k shocks.

    The big round thing is the supercharger. Just open the hood and look for one.
    pirus supercharger.jpeg

    The heated steering wheel should have an on/off button somewhere (I'm not all that familiar with the dash layout). It should look like a steering wheel with squiggly lines on it.

    Someone else can shared those details on the options available above, so they should be easy tell just by going through the car. Maybe post some pics of the car, the engine bay, and the dash to help figure out what all you have.

    Honestly, I don't think you should have buyers remorse. After looking at KBB things don't seem to be out of sorts based on what you've described.

    Now comes the part you might NOT like. As I mentioned earlier, "additional maintenance" has become a critical thing for this car at this time. With 145k miles, you need to have the EGR/Intake parts cleaned. I wanted to know more about the "noise" to determine if it is the cold start/shudder/knock associated with EGR clogging. If this is not looked into, you could be facing a head gasket failure. These parts may or may not be easy to clean depending on how much the gas engine has been used. Your mileage has entered the window of issues. However, once cleaned and maintained, you could expect hundreds of thousand more miles on this car if caught early enough! Here is a thread i started over on the lexus forums to help walk you through the EGR.
     
  8. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Best of luck with it!

    Be sure the engine oil level gets checked faithfully, especially at first. Some examples have become heavy drinkers by that mileage, others not..
     
  9. Laura Drew

    Laura Drew Junior Member

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    There were no noises on the way home :)
     
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  10. Laura Drew

    Laura Drew Junior Member

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    My Daughter Loves the car so I know that that is all that matters. :)
     
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  11. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    OK.
    So.....

    1. You didn't make a mistake. Buying a ragged out Dodge Challenger or a Volkswagen TDI with lunar mileage would be closer to "making a mistake." Making payments on a NEW car would be a bigger mistake.

    2. As mentioned earlier, you will need to make sure that you get caught up on any maintenance items that have not been done and develop a plan going forward for making this a 250,000 car.
    The first thing i would do is learn how to check the oil.
    No. I'm not patronizing you. In fact, men tend to foul this up because they presume that they know how to do it and will not bother to check and see if they know how to do it RIGHT.
    If you do not KNOW when the oil was last changed and if it looks black instead of a honey color then it might not be a bad idea to change it fairly quickly. Then for the next little while, check it about every 500 miles to make sure that you're not using a crazy amount of oil.
    Once you get an idea of what your oil use rate is then you can relax and check the level every month or so.
    Wyoming can be a bad state to break down in, and so people generally have a lot more walking around sense when it comes to things like taking care of vehicles, but as stated above, oil consumption can get to be a thing in a car with 145,000 miles.

    3. While all of this is going on and while you and your car are settling in and getting acquainted, think about how you're going to do the maintenance thing, and get back with us about next steps. Your car's maintenance history might be available if the previous owner paid all of their work done at the dealer.
    If not?
    Fear not!
    This is a supremeely RELIABLE car if you take care of it.

    With the information in this forum, there's NO REASON you cannot do this yourself or be vastly more knowledgeable in what to pay for.....and when!

    Good Luck!
     
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  12. Laura Drew

    Laura Drew Junior Member

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    It has the solar panels and also a sunroof (I think they call it a moon roof) that was what tipped me as it said you could not get that on a V.


    I felt like the noise was kind of bubbly, was only on one side (drivers) -it is now totally gone. I am suspecting he already new that is why he jumped on it so fast, it was like he had people on hold, ready to go.

    The guys 'dealership' was at his house, he said he mostly sells wholesale to dealerships but does a few cars on craigslist. He lived in a very expensive neighborhood and he said he has been doing it for 20 years. I did check out his license on the DMV in portland and he was listed.


    Honestly, I don't think you should have buyers remorse. After looking at KBB things don't seem to be out of sorts based on what you've described.

    Thanks I feel better coming here and hearing all this.

    Now comes the part you might NOT like. As I mentioned earlier, "additional maintenance" has become a critical thing for this car at this time. With 145k miles, you need to have the EGR/Intake parts cleaned. I wanted to know more about the "noise" to determine if it is the cold start/shudder/knock associated with EGR clogging.
    *** I don't think it was the shudder thing, I did experience that on one car we test drove it shuddered right when we started it up.


    If this is not looked into, you could be facing a head gasket failure. These parts may or may not be easy to clean depending on how much the gas engine has been used. Your mileage has entered the window of issues. However, once cleaned and maintained, you could expect hundreds of thousand more miles on this car if caught early enough! Here is a thread i started over on the lexus forums to help walk you through the EGR.[/QUOTE]

    ***** This EGR thing can the dealer do it??
     
  13. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    No!
    (sorry...couldn't help myself!)
    I would lean away from using a dealer for most of the preventative maintenance on this car.
    If you're not going to do the work yourself then I would find a local or maybe even a not-so-local mechanic that can do the job.

    Watch a few videos to give you some insight on what's involved.
    This and a few other things like:
    Coolant change
    Transaxle fluid change
    Spark plugs
    Throttle Body cleaning

    CAN be done easily and relatively inexpensively by a decent mechanic or even a DIY'er.

    Once cars get above 150,000 miles they, like people, require more maintenance checks and sometimes some minor procedures to add years to life and life to years.
    Dealers can (and some DO!) use ignorance and fear to boost the profitability of their maintenance departments.
    In keeping with the health care metaphor this also expresses itself in folks with things like the difference between generic and branded pharmaceuticals - or even outright quackery and the world of placebos.

    There's bigger money and bigger stakes in health care to be sure, but there's also big bucks in transportation.
    Big enough to attract crooks - or people that just like to lean on the numbers a little bit...or write out a repair order with a fat marker instead of a fine point pen.

    You don't need to be an ASE Certified mechanic to avoid being ripped of or even overcharged, and this isn't a steep on-ramp to navigate.
    With a little time, and just a few basic tools you can gift your daughter with the power to intelligently navigate the world of basic car care and not be shackled to a lifetime of upwardly spiraling car payments and/or worry about.......making a bad decision, at the car lot or the repair desk....;)

    Good LUCK!
     
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  14. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Well....
    I'll pile on with the Buyer Remorse crowd.
    But, now you own it. It's present and future, is all up to you. You'll just have to see what you've got.
    There's risk with any and all used car purchases. Even the most diligent investigation can't totally divorce anyone from that risk.

    So far? You haven't really discovered anything that would scream to me it was a mistake.
    Trust me, I've read posts with used car purchases where the new owner discovers a whole lot worse, than a noise, and replaced shocks.

    My advice is just try to enjoy your new purchase. Whatever will be, will be. You can deal with any discovered problems, if they manifest. But might as well enjoy, as there is a chance, that you have an equitable deal, on the vehicle you have purchased.

    For you own peace of mind, and knowledge, getting it checked out is probably the right move. Then maybe a round of maintenance. Then hopefully you can get over the "terror" and move to enjoying.
     
  15. spiralhelix

    spiralhelix Active Member

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    glad to hear the noise was different and that it wasn't caused by an early egr issue. Sorry i can't be more help on the trim package debate, though it sounds like all the features are there that were advertised by the person.

    I think if you take it to a dealer, either A) they will tell you it isn't an issue or B) will say it's cheaper just to replace all the parts vs cleaning them. A smaller shop will more likely be willing to pull the parts and clean them. It's not a terrible job to do yourself, one nut is particularly tricky but still doable.

    There are many approaches to address how to proceed. You can take the parts off, clean them and put them back on = time consuming and the car won't be driveable (a shop may have to keep the car for a few days to a week). You can purchase new parts (linked in that thread I posted) and install them = down time is just while you're changing out parts; but then clean the originals to have at the ready the next time. You can purchase used parts, have them cleaned and ready to install = cheaper option than new, same down time.

    There are also different options for cleaning which are also in that other thread. I'm particularly fond of the Ultrasonic cleaning bath route, but if you take it to a shop, they will probably do a different chemical bath.

    Again, you got a great car that can last into the 300-400k mile range if not more. Just watch the oil like ETC said, keep the EGR cleaned, and of course all other maintenance items and you'll be in great shape!
     
  16. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    'Same same' for that era Prius.
     
  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    What happen to the “Just drive it” mantra? One fella in another thread with a 2015 hv bat not balance was told just drive it, and in other threads. Where’s that here?
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    just drive it :p
     
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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    best to look around for a local triple a mech willing to learn and understand the egr circuit cleaning process. it is labor intensive, but not rocket science. unfortunately, dealers don't get it.
     
  20. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Well, I would normally say, "Just Drive It". BUT ....the OP seems to have a lot of angst about the whole deal, that circumvents at least temporarily just being able to enjoy the vehicle.
    Which is why I'm saying...."Just try to enjoy your new purchase"....of which driving it would be a big part.

    I wish the OP the best.

    Side Note:

    Am I really missing something? The OP say's something about the carfax saying the Prius had a "Supercharger"?
    Unless it's an aftermarket modification, no OEM Prius has a Supercharger?
    Am I right about this?