Picking up Prius in a few days, what should I look for before signing the paperwork?

Recent paint/bodywork. Would indicate that it was in an accident in transit and was repaired.

Pull up the carpeting in the back to make sure everything under there is accounted for.

Turn on all the lights and accessories. Turn on the heat and the AC.

 

More of a visual inspection. Paint should match perfectly so if you notice it going from one shade to another, it's a possible indication.

 

Check for body panel gaps... Manual...spare tire ,inflator ,tow hook ,etc, seat heaters work.. Tire tread...everything you would look at on a used car....just be 100X more picky...

 

Is anyone going to ask if it's new or used? OP asked in the new gen5 forum.

New cars come with a check list they are supposed to give you. Make sure it's followed through and correct.

 

I just looked on the OP sig and I remembered him from the thread about trying to find out where his new car was during its delay at the port for the QC control and assumed it was new.

 

Tire pressures.

 

Are the rubber body plugs still being left out by the Toyota dealers?

 

So how do you handle it if there’s a scratch or rippled softex etc. A while back I thought someone mentioned part of the paperwork signed during purchase includes a statement concerning potential bodywork repairs. Something about making sure it states less than a certain amount of damage. Pretty sure I didn’t imagine this. : }

 

That was me. Here’s the thing though: that paperwork is not handed down from on high; it’s a “proposal”, carefully crafted by car sellers, for them. They will present this as gospel, but feel free to edit, and ask them to initial the revisions.

The typical “proposal” up here says the car could have sustained 20% of its retail value in bodywork, and they don’t even need to disclose it. That is not legislation, just their proposal.

Most any buyer would take this to be preposterous, because it is. you’re perfectly within your rights to edit this. And sadly, consider the current sellers market, they can tell you to take it or leave it.

My 2 cents: if you’ve got semi-reliable wheels, nows a lousy time to be new car shopping. Let others rush in.

 

This... I didn't check but when I did found out the the tires were filled to 55psi when the door jam only calls for 35/33 and the tire itself is rated only to 51psi

 

Just for the record, the tire can handle being inflated past its sidewall rating, it just can't handle being driven at that pressure. The tires are deliberately overinflated when they're being shipped from overseas so that the tires don't develop flat spots when the cars sit might stationary for a month or more. The dealership is supposed to adjust the pressure to the door jam specs when the car arrives at the dealership, but obviously some don't do their job. The reason why is likely because cars manufactured in North America typically don't have tires overinflated for shipping because their transit times are generally only a week or so. This might cause a dealership to get complacent if 90%+ of their new inventory comes from NA plants.

The other big thing to check are the body plugs. Toyota normally throws these in the glovebox to be installed by the dealer. Lazy dealerships often skip this. They either leave them in the glove box or just toss them out. For those of us in wet/cold climates, these plugs are important. If you're in a rust belt state(where salt is used on roads in the winter), these plugs are critical. If I found out the tires were still overinflated, I'd demand to have them put the car on a lift and show me the plugs were installed.

 

You can check the plugs without car on a lift. You pretty much have to lie down, look up, just forward of rear wheel wells, and slightly inboard of the crimped seam. Great safety stand place btw.

 

Actually having the car you ordered might be step one, given the problems we'll all having finding one.

And please feel free to rub it in - with lots of pictures after you get it

 

Mine were in the neighborhood of 50psi. I loweered them to 41psi front and 39psi back.

 

Of course. But if I've just dropped $40k or more on a new vehicle and I think the dealership has cut corners in the prep, the hell I'm going to get on my back to check their work. They can just go ahead and put that bad boy up on a lift so I can check their work in comfort.

 

Is there some reason you aren't following the recommended pressures? 41/39 is way high compared to the 35/33 recommended!

 

been recommended around here for years for better mileage and wear.