Buying car right NOW. Low profile tires? Urgent

That's my sister posting about my parents' trials and tribulations (*waves*). I don't know why she's being shy about calling out the dealership, but I have no problem with it xxxxxxx (apparently they want the papers in hand before blasting them - not that it makes a difference as they have no deposit on the car). I've had my '05 for 112k miles (and going strong) on my stock rims and love it (although I may have to import a + once those launch!) so I couldn't believe the heap of bs they were serving up to my family when they had a perfectly good deal walk through their doors, ready to sign on the dotted line. I don't think they'll have to worry about any of our money darkening their doorstep now or in the future.

Oh, and she forgot a tidbit: when they went in today to kill the deal, the showroom car that had the rims "just like their Prius has" mysteriously was sporting stock wheels and their two-tone car had the lowpros. Apparently my mom forced them to admit they had, in fact, switched the wheels off the showroom Prius. Extremely shady practices from a dealer who airs commercials featuring their children and touts their virtues. You might expect this kind of thing from a small used lot or from a badge that isn't moving inventory and is trying to bleed every sale, but from a Toyota lot when product is limited and gas is high? For shame.

Just thought you all should know what name to attach to the reputation.

 

The interesting part of about those cheesy chrome plated wheels is that they look like the chrome plated versions of the 15" stock wheels, w/o the removable plastic cover.

The amount of mileage on a new car can be a bit higher if it's been taken out for a bunch of test drives or if it was a dealer trade from another dealer and it was driven instead of shipped. When I bought my 02 Nissan Maxima new, I was looking for a GXE trim (rare for that model year). The dealer did a trade with one in Oregon, so it had to be driven up. The mileage it had wasn't much more than the drive up.

 

I do see a minor difference but it's not clear if it's due to lighting as well as the dirt covering some areas but that has been rubbed off in others.

As for the bolded part, that sounds like total BS. Body shops can paint and repaint bumper covers or other parts of cars. Someone hit my Prius and it needed a new rear bumper cover which needed to be painted too. A local body shop fixed it. It's was the same body shop my Toyota dealer at the time would send cars to for body work and painting.

I've seen many documentaries on many different auto plants and toured 5 of them, including a (the?) Toyota Tsutsumi plant where I saw 2nd gen Priuses on the line, at the time. We didn't get to go into the paint shop of any of them (there are many reasons why) but for cars produced in large quantities, they're not setup to do one-off repainting of individual parts. It'd also make no sense to truck it to a port, send it back on a ship to Japan, get it fixed there, and have it come back again. It's too costly.

The lines that the dealer is feeding you, the sleazy switching of wheels, lies, etc. are big red flags to me and are more reason to not do business with them.

 

I see the color difference. It's yellow. Maybe it's radiation. Kidding.

I would look for another Blizzard Pearl. I bet you it won't look the same.

Good eye，

 

What we see is hampered by the color fidelity of your camera and our computer displays. Your eyes, looking at the real car, are a much better judge of color match.

Even without all this dealer BS, you don't want to buy a known problem and then hope they will agree to fix it. This is a recipe for trouble.

 

Is this really a true story?

 

We bought a Prius II last weekend in So Cal. The Costco deal was still good ($400 over invoice), but one dealership told me the Costco deal would be renegotiated to $500 below MSRP. Who knows if he was telling the truth, but if your folks have a Costco card, it's worth a try. Costco will email you names of dealerships that will honor it in your area.

That said, it was pouring last weekend, so I shopped completely online and over the phone. We ended up with our local dealer in Santa Clarita who came in $100 under the original Costco deal, threw in 2 years of Toyota Care, and Prius floor mats. We did not buy the extended warranty, but plan to purchase it via this message board for much less than the dealership offered, even after they came down in price 3 times.

This board has a wealth of info. Take a few days to read as much as you can and then go in with an Excel spread sheet filled with info from all of the So Cal dealers who will talk to you over the phone. BTW, the Pearl white is usually a bit more $, but not more than $250 more. We love our new ride!

 

I frickin can't believe no one else here can see the discoloration, or is not admitting it. I can even tell on my iPhone.

Really Bret? "Is this really a true story?" Can you not see the pictures? Yes everyone, it's real.

Wewantaprius, get over it. Don't buy this car for the millionth time. You want our advice or not. What is it with people...

 

Wanna-be dude, go read Consumer Reports car buying advice in their April issue. Otherwise you deserve what will happen to you.

 

why dont you go to another dealer?

it is common for some people to notice perceived difference between bumper (which is plastic) and trunk/hood (which are in this case aluminium).

those rims look super cheap, just go to another dealer, how hard is that to do in the USA? Not hard at all, they are everywhere!

 

Unfortunately there is no master thread for question to ask about buying used. Just make sure it was properly maintained. Check that the tires are in good condition.

And don't be giddy and eager just because this other car is better than the last one you saw (2 toned). Don't try to compare this car to the last one. The last one was awful, so get it out of your mind and pretend you never saw it...it's dead to you now!

 

Ask the dealership to provide you with a CarFax on the used one, that will indicated the number of owners and if it was a fleet vehicle or not (rental car). It should also show any maintenance accomplished by a dealership and if it's been involved in an accident or damaged in another way, such as a flood. If there is any indiction the Title is NOT clear, walk away... If the dealer balks at providing a CarFax, walk away. If it's a reputable dealership, they have already run a CarFax and know about the history of the vehicle, if they are reluctant to show you the CarFax (check the VIN to ensure they match), there is probably a problem with the vehicle. Good luck and hopefully this is a clean, one owner vehicle with a clear title and no problems!

 

A low mileage Demo is fine, I have purchased many over the years. Normally a Demo is driven by a manager within the dealership, so if there is a problem, it's normally taken care of right away because the car is at the dealership during the day. With a Demo, you have someone else who has already worked out the bugs and generally it will save you some money to boot! It will be registered to you as a new car, with you being the first titled driver, so it's also eligible for all new car incentives as well.

A Demo probably won't have a CarFax because it's not yet been titled...

That dash is, unfortunately, very susceptible to scratches, so if the price is fair, I would not worry to much as they'll end up there eventually anyway! Use this as a bargaining chip to reduce the price of the car!

 

It's actually a she. Confessions of a Car Salesman — Edmunds.com is long but might be worth a read when she has the time.

The 10 year/150K mile HV battery warranty applies whether car is new or used so long as it was bought, registered and operated in CA or a CARB state. Obviously, w/a used car, the time and mileage clock started ticking awhile ago.

Ok, now that used is in the picture, I can tell you that you've added a a bunch more complexity. The selection will potentially be limited and now you have extra variables like the condition, age and mileage of each car vs. their equipment levels besides not knowing what the dealer paid for the car and how much profit they're making. (Well the age range isn't that huge for a 3rd gen Prius...)

I've helped people shop for used cars before and we got all sorts of interesting stories/lies. One dealer kept claiming that they'd be selling the used car they bought at an auction to us at a loss... right.