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Used 2009 Prius One - About to purchase - Would you go for it?

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by HolyCow, May 15, 2014.

  1. HolyCow

    HolyCow Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2014
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA 90004
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Here's a link that deals with the other possible issue I found when activating reverse.

    Intermittent crackling noise | PriusChat

    I didn't get the squeaking he's talking about but I did get one louder-than-usual snap sound when I activated reverse. It happened every time.

    Is that normal stuff considering the high voltages this car is packing?

    As Tom has stated:


    I guess I can take it to get the brakes bled if I decide to go through with it. According to JeffD the "barking" sound is air in the system possibly caused by higher altitudes. Makes sense since the car is located in San Diego and in the hillier parts as well.

    San Diego has an elevation level of 1,539 ft whereas Los Angeles is only a measly 233 ft. Maybe the problem will go away as soon as I bring it to LA. I'll keep an ear on it.
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    There are very few reports of any type of failures in a 55,000 mile Prius. If you were parked on a hill and shifted into reverse, you would sometimes here a noise from it shifting. You don't normally hear noises when you are on flat ground.

    If everything checked out on this Prius and it has good service records from the dealer, I would probably think there is nothing wrong with it. Dealers are very good a pointing out problems during service visits, anything wrong would have been noted on record and possibly addressed as "fixed or decline to fix"
     
  3. HolyCow

    HolyCow Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA 90004
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It has all the records both in print and available at the dealer. I'm fairly confident it's a good car and I'm not going to get stuck with a $4,000 repair bill. I'm super sensitive to these little nuances, though, I need to know exactly what's going on with this thing. I think I'll be alright, at this point it's just a last minute nervousness kicking in since I'm taking home a used car and a monthly payment.
     
  4. xraydoug

    xraydoug Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Roseburg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    what about the front bumper and hood issue?
     
  5. HolyCow

    HolyCow Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA 90004
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    There's a clear mark underneath the front driver side of the bumper that tells me it hit a curb or curb stone of some sort. It's a driver-miscalculated-and-hit-a-curb or one of those parking lot curb stones - situation, the misalignment is very very minute and the mark underneath the bumper matches up to the misalignment. The hood is odd Toyota said no worries and lubed the hinges. Is it possible it just hasn't been opened or closed very much so it never really was broken in? Could it possibly be a manufacturing defect or had sneaked by quality assurance and the buyer just didn't care to to look underneath the hood when he first purchased the car so he never caught it? I don't know.
     
  6. xraydoug

    xraydoug Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Roseburg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Hope the car works out great for you, I really like our two toyota hybrids.
     
  7. HolyCow

    HolyCow Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA 90004
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Thank you, me too. I'm looking forward to it.
     
  8. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    It sounds to me like you got a great deal. Congratulations HolyCow!!!!! :)
     
  9. HolyCow

    HolyCow Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA 90004
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Thank you. :D