Buying Used Prius Agonizing over Details : }

That makes more sense now, thanks for the clarification. Did they do this on their dime, or yours? Probably doesn't matter as they will figure the cost in one way or the other.

Hope it all works out in your favor, still rooting for you.

 

...there's good youtube on the plugs...well it'll take a little elbow grease but if you are so inclined

 

Ok, is "it" a done deal? Or still in the works?

Hope all works out the best for you.

 

I have no doubt the thread will be a interesting hit.

Best of luck to you.

 

""flawless" and in show room condition" is marketing hyperbole unless the was restored. The rust on the wiper assembly and the crack in the rear bumper cover are annoying.

The oil change interval was 5000 miles. Since my Intrigue's OCI was 7500 miles and the Prius engine didn't run all the time I thought Toyota was being very conservative. My OCI was 10000 miles.

The buying process always takes longer than it should.

 

I agree that OCI @ 5k is perfect with the Prius. The TCHybrid and the Corolla we have now have OCI @ 10k with Synthetic Oil. Does not seem to bother a thing.

I would like to know how does the engine wear-in if you start with synthetic oil. My guess is that the engines are worn-in at the factory. They told us that the first 1000 miles is what counts.

I have had synthetic oil in mine since 15000 miles. I does not burn oil, I do have a very minor valve cover leak (I can fix it, I am just not motivated; three back surgeries on my L3 L4 and L5 hurts still to this day 5 years later).

So to Daisy, here's hoping you get your Prius. You have done your research and it will pay off.

 

Daisy, does your neighbor's car sit near a railroad track at any time? Steel dust from the rail cars wheels against the steel track will fly everywhere. If it lays on the paint, it can "melt" its way into the paint.

Melt may not be the best word here, but cars built in the last twenty years have water-based paint to avoid VOC's. That is volatile organic compounds. That paint is softer than the old paint that used to be on cars. The steel chips created by the rail wheels can cause some god awful problems.

 

Daisy,

If you have a digital camera take a picture of the "specks" on the wiper arms. I do recall the Gen II we had did something similar. If I saw your picture I could verify if it is the same thing. If it is what I think it is, the term would be wear caused by the paint being sand blasted away over time from going down the highway...

Also make sure you are happy BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. In most cases you have three days after the deal is done before you are stuck with it. But it is a lot easier to back out before you sign than after.

Hoping for the best

 

There are a lot of vehicles with damage to the left corner of the rear bumper cover. Maybe some reflective tape or painters tape applied in a decorative pattern across the bumper would help. If not, look for a used silver bumper cover in the salvage yards.

As JTM said, iron powder is a bugger (not the first adjective that comes to mind) to remove and it gets on everything. That stuff "bonds" with paint and if left alone for any period of time the car will need to be compounded to get it off. The asphalt on the road by the sponge iron plant in town is rusting.

The dealer will work on their own schedule but it won't take more than a week. You may be able to speed things up a bit by being a bit of an annoyance.

 

Hi Daisy,

What ever you do, make sure you leave with two "working key fobs". Don't settle for one, and make sure you have the metal emergency key too that fits the driver's door. Both fobs should have that metal key. The fobs will have a silver logo on the back side and the car will have the smart key system. With all that said, make sure both fobs work with the smart key system.



Don't let them talk down to you on this. The fobs are expensive and are also expensive to program.

To me that would be the "deal breaker".

After re reading post #209 I now understand what you were referring to around the wipers.

Best of luck to you.

 

I can't think of anything that once fixed could be an ongoing problem.

I want to see the problem corrected to my satisfaction, none of this we'll make it right (eventually). The only time they have a real incentive to make you happy is before they have your money.

Get a friend & some clips and drop the bumper cover yourself or see if you can get the body shop class at the local vo-tech school to do it. My guess is that a shop is going to charge $100-$200.

 

Hi Daisy,

Here is something you might be interested in. There is a site called "True Delta" which is set up for folks to register and report problems with their vehicles

If you go over there and register, you can then search various vehicles and read everything that has been reported there. Sort of like Consumer Reports.

Here's the link TrueDelta -- Real Car Owners Driving Real Car Information

On the 09 Prius I see where 61 repairs were reported and a total of 28 repair trips. The repairs were pretty much the normal stuff that you see here on Prius Chat. The most expensive repairs that were reported were in the range of $500 -$999 of which 21% of all repairs reported consisted of. Any other repairs were in lower priced categories.

If you go on and register, you will know more about what to look for on the Prius you are getting into. You can also register that Prius on the Toyota Owner's Website and find out about any repairs or work done by any dealer from day one. It won't show work done by independents or previous owners doing their own work, but will show all work done by any authorized Toyota dealer. You will need the VIN to register on Toyota's owner website.

Toyota Owners Official Web Site

You asked about deal breakers, that is the best info I can give you right now.

Best of luck to you!

 

Like I told one of my other friends here on Prius Chat. With much knowledge sometimes comes much grief.

Body work may be good or may be bad. It really depends on what they did and where. Even the 09 we had was worked on, and no one told us either. I found out the Toyota Owner's website like you did. With that I say "Attagirl"!

Please tell me you are dealing with a Toyota dealer and not someone else like Ford or whatever... I ask this because of what you wrote above about having it checked out by a Toyota dealer.

Oh the carfax thing. More than likely the owner did not report it when they traded it in. That is probably why the body work did not show up on the carfax. Or at least that would be my understanding.

Hang in there, it is just now getting interesting

 

Oh and the manual for the 2009 Prius. Unless you are a speed reader plan on several sessions to get through all of it, plus trips out to the car to play with it as you learn. Yours is top of the line, so lots of stuff to learn about.

If you want to get a jump start on it, you can download it here for free.

2009 Toyota Prius Owner's Manual - JustGiveMeTheDamnManual.com

Have fun!