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Buying used 2006 prius (UK)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Hasan, Jan 3, 2011.

  1. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    Hi guys,

    Been reading through this forum for the past week and have learnt an exceptional amount!

    Just about to purchase a used 56 plate prii (in London) . Any advice/opinions will be highly appreciated.

    details of the current car I am looking at (hoping to visit tomorrow):

    2006 solid blue T-spirit model
    Mileage: 64000
    1 owner form new.

    Trade seller who (from the looks of the website) sells high end mercs & BMs etc.. so this may have been a part exchange - will ask tomorrow.

    Asking price: £7495 (i'm hoping to get it down to 7000)

    There is no mention of the service history in the ad and I forgot to ask when I called :-(

    Any comments greatly appreciated!
     
    #1 Hasan, Jan 3, 2011
  2. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    If this is your first Prius I would be very careful buying one without full Toyota service history or even buying it from a non Toyota dealer, unless the price is very very right.

    If you still like the car, then I personally would be tempted to get the car checked by Toyota - if only to see if there are any error codes stored in the onboard computer etc. If you do buy the car you will probably want to have the 12v battery (not the big HV high voltage battery) replaced as these only have a life of about 4 - 5 years and cost about £100 - £150.

    Hope the above helps, but ask away if you have any other queries.
     
    #2 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 3, 2011
  3. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    Thanks for your reply GrumpyCabbie, I've since done one of those car history check things and it has come up with no problems whatsoever i.e: never been recorded as total loss, no record on police computer etc.. There was also a mileage section and things are looking fairly good.

    Regarding the battery, is it advisable to get a certain make /model of battery or will any normal reputable battery suffice?
     
    #3 Hasan, Jan 3, 2011
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need a toyota battery or only one or two others will fit. you can google it here. optima from elearnaid i think?
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 3, 2011
  5. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    The dealers seem to be very dogy and so I have given this specific one a miss.
    I called on tuesday to say I would be coming over and the guy said okay. He called me literally five minutes later to say the car is in storage and one of their workers has taken the keys for the storage compund and is now on holiday but would be coming back this afternoon so viewing needs to be rearranged for wednesday. Called wednesday, apparently the flight got delayed and so things need to be postponed till today (thurs) and he would get one of his staff to drive it over to us. Called today and the guy is still not here so they will need to bring the car tomorrow.:confused:

    I have since gone and viewed another car. 2007 Grey prius with 56K miles, full toyota service history, advertised for £7,895 but have managed to bring this down to £7,250. Haven't left any deposit but am hoping to have a better look at the car on Saturday morning and then make payment.

    Regarding the warranty does anybody know if this transfers automatically to the new owner in the UK? or do I have to fill in any forms etc. The seller didn't know.
     
    #5 Hasan, Jan 6, 2011
  6. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    The new one sounds better with the full Toyota service history and the knocked down price.

    Regarding warranty - I'm not 100% sure but the normal warranty is 3 years or 60k miles and the hybrid system is either 80k or 100k miles on a 2007, so you're probably out of normal warranty but do have the remainder of the hybrid warranty. The do believe the hybrid warranty is transferable as it is provided by Toyota and not some secondary company.

    Also, if it's been serviced by Toyota it should have had all the correct oils changed and software updated and frankly, unless it's been in a heavy smash it should be fine.
     
    #6 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 6, 2011
  7. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    Worth noting, if you look at cars with 100k+ miles they are significantly cheaper. from the "300k+" thread you can see they car can easily achieve very high mileage, so it may be worth investigating.

    Good luck in your search, don't rush it, there's plenty of prii to look at!
     
    #7 Flaninacupboard, Jan 6, 2011
  8. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    thanks for the advice guys!

    Reason i'm not looking into too high mileage is that i'd like this one to last as long as possible, at least a good 8-10 years!

    Will hopefully book an inspection at the nearest toyota dealer and go from there.
     
    #8 Hasan, Jan 6, 2011
  9. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    I just called a lrge toyota dealer in Chelmsford, near where the car is situated and asked if they could do an independent inspection and the lady (after speaking to used car department) said No they don't do those and I'd have to go to the RAC :(

    Is this normal?

    from reading on the net, the RAC/AA service is just a complete waste of money as they do not thoroughly check the car at all, for example they obviously do not have any sorts of ramps etc. to check for any damage/rust under the car. They also seem to say one thing to the customer and something completely different to the car seller!

    I am at a loss as to what to do as I don't know much about cars and don't want a 7K dud on my hands.

    The next nearest centre is 10 miles away. I've called them and they should be calling me back whether they'll do it or not.
     
    #9 Hasan, Jan 7, 2011
  10. Jands

    Jands New Member

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    If you don't know much about cars, don't want a "dud" on your hands and want to keep it for 8-10 years, I'd seriously consider buying from a $tealer...yes you will pay more but at least you'll have some peace of mind that mechanically its sound and a 1 year Toyota warranty (which you'll be able to extend if required).
     
    #10 Jands, Jan 7, 2011
  11. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    To be honest I'd agree. You might pay more, though they'll be keen to sell anything in January due to the VAT increase so you should be able to twist their arm. ;)

    The other benefit with buying from Toyota and having a full Toyota service history is that they are much more helpful should things go wrong outside the warranty period! I know of many drivers who I work with who have had parts replaced by Toyota (and some other dealers too) even though their warranty had just expired (2,000 miles or so) and sometimes Toyota have split the cost 50/50 on larger items if the driver was some miles past warranty (10k miles or so)!

    Obviously this is at their discretion and might not happen every time, but service it elsewhere and you can guarantee you're on your own outside warranty.
     
    #11 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 7, 2011
  12. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    The toyota dealer called me back to say they can do it but it will cost an hours labour charge plus VAT so approx £90.

    I then called the chelmsford dealer again and asked to be put straight through to the service department. They answered and guess what.... the guy was willing to do the inspection and would only charge £49.50!
    Only downside however, is that the next available slot is next Tuesday.

    Found only one prius T-spirit in the country (from Toyota dealer) which met my criteria; under 80,000 miles, below 8K etc. Its 90 miles away though so will have to hitch a ride with fanily or friend if possible as my current car is inoperable.

    Oh and BTW the guys with the original '06 prius are bringing the car round today. Most probably not going to buy that but since they're bringing it down to me.. I thought I might aswell :)
     
    #12 Hasan, Jan 7, 2011
  13. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    Any competent mechanic can check the "car" side of things, rust, suspension, steering alignment etc etc.
    The "hybrid" side of things has the 8 year/80k guarantee or whatever it is.
     
    #13 Flaninacupboard, Jan 7, 2011
  14. Hasan

    Hasan Junior Member

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    Decided the 07 prius was not worth it as it was owned by Hertz UK (a car hire company) for a year!

    The seller wasnt willing to negotiate below the 7000 mark and so I left.

    Will have to resume my search in a few weeks as I'm bit busy with Uni at the moment. May go to a $tealer after all:rolleyes:

    Thanks for all the info guys!
     
    #14 Hasan, Jan 11, 2011
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