Buying used from non-Toyota dealer

The Honda mechanics know next to nothing about the Prius. Their 40-Point inspection is little more than kick the tires and see if all the accessories work. They might have checked the fluids and overfilled the oil but I doubt that they would change the oil.

 

Ask them if the checked the alternator. If the say yes it's part of the "40-Point" inspection then you KNOW they have no knowledge of Prius service. Since the Prius does not have an alternator.
Even an inspection by a Prius savy mechanic might not find the ticking time bomb of a problem. But at least Toyota dealer has the right computer to read all the error codes.

 

sounds like a great car, did you take it for a nice long test drive?

 

"My question is: do I really need to have this car checked out by an authorized Toyota dealer, or can I trust that the Honda-Subaru-VW dealer mechanics know what they're doing? After all, Honda and VW also have hybrids, right?"
You cannot trust that. In fact you can barely trust the Toyota dealer mechanics to know the Prius, but at least it is supposed to be their job to do so.

Unless you enjoy negative surprises and the four-figure repair bills associated with such, it would be good for you to invest a couple of labor hours worth of service charge and ask your local Toyota dealer's service dept to have the Prius checked out.

 

I also recommend getting the car inspected by a Toyota dealer. The car may be fine, but like Patrick said, the downside could be a very big repair bill

I just bought a 2005 Pruis after having it inspected by a Toyota dealer. I paid $145 for the inspection. It was money well spent in my opinion. When considering a purchase of $10,000 (as I just made), $150 is very little to pay for some assurance and peace of mind.

Good luck!

 

I recently purcahsed a 2007 prius also and I purchased it from non toyota dealer. I had other people check it out but not an authorized toyota dealer and purchased the car. A day or two after I purchase it the Check Engine light came on and threw codes. Went back to the dealer I bought it from and the mechanic swore up and down nothing was wrong with the car....bla bla bla..he had no clue on the car. So after some checking found out that the coolant was no toyota certified coolant for prius and it looked like the system had air bubles. So I ended up taking it to a toyota dealer and had a full coolant flush and payed $240 dolars. Good thing that was the fix though it could've been worst.

You can read about it in the thread from the link below.
Help me buy a Prius | PriusChat


So do listen to these guys and take that car and have it inspected by a toyota dealer. I also talked a toyota tech and he said only hybrid certified tech get to work on the prius. FYI not just anybody can work on them without some extensive reading up on them and experience with the car.

 

How many miles and for how much are you thinking of buying this prius for if you dan't mind me asking?

 

And btw look arround and under the car yourself very carefully. Carfax is good but you never know, it's not 100% accurate just so you know. So take your time with the car before you sign everything and be annoying and ask questions. When I bought mine I made the dealer show me the invoice when he purcahsed it and for how much, I checked the pricing with other dealers and KBB, I have talked to a toyota tech about it and still got sort of screwed a little due to that little problem it had.

 

I basically don't trust ANY 40 pt inspections supposedly done by ANY dealership trying to sell me the vehicle.

I would always recommend an outside, independent evaluation.

One admission, I was burned once when I was younger when I "trusted" a dealerships supposed 40pt inspection as being anything more than worthless.

My experience has been, before purchase, it's "Trust Them" it's been inspected. After purchase if you discover some problem? It's "Too Bad" must of been missed during the inspection.

I really wouldn't want to rely on my states Lemon Laws as being my safeguard against surprise.

My be the greatest used car deal in your area...but it's still worth it, to get it checked out independently.

 

Well I bought mine with 55k miles and it had all the options besides navigation and leather seats for $10500, I think it was package 4.
If you want to take the car to have toyota check it its totally up to you.
Make sure you test drive it for at least 25 miles to see if the check engine light comes on.

 

To mess a Prius up in 55kmiles, you would have to not change oil at all or wreck it. 55K is just a baby getting started on walking to a Prius. If its had regular maintenance and no accidents, and looks and drives new, do the usual used car stuff, check the oil and fluids, you already drove it and determined that the hybrid system is working fine. That's all I would need.

That's my $0.02

 

That is not unheard of.

 

I hear you but he has the maintenance records for this one.

That's funny.

 

What gives you the idea that the carfax isn't totally accurate?

I don't think you need the compression test but, you will find that I don't think you need a lot of things. lol

 

An engine compression test would be great. What is the total price for the inspection at this point, prior to the optional compression test?

Also, the OP does not have the signature "I'll try to fix anything" so I assume s/he wants to minimize risk.