Toyota used car certification process;Buying a Certified Pre Owned Car? Here's what happens Behind t

i don't agree that all dealers run the process the same way. and who knows what the mechs actually check?

 

When it comes to a Prius I'd trust the advice on this website more that a Toyota Stealerships "multi-point inspection" because there's lots of things they don't check for.

 

I bought my 2011 Certified Pre-Owned from the dealership where I purchased my 2021 and over the years got service done on all three (2008. 2011, and 2021). When I took the 2011 home, the spare tire donut had 32 psi in it and the radiator fan frame was not installed properly. I don't think anyone looked very close at it before the sale.

 

Yep... A car that doesn't have anything wrong with it doesn't get much attention at a repair shop. Of course if you're about to drop a bunch of money on a used car and don't no much about cars it's pretty much a necessary formality. Truth is someone who exclusively works on Prius will be able to tell you all kinds of things about what to expect from the car in less than 10 minutes of looking at it with no tools or lift required, just an OBD2 reader or Mini-VCI and some visual inspections.

 

I leaned to drive and do burnouts on a 64 British Green Spitfire. My older brothers car. What a pos that car was but fun to drive. Low to the ground. Hood opens backwards and the carbs needed constant jiggling like a toilet handle if memory serves but that was in 1968.

Many years later he bought a TR6 in Baby Blue. That car was really fun to drive and great looking!

Same year my best friends Dad said to us one day you 2 are gonna build a Jeep this summer. He was one of the guys who actually shipped a Willys jeep home in boxes. So we did. His dad was in the Navy so we had to put 2 coats of paint on everything. Saw WW2.

I Just got back from a 4000 mile run to New England and back hooked up with my old best buddy in Franklin Lakes NJ and he still has that jeep. Dad passed a while ago and he cant part with it to many you know whats. It was quite a trip to see it.

 

There's a DIFFERENCE between a FACTORY Certified Pre-Owned vehicle, and a "Certified Pre-Owned vehicle."

The former is covered by the OEM warranty, while the latter is only legally "certified" to be "pre-owned."

Most people who buy their used cars at a new car dealership (what I like to call "victims" ) never bother to notice the difference.

There's a REASON that many NEW CAR dealerships make more money on the used car side of the lot than they do on the new car side.

Especially during a....."less than optimal" economy.....

 

i thought all used cars were covered by the oem warranty, unless salvage (depending on state law)

 

"CERTIFIED" Pre-owned warranties are 'supposed' to be better, and many of the OEM ones actually ARE....

That is...if you insist on buying a used car from a new car dealer.....

 

thanks, i have never seen or heard of one.

was it in the video? i fell asleep before they started the inspection

 

so he checks the 12v to see if it is the correct size and type, but doesn't load test it because it's only 3 years old?

 

The video kindly shared here shows the inspection process as it’s supposed to work, but as others have noted, not every dealer or technician is so thorough.

Keep in mind how the automakers’ certified used-car programs work. As I posted before:

Toyota sponsors the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle program, provides the warranty, and sets the program requirements and inspection criteria, but the dealer buys the used car (at wholesale or as a trade-in), inspects it, and decides whether to pay a fee to Toyota to include the vehicle in the program.

Toyota has the right to audit the inspections, but in practice, only a dealer technician, not a Toyota representative, is likely to have examined the vehicle.​

I’ve also posted links to older editions of Toyota’s Inspection Standards Manual and Inspection Check Sheet, for anyone interested in the specific items that are supposed to be checked.

Testing the battery is mentioned and shown at 19:48. I believe the inspection is done in two parts: a first phase, to check quickly for disqualifying problems and major deficiencies, and then—if the initial findings justify investing further time in the vehicle—a second, more thorough phase to identify all of the reconditioning needed to meet the program standards.