certified or not: is it worth it?

woj,

:welcome: to PRIUSchat.

I can't answer any of the questions that you have posed but there
are some addditional concerns that you should consider:

For the private party sale, you should have the car checked out by
a competant Prius tech -- whether or not you can find one at your
Toyota dealer is up in the air.

It would be best if you drove the car to the dealer as part of a test
drive. Try to get a few miles at freeway speeds. Be especially
vigilant to notice any off center steering tendencies, strange noises,
etc. Check the spare tire, and that area for any standing water --
evidence of leakage around the rear hatch or tail lights which would
suggest body damage from a rear-end accident.

At a minimum, you should ask the tech for:
* A print-out of the vehicle servicing history (It would be a very
good thing to find that the "transmission" fluid had been changed,
even though it is not due 'til 100k miles.)
* A check for any "codes" that have been logged
* A check of the 12V battery
* Any uneven wear on the tire treads would indicate a wheel
alignment issue, which might also be suggested by a low lifetime
MPG reading.

I suspect others will also post-up with other ideas.

There is a recent thread by a new member who didn't do the above
and was somewhat inattentive and really got screwed over by the
seller. This was definitely a near-worse case scenario, read it as a
cautionary tale:

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/67346-bought-lemon-hybrid.html

Hope this helps.

 

The cerified warranty comes with a 30 day bumper to bumper. But with the hybrid system having a 100,000 mile warranty anyway. I would drive both of them and see if you can tell a differance between them. The certified does cover the engine up to 100,000 miles that would be the only thing I see that would be worth it.

 

My one and only experience with a Toyota certified used car came up when I bought an '02 Toyota Camry and didn't worry about having it checked out thoroughly because of that black and red sticker. After I bought it, it turned out that it had been wrecked, and badly. The rear wheelwell was rusting due to a bad weld job from a repair. It would barely drive straight, and the steering wheel was at almost a 45 degree angle to the right when it was driving in a straight line.
This on a car with 23,000 miles. After having some of this pointed out to me, I began looking into the TCUC warranty, and it seems that they are VERY uh, liberal with allowances. A car can be wrecked, doesn't have to follow all the maintenance, etc., and a dealer can still claim it as certified. I would hope that all dealers aren't as shady as that one, but it still makes me think that a certified used car is just a used car with a higher price.

 

I was talked into a "certified" used car once by a slick salesperson at a dealership. I did get them to give me a copy of the certification check list and re-checked a few things myself after I bought the car, such a brake pads and tire wear. What I discovered was that all they had done was fill out the papers, wash the car, and sell it to the sucker, me. Later when I had a problem with the car they gave me a big hassle about fixing it. I have since discovered that my story is not atypical, a lot of car dealers do the same thing.

In your situation I would take the less expensive one to a Toyota dealer, not the one with the other car, pay them to have their Prius mechanic check it out, and if it's OK buy it. But don't hesitate to turn them both down, there are quite a few Prius (Prii/Priuses) for sale, best of luck and :welcome:to PC. Be sure to let us know how it works out.

 

I had the same issue in choosing between private sale, dealer, and CPO. For piece of mind spend the extra $$ and get the Toyota CPO because it is already inspected by Toyota and comes with a warranty.

...2 weeks ago I went the CPO route!

But as others will warn just because they are a dealer, you still have to do your homework. Remember too rentals are treated like crap. Good Luck!!

 

I also had bad experience with a purchase of a toyota certified vehicle, i would go with least expensive and pay a mechanic to check it out. print out of any work done to car is a huge plus!

 

I like the idea of having a warranty through the dealer, though unfortunately there's no guarantee they'd be more honest than a private seller. Definitely, get the car checked out thoroughly before you buy it.

Just out of curiosity, what's a new car going for where you are? If the difference between new and used is only a few thousand dollars, that could solve your dilemma right there.

 

I think I'd be more nervous about both being 1 owner "rentals" because what that translates into is a history of No Owner but multiple, potentially uncaring users.

Minimum, I'd want a CarFax report on both, also I'd want them checked out independently. People want things ASAP, and it can be intimidating to request or demand an independent mechanical evaluation, even at your own expense, because of course both dealers aren't going to want to do that, and they will insist the car is so wonderful it isn't necessary.

But I think if I was you, I'd pick the one I think I like best, and then do the Carfax and an independent mechanical evaluation. If it passes? Then I'd be happy...if it doesn't move on to the 2nd choice, do the same thing, and/or just keep your eyes open. As has been said, there are many used Prius available and always becoming available. You can get what you want if you are patient.

 

great advice look at the carfax, but beware a clean carfax does not mean no accidents. my Toyota CPO Prius came with the inspection, carfax, warranty, and roadside assistance.

 

Enter both VINs at http://www.toyotaownersonline.com/index.html for the service records.

Get MSRP, Invoice pricing, & 3 no haggle quotes from www.aaa.com.

Shouldn't the balance of the new car warranty still be in effect? A Prius II can be had for $22714 + tax. The cars aren't comparable because the 2010 won't have a backup camera or MFD but should get better FE. What are the option packages on the used cars?

 

Well, I can tell you this -- I've bought both a certified 2003 Honda Pilot and a certified 2008 Toyota Prius. The four-year-old Honda was literally like brand new. I was really glad to see brand new tires on there. The three-year-old Toyota -- not so much. I gave Toyota the benefit of the doubt based on the Honda certified experience, but a month into the Toyota, I'm noticing things I had taken for granted -- like the tires. I'd say they're past the 50% life that is supposed to kick in replacement for certified vehicles. I also noticed on the 150-point checklist, some things checked as "ok" that aren't even on the car. Guess no one checked. Love the Prius, though. It's a technological wonder. And I'm not sorry I bought it.

 

This is a bit long, but I need to vent and warn others. I recently bought a 2010 Prius from a Toyota dealer in St. Joe Missouri. I live in Omaha, but got the best trade in offer from them. It was listed as CPO with a little under 30K miles. To get to my price point, I had them drop the CPO, which supposedly saved about $400. So, they were telling me I got the 160 point inspection for free. Well, when I got there it was very cold, it had almost 31,000 miles and since it was a CPO, I didn't check it over too close. BIG mistake on my part.

I bought it and got it home to find a number of issues. I opened the hood, and right away I see that the brake fluid was down to the minimum line, so I topped it off. I then checked the washer fluid, and it must have been almost empty. Not a big deal, but not what I expected from a CPO vehicle. I checked out the service record, and they did do an oil change, put in a new air filter, new front wipers, and 4 new tires. Good deal, right? Well, the tires they put on were about the cheapest ones Goodyear makes and NOT LRR. I called around to get a trade difference for 4 Goodyear Fuel Max. Several dealers didn't even want them in trade. I finally got it done, but it cost me $220.

A week later, I decided to wash it myself and put a coat of wax on it. I found a chip in the windshield down below the wiper blades. Sadly, I also found that the passenger side rocker pannel had been scraped to the point where it was torn in half by the back wheel and the mounting bracket was totally gone. You really had to almost look under the car to see it.

I called the dealership back up and spoke to the salesman and the used car manager. They refused to do anything and claimed I must have done the damage myself, especially since it had gone through the certification inspection. I also filed a claim with Toyota which the dealership once again refused to help.

So, long story short, check it out very carefully whether or not it is CPO or not and don't put to much faith in the CPO program.

<rant off>

 

+1
Certification means nothing. I think you're better off with a 3rd party extended warranty (assuming it costs less). Don't trust for a second that they've really gone over the car in detail and fixed everything. On mine they hadn't even done things covered in TSBs that I noticed in the first week.

- D

 

-1. Certified Pre-Owned is worth it. Specifically, their return policy and 3 month/3000 mile comprehensive warranty can save your nice person. When you buy CPO, you can't expect it to be free of normal wear and tear. It's only supposed to be in good working condition.


You may take it for granted, but all you need to do is buy a lemon from a Private Sale and then all you will say is, "Gee I wish I bought Toyota Certified." And that happens quite a lot.


If you are ever in doubt, you may always refer to this:
Warranty