I am evaluating a used v. The Toyota dealer that originally sold it also maintained it but for a few months in a snowbird state one year. So - they have nearly all the records for this car. Carfax says it was seen at 99,792 and that "Recommended maintenance performed." Dealer also did maintenance at 139k and replaced rear brakes before listing it for sale again. I have reviewed the Toyota maintenance schedule and I see that coolant flush and spark plug replacement are recommended at 100k / 120k (can't recall which is which). Dealer says they have no confirmation that either of those was ever performed. Is it reasonable to ask them to do that work before I buy it? SHOULD they have done it if they told Carfax that 'recommended maintenance' was performed? How much of the records can they release to me if I end up buying the car?
'recommended maintenance performed' (RMP) can mean anything and/or nothing at all; only that it entered the dealerships service bay. What was actually done is usually a mystery. Since the car was service there, they can lookup what was actually done to it; but for confidentiality sake they probably won't show you all past work orders, so you'll have to take their word for it. That's just the dealership protecting their customers and a convenient excuse to not divulge anything that may impact the resale value of the car. I'm seeing that a lot on Carfax now; they used to list what was done. That RMP could've been a tire rotation and a check-off list. Don't assume a 10K mile RMP - that everything listed on the 10K mile interval was actually done. The customer can decline the recommended work, but the 10K mile RMP gets transmitted to Carfax, because that's what it was scheduled and came in for. You can ask for anything, within reason, as a condition of the sale - GET IT IN WRITING, don't take their word! That's usually when the sales guy says: 'don't you trust me?' The correct answer is NO, your a sales guy! Good Luck....
All I would care about is the year, vin if 2014 and how often oil changes were done. 2012-14 have poor low tension rings and pistons. I would strike those. Those years also had poor crash test results compared to the refreshed 2015-17 v's. Head gasket and complete engine fails are common; some head gasket fails can be hidden for 1-6 months by sealers, typically by owners or flippers trying to get out and pass on the problem. Inverter, brake booster and hybrid battery replacements are also likely in your ownership. All these things can happen even if the previous owners had every required service done at a dealer. In fact the required oil change interval of 10k miles is generally recognized to be 5k miles too long given the various engineering flaws in gen3 Prius. Solution? Don't buy it.
The maintenance intervals or what was actually done to the car? I'm assuming you would have to enter a vin.
Yes, I thank you and others for the earlier heads up. It prevented me from buying a 2012 or 2014 (pre piston/ring upgrade). If I could afford a 2019 RAV4 hybrid, I would go with that, but I cannot... yet. And there's really nothing else like this car for space and mpg (for the price). So I fully expect you can tell me that you told me so in a while, but meantime I am gonna LOVE the car while it lasts... and come here to learn how to get the most life for the $$. Private inspection planned for tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
OK - so on the two Toyotas I own, it did show service records from original life of car, even though both were purchased used. When I try to add a VIN for a car I do not own, even if I say to ADD it to my account, it shows me nothing relating to that actual car. So, I think it either knows that a dealer owns that car, or that I do not. Anyway, the records would be available as soon as some system is updated to show me as owner of record - but by then it will be too late. Good idea anyway. I like having the previous history of the two other Toyotas in the fleet.
@PriusPaddler I’ve got a 2010 you definitely wouldn’t be interested in. Apart from a snow tire package, some recalls and one AC service, it’s apparently had no maintenance.
Yep, mines the same - no maintenance records after the free 25K mile services. I do my own. They don't even know about the break-in oil n ATF change, but it's noted in the maintenance log book. They don't even pull out or update.
I know there are plenty of good DIY cars out there - my own Prius included... but I figure when a single owner routinely gets ALL services done at their local dealer that sold them the car, they are not likely to stray - barring an emergency while on a road trip or whatever. You don't suddenly turn into a person that does their own oil changes imho. But, I know enough about you to trust you to tell me what you know about the car, so feel free to make a sales pitch... my state borders Canada and I'm not afraid of a winter road trip, lol.
i'm surprised, this is not what i read in the past. perhaps it has changed. certainly, the dealer selling it should have access, unless they are hiding something.
Dealership service cars are more likely to: 1. have longer oil change interval 2. neglected brake maintenance (not sure why, Toyota USA says tri-yearly or 30k miles, whichever comes first. My guess is it's not a high profit margin service for dealerships, and customers balk at the price. So they "enable" each other...) 3. transaxle fluid never changed 4. EGR never cleaned (BIG negative) 5. door hinges awash in grease spray 6. broken/missing underpanels, broken fasteners, stripped bolts (rushed "professional" mechanics) 7. advanced underbody/suspension rust (owner never looks, dealership doesn't care) 8. oil filter issues: housing torqued to refusal, filter element even missing
Yes, they sure should. Supposedly they do, but cannot share without revealing previous owner. Independent inspection is in progress.
The Toyota Owners site has the 'full' readback by VIN on work done by dealers, as accomplished, as well as DIY information if entered.
I see you can add DIY or presumably nondealer work. Nice feature. Maybe better than the spreadsheet I try to keep.
