Wrong things the dealer told you before you bought your Prius

My dealer told me that since the Prius puts out such high electrical energy it was more prone to corrosion, and I should definately get it undercoated. Of course he also wanted me to buy the paint protection and interior treatment. I passed on all three.

 

"Don't worry, dude, using the NAV system is intuitive and if you have trouble with it, the manual is easy!"

 

When I purchased my first Prius (Gen 1 in 2001), the salesman told me that I would have to bring it to the dealer whenever I needed an oil change. He said in order to change the oil, you need specially trained technicians, who wear "Anti electrical" clothing and use special insulated tools. I said OK

After the first 4 free oil changes, I started doing them myself at home. I drove the Gen 1 for 230+K miles before trading it in for the GenII.

 

I got mine from the Toyota Corporate office, and was given a 2 minute, "how to drive"
lesson. I should of asked how to shift into drive.

 

This late in the model year, when you go in a dealership to buy an in stock "new" car, you'd think a 2011 was what you're buying. I wish that we were told we were buying a 2010 before we got to the finance office. When asked why paperwork had wrong date, Guy that "made the sale" said that the manufacturer was not making 2011s available in the region 'til the 2010s were sold. I left my hubby in the office, called the first local dealer listed in the directory, he had plenty. It turned out there were two '11s on the lot we were at.

We got a better deal due to the extra sales incentives on the '10s, and some coupons for the parts store due to the salesman's guilt over the misunderstanding. The dealership we were at was really busy, and the poor guy was working with at least 2 other buyers while we were there and had to have an assistant get cars and take us out in them while he buzzed about.

Oh and why have a valet key to keep thieves out of a trunk or glovebox on a hatchback with no lock on the glove compartment?

 

Sounds as if you were in such a hurry that you did not read the window sticker......it's not a valet key....it's just another key...1 for you & 1 for hubby.

Also: Put that little metal tag that came with one of the keys..in a safe place.....it's a blessing to have this tag, in the event you need another key fob.

Enjoy your new car........they are really great !!!

 

You can also just copy the number on that tag, squirrel it away in a few places, write it in the front or back page of the Owners Manual, and maybe in a text file with stuff like your VIN and whatnot. And back that up.

On the original premise of the thread: we found a Touring model Prius, kind of buried in the showroom garage behind quite a few other models. It's sort of like the US V model, regarding the 17" wheels and LED headlights, but without the high end tech package items and leather seats.

Anyway, seeing an opening, salesman A asked if we'd like him to dig it out and we could take it for a drive, the following day. We were interested, and agreed. So the next afternoon we get there, the car is sitting idling (due to dead 12 volt), front-and-centre by the dealership entrance, and is the only Prius for miles with 17" wheels. Salesman B is going to take care of us, comes up as we're standing by the car.

We almost get into a heated argument over the car in front of us not being a Touring model, just a demo we're going to try out. Anyway, reality prevailed, we got our drive, and we got our car.

 

In 2006, the dealer told me that when starting the car, you have to hold down the Power/Start button until you hear it beep. Is this true?

 

the dealer actually was well informed. everything he told me was correct

 

No. It turns out that you only have to hold it down until the car goes into "ready" which of course is "started" in Prius speak. I have no idea when the beep happens. I don't even pay attention. Foot on brake, press button, start driving.

 

My salesman was well informed. He only messed up on a couple of minor detail that didn't matter when telling me how the car works. He was one very few car salesmen I would recommend to a friend.

The salesman introduced me to a shop supervisor so I could ask any questions about maintenance. He told me the car took 5W-40 oil, and he had the oil change interval way wrong.

The service manager told me the shop manual set cost $1100.00 and they didn't sell them to private customers.

The finance gut that I had to see to get final paper work taken care of was a lying douche bag, but that's part of the finance guys job description.

 

The very first time I walked into the local dealer and looked at a Prius I told him I was concerned about not being able to turn off traction control. He said the the 2010 now has this feature and pointed to the parking assist button to the right of the steering wheel.

 

Our dealer missed on a few points and probably would of missed a few more if we had questioned other things. I had done a bit of reading here at prius chat before we made the final decision to buy. We have a 2010 and really like the car. He told us there was no side mirror defrost. That if the battery died there was no way to get the back door open to get at the battery to jump it so you would have to crawl through the side door to get jumper cables to the battery. When I talked about leaving the head lights on and letting them auto turn off after 30 sec. he said that wasn't a good idea since everything about the Prius operation is battery and it would run it down. I intend to talk to him when we go back in for service. I think he needs to brush up on his Prius information. But, if you rely on your salesman for all you information you can be misinformed.

 

You got a valet Key!!

 

My salesdroid said the plastic inserts where the optional fog lights would be installed were "front radars" and when I powered up the car and the ICE started he said, "that's the battery starting up". I LOL'ed on that one.

 

That's not actually far off. On the Toyota site they're asking something more than $200 US for each of 4 volumes. Helm Inc has the same 4 books for $70 US. And there's PDF's (quasi-illegal?) for sale for $10~.

Coming from a steady diet of Honda Shop Manuals over the years, the Toyota Repair Manual seems very terse and cobbled together.

 

There probably are exceptions...but my experience is most car salesmen...don't feel guilt. They are like homicidal Terminator robots programed only to make the sale. They are like hired gun slingers in the old west.

If you plan to keep the car a long time, and you got a good deal, there is no difference between the 2010 and 2011...I'd be happy.

Plus come on? You can't count on a salesperson telling you anything they think might kill the sale or give you leverage to bargain. It's up to you to know what you are buying...

 

I consider $300 and the misinformation about them not being for sale to the public to be a long ways off.

 

American bladders are, in fact, stretched further than the Canadian ones. Comes from drinking crummy rice beer.
:rockon:

 

Was told that it was a Touring when it wasn't (actually a Pkg 2). Car was kitted with aftermarket wheels and fog lights, kinda obscured the obvious Touring markers. But I didn't really know enough as a buyer at the time anyway. I did know it was a great deal for the mileage/age/condition, even if not actually a Touring. No regrets but the guy was pretty lazy.

- D