Buying Advice needed

Hello! Welcome! Im a new Prius own as well (purchased one right before COVID19). Although I purchased mine new here's some thigns I learned when purchasing.

1. I haven't used Carmax before but most reviews out there are hit and miss. Some people just needed a car right now and are happy with a nice used car. Some people hate it because of they tried to rip the off etc.
2. I personally wouldn't buy something thats 3 years old with more than 30K miles, averaging about 10K per year. (personal preference)
3. Not everything is reportable to carfax (some body shop participate and some dont). It can see how many owners it had based on title changes , but not all damages, repairs or services . You can purchase a moth subscription to check the VINs out with that being said.
4. I see you are in Washington, you can check them at NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
5. As I mentioned in #3. Some repairs shops participate and some dont. Some dealerships do and dont also. The maintenance for a 2017 Prius is only 3 oil changes. By the service manual, a Prius oil change interval is 1 year . A professional level scan tool (not the $50 ones on amazon) can check it for faults, some faults can be present but does not trigger a check engine light. you can also drive the vehicle and have the scan tool record live data and then look at the data if there are any codes.
6. If you are buying a 2017, the powertrain warranty would be over (or almost). the powertrain warranty is 3years or 36K miles. CPO do come with warranty, so there's that.
7. If you are buying from a used car company like Carmax, I would probably would take it to a dealership or a local guy/gal that works with hybrids. The dealership "multipoint Inspection" is just a quick look at things, oil level, brake fluid level.. etc).

 

Welcome! I can't give authoritative answers to all your questions, but some of them are pretty easy for me.

That's my policy, too. Let someone else pay the depreciation. (Not that there aren't benefits to buying new that take some of the sting out of it.) My only experience with Carmax was decades ago and I thought they were overpriced. Things may have changed since then.

20-40k is very low miles for a Prius. My '17 Prime had about 23k on it when I got it 14 months ago. It's at 44,500 now and still feels and drives like a new car. Three of the Prii we've bought (out of five) had just under or just over 100k miles and served us well.

Good idea on the Carfax. But I imagine you know they don't catch everything. Still better than nothing.

Easily done at Welcome to Toyota Owners. Just join and then you can enter the VIN for any Toyota and get information on any outstanding recalls.

Same site as above. If the original owner had his service done by Toyota (and since it was free for the first two years, they probably did), then those records will be there as well.

I agree with your reasoning. CPO doesn't really matter to me.

I typically do my own inspection, but it would seem better to me to take it to a Toyota dealer for inspection than to Joe Mechanic ... unless Joe specialized in Prius as some do.

 

Agree with all of the above, and will add some thoughts.
1) I've tried and tried to buy from Carmax over the years. Nope. They buy extremely low, and sell extremely high. Cars have been prepped well, but they wouldn't allow (hear in Fort Worth, also in Maryland) me to take the car for a separate evaluation. I had to BUY the car first.

2) FYI, I drove several (5 or 6) higher mileage Gen 4 prii ((80 to 100k miles), to evaluate body structure, squeaks, rattles, MPG. I was impressed that every single one was tight, no suspension wobbles, doors closed nicely, ZERO rattles or structural issues. All achieved MPG in the 50-54mpg range, even in 40-50f ambient temps.

I wouldn't be concerned about buying one in the 40-50k mile range.

 

Sounds like you're in good hands.

My two centavos:
(real-world value...<$0.02)

1. Carmax > delaer <private sale.
Dealers are easy to buy from.
You PAY for that convenience. Carmax is hit or miss. You'll pay a more than private party, and they'll try to work in some "extras" (say NO) but if you're already arranged your financing it's a clean transaction, and they've already gone over the car for you - and you have a shaky satisfaction guarantee sorta warranty.
See #5 below.

2. Try to get pre-approved for a loan from your bank or credit union FIRST.
You can offer Moe - the out of work bartender turned finance manager a chance to beat your rate but this will set a hard floor.
(Moe actually BEAT my credit union - NFCU, by a half point last time I bought a car, and my credit score is well over 800 - so give Moe a chance!!)

3. G4s are turning out to be pretty dang reliable! Don't sweat any mileage under 50k and you're probably good well beyond that.

4. If the presets are erased on the radio, and the trip odometers read zero that might be an indication of something a little more interesting than a recently replaced battery - but everybody has OBD2 scanners these days and they know how to clear any codes.

5. Pre-delivery inspection!! Go over the car. Bring a friend. Go over all of the paperwork......twice.

6. Include a JIC fund in your budget. (Just in case) $1,000 in a savings account will always trump ANY warranty.....speaking of which, the Priuses warranty isn't all that great but is DOES cover some emissions and power-train components LONGER than the bumper to bumper warranty.
Dealerships are not required to EXPLAIN this to you, and it's been my experience that some dealers will not volunteer this info.

6.5.....Key fobs. PLURAL.
Demand at least TWO....or demand a significant discount from kbb.
This is especially true if you're buying from a dealer.

7. When you get your car, relax and enjoy those first few weeks of ownership!!!!
Take a few road trips (carefully!)
Post pics.

...then?
Get back with us on setting up a maintenance plan!!


Good Luck!