Quick - should I get this car? Manufacturer buy back...

That is a great buy and you should not be concerned that the vehicle was a buyback. I am surprised that Toyota bought the car back other than for positive feedback for consumer relations. I figure the prior owner never owned a hybrid and/or a vehicle with a CVT. As long as you are satisfied with the noise levels, you should welcome this car to your family. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

The car still under factory warranty, to be sure you can call Toyota customer service to confirm.

The resale value will be affect when you want to sell it for sure. The title will be branded, and carfax will show everything.

There might be something else hidden, ask the seller to show you the buy back paperworks to look for hint. You can always check the service record to see what been repaired from the previous owner complaints. There must be plenty to initial the buyback process. From my experience, the engine noise alone is not safety concern and not enough for the lemon law lawyer to take the case.

One thing to consider the process of buy back will take place about 6 months to complete, so the previous owner will have 6 months riding free and abuse the car before Toyota take position. Toyota will contract with a third company to do the buyback process, and send it to auction.

What's the trim level of your loaded Prius? I just got mine 2012 Prius pkg 5 with Advan Tech, shine 10K miles for $23K. Your price doesn't sound good to me.

 

what state do you live in Mystical

 

It's no secret that you'd be taking a chance with this deal. As Clint Eastwood said in Dirty Harry, "Do you feel lucky, today?"


It will depend on whether you are hard up for money or have plenty of extra money.

If you are hard up on money, you might not be able to afford the potential repair bills, if you are unlucky.

If you had plenty of extra money, it would be fine. Then, you would have been able to buy a pristine NEW car, anyway.


The true test is whether Toyota has any confidence in this car. Will they sell you a Toyota Extended Factory Warranty?

 

You can pull the service record if you have a vin number. Read it very carefully

This is the URL
Service History Online - Toyota Owners

 

Quick - should I get this car? Manufacturer buy back...

No.
I smell some unrefrigerated fish here.

 

I can't see where Toyota would buy a car back just for engine noise. Wouldn't you think that there are a lot of steps to get a car bought back? If it did go all the way back to Toyota do you really think it could be "nothing" wrong and just resell it? I would feel better if they said it didn't get such and such insulation or basic sound dampening that they put in on the assembly line so that was put in.

 

Bear in mind that the Hertz Prius is probably the fleet sales only Prius One. It may lack a number of other features that you otherwise may be expecting.

 

If a Deal is to good to be true you should take pass on it. To save a Few grand may be more problems than it is worth.

 

If you are hesitant on getting any used car, buy a NEW one. To me, it is worth the few thousand dollars more.

Remember the old cliché about being penny wise and pound foolish.

 

Rental cars all have one thing in common. Renters trash them big time

 

Let this be your guiding light

 

Read about startup knock on the forum. That's probably the engine noise. Get the car overnight, let it cool off, start it and turn it off after the ICE starts & before it warms up, return a few hours later & restart the car listening for heavy engine knocking.

This is a feature of the car and unless it's always present, I wouldn't be worried.

 

I haven't found that to be the case. Our current Prius was not a rental. But our prior car was. 2002 dodge intrepid we bought in 2003 that was a fleet rental with 19 k on it. It looked brand new and we had no problems at all with it. Its in fact still in the family and going strong with 150 k. Our car prior to that was a fleet rental Geo prism that was a good car as well.

 

Washington state.......................

 

More likely the exception than the rule. I know someone who worked at Enterprise and the horrific stories

 

I would buy it with confidence.