Pre Purchase Inspection

test drive, radio off, listen for odd sounds, check mpg's, look over the paint work and interior. if it's a plug in, charge it up and so how far it goes. make sure you get 2 fobs, charging cable, etc.

 

anything can be repaired, all you can do is ask. with demand the way it is, they will weigh the cost unless toyota will cover it.
when we bought our hycam, they had to touch up the paint under the drivers door pull. fingernail scratches. after you own it awhile, it all becomes unimportant

 

I would check everything that's not covered under warranty, especially interior and exterior damages. When I bought my last car, I thought I'd checked everything and signed the 'takeover protocol'. A minute later, I noticed some sort of internal 'chip' in the windshield near the sensor field. It was probably a production issue. Fortunately, the dealer added it to the protocol, so I was able to get it fixed for free at the inspection one year later. Otherwise, I guess there would've been no chance..

EDIT: In this case the car was paid for already - it was just the official pick-up.

 

Check the tire pressure. The tires are supposed to be inflated very hard for transit. The dealer is supposed to reduce the pressure to normal driving levels as marked in the driver's door jamb but many of them skip it. And once you've caught them skipping one detail, you can drag them through the rest of the car. Don't be in a rush.

A clean transaction and handover should take 45 minutes, but everyone screws this up so plan 3-4 hours instead.

Bring a contrast card so you can look at the paint. We found that our dealer was ready to sign off on our new Prius with two dings in each of the four doors, and we roasted them on it.




Just print this out really big. Hold it near the car in good light. Look at its reflection in the car's paint. This helps you see imperfections.

 

Sadly, they're currently only giving one fob, due to chip shortage. At least for the interim. Make sure all the books are in the glove box too. How many is it now, 3 or 4? Off the top of my head:

Owner's Manual
Warranty and Maintenance Guide
Infotainment Manual (Not sure of name.) (I think this is a separate text?)
Quick Start Guide

^ Second this.

Check the spare tire pressure too..., oh wait a sec, never mind that.

There's another thing that often get's missed: there's two oblong holes on the underbody, just inboard of the rear jacking points, and dealership is supposed to install rubber seals on them. I believe they're put in the glove box at factory.

One other thing: when we picked up our "new" car (3rd gen, purchased in 2010), it had apparently been languishing on their lot for 15 months, at least it was 15 months past the build date (as I noticed later). And the 12 volt battery was dead as a doornail. They had it running when we showed up for a test drive, explained it was to "warm it up" for us.

But yeah, in today's market, precious little chance you'll have a dead battery issue, lol.

 

Any promises made - GET IT IN WRITING, on the sales contract. They don't remember promises, so make them put it in the sales contract. There's no denying that - especially that second key fob.

 

When I cleaned my glove box out prior to dropping my car off at the dealership, there was a package with two rubber plugs in it. 3.5 yrs...

 

I will be testing out a few of these, as I was promised the second key fob and manuals to be sent in mail. I did not get it in writing, just had to jump on the car deal. Hope I still get these, it's been about a week now. Worse case, I guess I'll have to buy a second key fob. I think the point above about how long the car has been on the lot is important. Maybe not in this market, but I would not want a car that has been on the lot for over 12 months. Mileage may be important too, but I think anything less than 200 is probably ok.

 

why don't they have manuals, paper shortage?

 

Interestingly, checking the tire pressure is no longer on the pre-delivery checklist from Toyota that the techs use. I think that's why it's getting missed so often. If the tech doing the checklist is experienced, they know that cars from the Japanese factories need to have their tire pressures adjusted. But if they stuck the youngest tech in the shop on checklist duty, they would probably just follow the list blindly and not realize the tires were overinflated.

 

fortunately, you don't need to return to the dealer to alleviate the problem, should you discover it at sometime after purchase

 

The fob needs to programmed into your car's CPU to work. Also don't forget to get the mechanical backup key cut, so you can open your doors, if your battery is dead. You won't be able to get to your jump-points; unless you call a car service to "jimmy" the door open.

Hope this helps....

If the dealership does send you a working fob, a second preprogrammed fob must already exist in your onboard computer and they simply cloned it. The mechanical key may be cut with your vin number alone - dealership only.

 

Might be differences in the way mpg is officially calculated. Over the years, after owner complaints of disappointing mpg, they've tried to make the tests more realistic. Too, they all are conducted with ethanol free gas, which is near impossible to fine, and pricey.

 

that's a beautiful car. put plug on it and i'm in!

 

I think it’s missing a spare? Why is there always something. Maybe cus I’m really attached to our cream puff ‘10.

I may need therapy…

7 step program to wean yourself from new car fixation.