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Buying a used Prius C: What to look for?

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by FromAtoB, May 10, 2016.

  1. FromAtoB

    FromAtoB Junior Member

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    Hello Everyone, in coming weeks I will need to buy a car and for a while I've had my eyes set on Prius C. I need a reliable car for work commute and since I love small cars and high mpg (who doesn't?) I am leaning towards the C. I want to buy car all cash and have a budget of ~15K. My commute is 50% highway (55-65mph) and 50% backroads (25-45 mph). My husband has a spacious sedan so cargo space is not an issue.

    Would love perspective of you guys. I have been reading through this forum for a while now and found it extremely helpful!

    1. Buying a used Prius C - what should I be prepared for and careful about? Is Certified Pro-Owned a good way to do it? OR - Anyone has experience buying from CarMax?

    2. Safety - living in Ohio I have been researching the C's ability to handle snow and rain and found all sorts of opinions. I hate driving in snow but realize it's inevitable. It seems the safety rating is solid for this car and with snow tires I should be okay but found a few scary posts about the car brakes and traction control system doing whatever they please once it gets wet ... can anyone attest to this?! Which year model is the best in terms of safety/snow&rain handling?

    3. Seat Comfort - on the test drive the front seats seemed great. Especially compared to the Civic. I am a female of 5'9', 135 lbs, posts here mentioning seats being uncomfortable seemed skewed to males 6+ feet / 200+ lbs though I am sure this is a very relative issue. Any experience from people close to my height/weight?

    4. Extra features - moonroof, leather seats or nav sound nice but I might just not get that at my budget (will get Trim 2, or 3 at best) though I am thinking of upgrading to leather later (my dog often travels with me)... Was wondering whether some features might be useful more than I now realize? Also does the moonroof (when closed) increase road/wind noise? I am not particular about nav or Entune as I use my phone mostly and am upgrading from Camry 2000 :) but was wondering how difficult and costly it is to upgrade to a better (aftermarket) system later on if I get Trim 2? I am not a car person so I have no clue how to go about it.

    Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!!
     
  2. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Lots of Prius c around in your price range. Look through the cars at truecar.com and read through Car Buying Guide for New and Used Vehicles | CarBuyingTips.com. I would test how well your phone pairs with the car. I would also look at the standard Prius hatchback as they are in the same price range.

    I have very limited experience with the c but it seems to have higher fuel economy around town while the Prius will have better FE on the open road. Try to take test drives over your commute. Some Toyota dealers will apply a portion of a rental against a purchase.

    I have a friend in MD who has bought from CarMax without issues.
     
  3. InPriusLove

    InPriusLove Member

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    Any used car should be inspected, and when you purchase Certified it means they have checked the car out and will back it with some kind of warranty. But they still have to permit you to have it inspected by your own chosen mechanic. A pre-purchase check might cost you a hundred, but that would be worth it to be sure the car is good and also back you up in a malfunction claim.

    As for the seat comfort, I can say that the driver seat is comfortable and I spend a lot of time in the car. You can adjust it.

    The traction control is meant to help in slick conditions and is automatic or manual as it may be deemed. It will turn on unexpectedly but I am not aware of it turning off while willfully engaged. The low rolling resistence tires may be due for a change in bad conditions, because that is less road friction. In the slick conditions you get better road handling from a standard snow tire.

    There is a lot to read about the car here and online. If you like an easy handling car that uses half the gas of a atandard fuel car, this could be a good choice. Test drive one or several.
     
  4. skayaks

    skayaks Active Member

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    Good luck with your search and test drive(s); hope you find the C that's right for you. Remember it's two steps down the lineup from a Camry so it will be noisier, especially on the highway.

    2. With snow tires (Mich. X-Ice Xi3) I have had no trouble through 3 winters. Traction Control has rarely kicked in. I have not needed to turn TC off to get out of a pile of snow, but someday it might be nice to have the TC button that was added in '15.
    As for braking - if you are gently braking (using regen) and hit some bumps, it may switch to friction braking. In that instant it may seem that you have "lost your brakes!" No need to change anything - it's just a fleeting reminder that you are in a hybrid. The brakes work fine.

    3. Not useful info for you, but seat is comfortable for me (6'2", 185#). I did add a cheap mesh lumbar support.

    4. If you get a C and frequently carry a dog, pay attention to the battery fan filter under the rear seat (driver's side). Some folks have added a home-made pre-filter to make it easier to clean away accumulated fur. Don't want to impede air flow that cools the battery.
     
  5. FromAtoB

    FromAtoB Junior Member

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    Thank you everyone for all the advice! I will definitely check the resource/guide for buying a used car and make sure to have the car inspected by an independent mechanic.

    I heard about that filter, my dog has short hair but pre-filter might still be a good idea. Also, good to know someone taller than me can be comfortable in the seat as my husband might occasionally drive my car.

    I do wonder how big of a difference it will be with wind noise after driving it for a while. Engine sounded super quiet which seems to make that wind noise more noticeable but it didn't seem as noisy as I expected.

    Appreciate sharing experience with traction control. The brake/TC issues I heard about were through CarComplaints site and there were not many, but it scared me a little.

    Is 2015 the first year they included a button for disabling the TC?
     
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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  7. skayaks

    skayaks Active Member

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    I think so.
    There is a way to disable TC in earlier Cs but it requires a sequence of gas pedal presses in different "gears". I've gone through the steps just to check, but have never needed to disengage TC. Finding the steps may take some searching on this site because some folks are concerned about damaging the drivetrain with TC off. Right or Wrong, I view the addition of a TC button in newer Cs to be a sign that these concerns may be overblown. (But of course there's a possibility Toyota added some code in '15 to protect the drivetrain with TC off.)

    Perhaps the biggest change for '15 was increased bracing to improve the offset frontal crash test results.
     
  8. ShaAnn

    ShaAnn Member

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    Hi there....I a just bought my Prius c Four two months ago....I paid $15,400 with 26,000 miles on her....yes in my opinion the front seat is very stiff....I also upgraded from a Camry xle with leather but my Prius Four is nice....I do have the moonroof...love it....I think it makes the interior feel more open and my dog loves it when we go down the road with more air coming in. My I phone works great with the car....I press the button on the steering column and talk....hands free...the mileage is good...46 MPG in town....my commute is three miles one way. I bought my car from a Toyota dealer that gave me the car fax on it...One owner who traded it in for a larger model....the car is fun to drive and handles great....good luck in your search
     
  9. FromAtoB

    FromAtoB Junior Member

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    Thank you for sharing your perspective, very helpful! I'd love a moonroof but will have to see what is in available inventory within reasonable distance. Right know I am looking at 2015 Prius C Two with under 1k miles and clean Carfax. It's CPO and listed as $17K, which is over my budget but want to check it out and test drive it...
     
  10. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    I love the hands free phone feature, but IMHO the most stupid piece of design on the whole car is having to press the top button to put the phone down and the bottom button to pick it up. I still have to stop and check myself whenever answering a call to make sure I get it right...
     
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  11. ShaAnn

    ShaAnn Member

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    I filled up with gas today and reset the A trip and must have pushed the button to change MPH to K's....I was going 115 K's an hour
     
  12. FromAtoB

    FromAtoB Junior Member

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    I test drove the 2016 C2 today and it was great. Also bluetooth connectivity was seamless though the buttons I would have to get used to. Too bad it's a budget stretch for me buying a new one so I am hoping for finding a good deal in CPO.

    What year is your C4?
     
  13. InPriusLove

    InPriusLove Member

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    I did that once and thought the car was going nutty, a broken speedometer sensor lol. Luckily I found out about that little error and undid it. Saved.
     
  14. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    Living in Canada and making occasional trips to the US has required me to learn how to switch between km/h and MPH (press the "Trip" button repeatedly until the odometer shows instead of Trip A or Trip B, then press&hold the "Trip" button). So when I see the wrong numbers on the speedometer I know exactly what happened and how to deal with it.
     
  15. Bigboi

    Bigboi Member

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    Without a doubt get it inspected by a Good mechanic... not saying this will happen to you but last time i bought a used car, it broke in 1 month where the ball joint holding up the suspension broke completely after my 275lbs friend sat in the passenger seat, would have been easy to see: major rust under the car, steering wheel was hard to steer. Imagine if it broke on highway going 65mph... please get it inspected and i say good mechanic because i brought it in to midas 20 point inspection and their mechanic did not detect the inevitable broken ball joint but he did find a loose o-ring for the fuel intake and was very glad to charge me an extra $100 to replace it.

    Also check to make sure you emergency brake works, look into getting any extended warranties if the car is closer to 100k miles (square trade warranty might be good). And don't buy a Ford older than 15 years from Canada.