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Advice on 2012 Prius Plug in

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by rsachoc, Jun 4, 2018.

  1. rsachoc

    rsachoc New Member

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    Plug-in Base
    Hi there, thanks for the awesome forum. I'm a newbie, having never owned a hybrid vehicle before. I've done lots of research thanks to this forum and found a potential candidate for a Prius. It's a 2012 Prius Base with 100k miles (high I know), but at 8.9k seems like a good deal. I've checked the VIN and it came back clean, and have also registered on the Toyota site to check the service history.

    A couple questions on this:

    1) All servicing appears to have been done between new and Dec 2015, with nothing really substantial having been done according to the records (the 12v was replaced in Dec 2015)
    2) Front brakes were replaced at 46k, which seems strange as reading on here they seem to last a long time
    3) There's a gap between Dec 2015 and Feb 18, where the vehicle added around 50k miles and in Feb 18 a NJ state inspection was done
    4) At the same time, the following was listed on the ticket
    "RECOMMENDATIONS IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE ~|~RECOMMENDATIONS IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE ~|~TIRE ROTATION, WIPERS, AIR FILTER AND CABIN FILTER, COOLANT SERVICE, TRANSMISSION SERVICE, TIRE LIGHT IS FLASHING, THROTTLE BODY SERVICE ~|~COMPLETED RECOMMEDATIONS FOR CUSTOMER"

    But it appears that no action was taken as there was not a charge, so I'm assuming the current owner didn't do any of the recommendations.

    So my question really, is there anything I should be overly worried about?

    Thanks in advance!
     
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  2. rsachoc

    rsachoc New Member

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    Bump, would really appreciate some input!
     
  3. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    I've called on one of our long service posters on PC who has a pip. @bisco. Can you offer advice please?
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    that's a tough one, because we can't decipher that any better than you can. it could be that the former owner had oil changes done after 2015 at home or non dealer which wouldn't be reported.

    who is selling it? did you car fax? test drive?
     
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  5. rsachoc

    rsachoc New Member

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    Plug-in Base
    Thanks, it's being sold as apparently he already has another Prius and his wife no longer commutes. It's a 2 owner (including the current one) car. Car Fax comes out clean i.e. no salvage etc. I haven't even seen the vehicle, I've really wondering if there's any red flags in what I've checked out so far, and then take a test drive.
     
  6. rsachoc

    rsachoc New Member

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    Plug-in Base
    Another update, I ordered a VIN check just to find out a little more and all looks good except for one thing which I'm confused about. The current owner mentioned he lives in NY (Long Island) and yet the report shows that the current vehicle registration is in NJ. Also, the pictures show a NY plate (blanked out).

    [​IMG]
     
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Welcome!

    That doesn't mean it wasn't serviced. Just that a Toyota dealer didn't do it. Second owner could well be an enthusiast like many of us who won't let anyone else monkey with their car. ... Or it may have been neglected. If you go see the car and talk to the owner, you might see some signs of one or the other. (Garage full of tools, etc.)

    Apparently the first owner didn't know how to drive.

    Perhaps the Instavin data is not up to date? Just guessing.

    It's hard to say if it's a good find or not, but it looks fairly promising other than that it's probably seen a lot of road salt. If you can take it for a test drive with a fully charged battery that should give you an idea how it's doing. Best case scenario for one that broken in would probably be about 12 miles in EV mode in nice weather on city streets. Much less on the highway.
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    since you will be talking to the owner, i would ask him about the missing maintenance (and if he has records) and about the registration. maybe he bought a prime. (lucky dog!)

    make sure he has 2 working fobs, a charging cable and cargo cover, and test everything. follow jerry's advice above on charging and ev test drive.

    the fob buttons should all work, the driver and passenger doors and hatch should all unlock when you touch the handles and the car should start with the fob in your pocket.
     
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  9. Mr Anderson

    Mr Anderson New Member

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    I am looking to get a 2012 plug in for better gas millage if this is possible. I had a 2009 and it got totaled. Because the 2012 is a plug-in, will I get more miles per full tank of gas or will I get about the same as my 2009 Touring, right around 45mpg (400 miles per tank)? I commute a lot and I am trying to get the most miles per tank as I can in my price range.
     
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    That's going to depend a great deal on the length of your commute. If you're driving mostly in hybrid mode because you use up the battery early in the drive, don't expect a lot. The PiP's gas tank is 10.6 gallons but the Gen 3 tank is 11.9 gallons. My commute is 9.4 miles each way and I get to charge at work. I have quite a few errands that go beyond battery range. My tanks when I had a PiP usually took me 800-1,100 miles.
     
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    not likely. the pip is good when you can drive ev short distances for errands. other than that, you're just toting around a boat anchor and no spare tire.
    a 2014 or 15 non plug in prius is your best bet for mpg's, or gen 4 if you can afford it.

    familiarize yourself with the egr clogging.blown head gasket problems on gen 3 before purchasing.

    mpg's are the last thing on my list with gas so cheap for the foreseeable future.
     
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    +1 to that. Especially the Gen 4. We just upgraded my wife from a 2007 (Gen 2) to a 2017 (Gen 4). She had been getting in the high 300s for a tank. She's still on her first tank with the '17. Looks like she'll get close to 500 miles. We drove it last night to a meeting 20 miles away. If got over 62 mpg. The old car would have been more like 52 at best. And the new one is WAY WAY WAY nicer to drive, even compared to a Gen 3.