Help! Choosing among various prius model

PLT....
I'm seeing a lot of RED flags in these posts!!!!!
I'm time limited and I just skimmed.....but it seems that you have lied to multiple times by this dealer.

A 2012 that has been auctioned off bothers me.
A dealer that lies to the customer bothers me.

The first thing you need to do is to decide how much money you want to spend for your next car.
Then?
Go to a regional bank or credit union and get pre-approved for a car loan.
This is the part that might sting a little.
If you can't get pre-approved for new/used car loan at a decent rate then you need to re-evaluate the difference between "want" and "need" - because dealers will be all over you like a pack of dogs on a three legged cat if the mean old banks tell you "no" but those nice people down at "Smilin Bob's used car emporium" are able to help you (them) out by saying "yes."
Right now NFCU has rates from 1.49 to 2.99%
If you're paying more than 3-percent for a car loan????
You're either not shopping at the right place...or you may have to delay your purchase for a little bit and address some credit problems.
OK....
I've said this before.
You don't buy new clothes in a baseball stadium. You don't buy food at Home Depot.
Why would you buy money (a loan) or insurance at a car dealership?
Why not get these things where THEY get these things?

Two rules about buying Priuses:
#1. They come with 2 fobs.
#2. If they don't come with 2 fobs - Rule #1 becomes immediately applicable, or you walk.
If they come at you with some story about hundreds of dollars for a new fob? They're lying (again.)

Like I said....I'm smelling some unrefrigerated fish with the deal.

GOOD LUCK!!
Let us know how it shakes out.

 

Lots of times someone comes into a dealer looking for a specific vehicle. If the dealer doesn't have it on their lot or in storage, they do a dealer locate and see if the customer would buy one if they found it at a different dealer. So the dealer then trades something out of their inventory +/- any cash for the specific vehicle their customer wants.

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

They lied about the warranty.....red flag.
They lied about teaser-rate financing being tied to warranties and insurance purchases....Red flag.
You earn a low lower interest rate by having a good credit rating, NOT by buying stuff you don't need, at a price you shouldn't be paying.
I also don't like the old "electronics break down more often" FUD. Some creep is trying to scare you into purchasing a warranty based on THEIR presumption that you don't know how to do some basic research. Electronics are actually pretty reliable....and hybrid components are covered by a separate warranty than the 3/36 base warranty that they already lied about.
Finally?
I REALLY don't like the fact that the DEALER didn't list a very new, low mileage car as a CPO car and just charge $500 more for it.
That "we swap inventory" story doesn't float. You have to pay somebody to ship a car from state to state.
Honest dealers don't need to do that just to "keep their inventory fresh."
Honest dealers that don't have the make/model that you want will say that they can get it from one of their satellite dealers and THEN make arrangements to import the car.
It's possible....but it just doesn't make walking around sense to pay a trucking company to rotate inventory.
They should have maintenance records for this car if it's a Toyota dealership...and since the car was presumably covered by the ToyotaCare. Ask to see those.

Like I said.
I'd be careful.

GOOD LUCK!

 

There are some good dealers out there....and there are some honest mechanics out there.
Like politicians, the decent ones are somewhat shaded out by the creeps.

Lying during negotiations is a wide red line for me. You can only cross that line once, and in only one direction.
The reason I have such a passionate hatred for dishonest dealers and dealer mechanics is that I had to live in towns with large military populations.
Military patrons are pretty much guaranteed to be employed, somewhat transitory, they may not have a large income but they have a higher percentage of disposable income.
Plus?
They used to be easy to collect from.
Military towns still have a higher percentage of "E1, E2....we finance YOU!" establishments.

I've been asked to leave more than one dealership when helping some of my shipmates...

Like I said.
There ARE good dealers and salespersons out there.
THAT is why you sometimes have to cast a wide net when looking for a new or late model car.


Best of luck!!
You're trying to buy a pretty smart car.
That helps.

 

I think that is what Tesla does. It would be cool for all manufacturers to do that though.

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

As for warranty stuff. I recently bought a 2010 Prius IV and it had ~53k miles. The original 3yr/36k mile warranty was over but I was able to buy an extended warranty from my Toyota dealer (5yr / 60k miles). This extended warranty is from the date of purchase meaning 5 years or 60k miles from the day I bought the car.

Also, as long as your car is in factory warranty (3yr / 36k miles) you can purchase an extended warranty from Toyota.

Lastly, if you have any warranty questions you can contact [email protected]. I found him on this PriusChat forum and many people have bought warranties from him. I sent him an email asking some warranty questions and he helped me out understanding it.

Hope this helps.

 

No, it shouldn't be optional. Try looking to see if it's stored underneath the rear cargo floor. If not, it's missing.

It was only not included w/the Prius I (when Toyota still used Roman numerals. They've now switched to spelling out the numbers. See Prius I, and Other News | PriusChat and MY11 Prius | PriusChat.

 

#1: The Prius is a pretty creaky car, but there should not be noise from the HVAC fan. Does this noise increase and decrease when you vary the fan speeds?
Did I read where this car was initially purchased in March??? Like....it's only 8 months old?
Again?
Why no CPO?
Get ANOTHER Toyota dealer to look up the service records (the one that you're dealing with lies a lot!)
No records = no maintenance.....if if this maintenance was supposed to be free?
Red Flag.

#2. My car is a company car....meaning the curtain is probably standard since my beloved company has no incentive to buy cosmetic baubles for their fleet cars.
Easy fix.
This is either an option or it isn't. Look it up or visit another dealer and ask them.
IMHO? Either they're lying or they are uneducated about the product that they're selling.
There's no excuse for either. Priuses have been around for a while now.

#3. I don't know. It may have been knocked out of focus when the car was stolen...flooded...or wrecked.

 

Creaky? We find the v to be one of the quietest cars we've owned.

Have you checked to see whether the cargo area cover stowed in its compartment beneath the cargo area rug and cover?

The HUD projection lens must be cleanable and adjustable and seems to need both. Why is a question, though.

 

My car has no creaks or rattles

Mike

 

I believe the Four gets that rear cargo cover as standard equipment. Check under the rear hatch floor for the cover. There is a slot to store it in there. Ask the dealer if they could check the fan. It should be pretty near quiet except on high it is obviously louder but not crazy loud. An easy test to do is go stop by a local dealer and power up a new Prius on their lot and see how that fan sounds.

Mike

 

Can I ask which credit union give you 1.99% and for how many months?
I applied at Columbia credit union,wa. they gave me 2.99 for 72 months on 2010 car. My credit score is very good 79-