Buying Used Prius Agonizing over Details : }

At least some greater good has come from the experience.

 

Right, JimN. Poor lady Daisy doesn't know who to believe. At least here she hears a different point of view.

 

Finding the right car can be tough. I was fortunate. The first one didn't take too long and I didn't need the car immediately. I did need the second one "immediately" as I was driving a second car borrowed from a friend. The dealer had one that was exactly what I was looking for but it sold out from under me. They had a dealer trade coming in that was a 99+% match (I would have skipped the PIO) so they held it for me.

You never know how hard it is to find something until you start looking for it. There just isn't much used Prius inventory around here.

I'm glad she found us and asked the questions. There are too many "I just bought this car, did I pay too much?" and "I just bought this car. What does this idiot mean?" threads.

I'm going to be more excited than she will be when she buys the right car.

 

Changing transaxle fluid is a good preventative maintenance, totally ignored by Toyota.

 

Hi Daisy,
No crank typically refers to the fact that the car won't start. This is probably due to a low 12V battery. The likely fix would be to either charge the 12V or replace it.

 

Breaking the record for number of posts in a thread would just be a bonus. 287 already. Time flies...

So why is Dyslexic Dan a service writer? Owner's son? I'd wait for the next one.

When I had the dealer drain & fill the tranny the guy came out to tell me that it wasn't part of the recommended service. I agreed and had him do it anyway. I prefer to believe the Informed Consensus here over the dealer as they are not motivated by profit from unnecessary services or profit from premature wear.

I believe you will have a better chance of finding a suitable car private party than you will from a dealer. At least you won't have the dealer markup. Get the owner talking about the car and you can learn any number of things in casual conversation. Might also be able to get (or see) invoices and other documentation.

Good luck with this one. We want the details.

 

I had to ask for my transaxle fluid to be changed, also. They claimed it is lifetime fluid, which I countered who's lifetime, just change the fluid. I know that anytime the tech doesn't want to do something, it mustbe a bitch to do. But, when they got it all done it had nice clean fluid once more.

So far, so good. My mileage is still around 41 on average, my right foot is made of lead. It takes me where I want to go.

I hope Daisy finds a nice Prius, she deserves it.

 

Dealers take cars to auction all the time. It can be titled as a "Touring" and still not be a "Touring".

I had an '87 Mitsubishi Mirage that was titled as an '86. They used the build date 11-86 as the model year. I drove that car until it was more rust than car. It had manual everything. I had to add a radio, but the antenna was there(!). 11 years and 140000 miles later I sold it to my sister in law for $400.
I still miss it. The truth is they had the title wrong from day one.

Now the Prius is a different matter. Be sure to check your title at time of purchase, it's much easier to correct then than many years later.

Cars that sit around are rolling up finance charges, unless the dealer "owns" his stock.
If you are not familiar with floor planning, I will try to explain. Dealers need cars and trucks to show and demonstrate. They purchase vehicles from the manufacturer at dealer cost. Most don't have that kind of money, so they make arrangements with a financial institution to use the money they borrow to purchase vehicles (this is how they get so many vehicles). At the end of the month, they own the bank the interest on all the cars they financed and pay back part of the loan. The best time to buy it at the end of the month or when the loan is due. A local Ford dealer was having a clearance sale yesterday, which is crazy to have mid week. They must have been in a tight spot for money.

 

Daisy, we have your back. Shopping for a car can be a real challenge. You seem to know your numbers and can see a good deal.

Here it is 2015 going on 2016. Car dealers are playing the same games they have been playing for over sixty years. Not all dealers are the same.

 

Ha! More like over a hundred years now. (Not that I can remember quite that far back... )

 

I'd pass on any car with "electrical problems".

I presume you are deleting the cars from your Toyota logon.

If the bandit dealer paid a Touring price for the car at auction based on the description then he is a fool. Either you are finding all the idiot car dealers or just believing their sob stories designed to soften you up because you pity them. To paraphrase Mr. T, "I pity you fool for paying for a Touring when you bought a standard Prius." Buying a car isn't a "cost plus" transaction.

About the only change car dealers have made is they won't take your horse in trade. Do the Amish have a used buggy dealer? I haven't seen one. Would they advertise a selection of colors--Black, Dark Black, Midnight Black?

 

It used to be every car, except for a demo car, was a wanted, ordered car. The dealer would order it and four to six weeks later you got the car you ordered. That was through say 1954. Then the car manufacturers got greedy. They made more cars than were ordered. And they built and built cars.

The Chrysler dealers got wise to what was going on, they waited until almost the end of the model year to buy all the cars they could at below invoice. That's why Chrysler went bankrupt the first time.

Dealing in vehicles can be a very lucrative business. You have to know how low you can go without going bankrupt yourself. I know of a certain Toyota dealer that is practically giving cars away to get their name on the street. Its all about the bottom line. A well run business attracts customers. And word of mouth can kill it.

There is another Toyota dealer that I wouldn't take my lawnmower let alone my cars to. The service manger runs two computers(!). One for him the other for the dealership. That is just not right.

 

Looks like 3000 mile oil change interval. And there are many visits in between. Strange that most of the recent service
records lack detail. Every service record I've seen before has had all details provided.

Body repair/paint at 3142 miles?

Skip this one.

 

I agree, why no op codes??? I would drive it and see what it feels like. Could be a lazy service writer, but it could be just didn't know how.

 

That car made so many trips to the dealer you would think an employee was driving it. Either the owner is obsessed with having clean oil in the crankcase or it's a hangar queen. Check it out. If the owner was O-C you'll kick yourself for not buying an overly maintained car. If it's a hangar queen then there is probably something wrong with it now and it shouldn't take long to find it. So much for the value of dealer service records.

Body work records could be anything from the paint chip repainted before delivery to a damaged bumper cover being replaced to the car being sideswiped... If I'm paying for a new car I expect the finish to be perfect but a daily driver isn't going to stay perfect for long.

The replaced 12v battery could be parts swapping (look how often that is tried here) or coincidence. My 2006 went to the junk yard with a new 12v battery. Very few people schedule their repairs & maintenance and the car's replacement.