Toyota Prius: Used Prius - am I getting a bad deal?

"als" <com> wrote in message
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Have a competent shop ck it out before you lay out your money. Good
bodywork can be hard to spot. As can small leaks etc etc.

"als" <com> wrote in message
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It could be a great deal or the owner may know something you don't. In that
vein, two things come to mind. A good look at the undercarriage - especially
the catalytic and muffler - for damage is a good idea. It isn't hard to hit
either of those on a road hazard or even a large speed bump and do damage
that costs a couple thousand to fix.

The other area of concern is the transaxle. Failures are rare but are very
costly; I understand the part itself is $6000 US. Listen for whines or howls
and pass it up if you hear any. It may not be the transaxle but that isn't a
chance I'd take unnecessarily. There are other transaxle failure symptoms
but those are hard to miss and hard to hide; serious loss of power (like
just enough to get off the road) and big warning lights on the speedometer
area.

Beyond that, the Prius has fewer trouble areas than most cars. I don't think
I've ever heard of head gasket trouble. Do check the coolants (there are
two) for traces of rust and walk away if you see any - that's my advice for
any car. The radiator is normal but there is also a translucent reservoir at
the top of the engine near the firewall for the inverter coolant. Both
should be pink and clean.

There is a service record booklet called "Passport to Performance" that
comes with the car. It should be up to date and I would hope the 60K mile
service was done. The 30K mile intervals are extensive checkups and deeper
maintenance. (There is no timing belt to be concerned about as there is on
many other cars.)

Mike

On Aug 24, 8:30 am, "Michael Pardee" <com>
wrote: 

Thank you so much!
I am going to pick it up tomorrow and I am going to print out your
message and take it with me.
The carfax has showed no problems but you never know. The dealership
that has the car is in Knoxville and I am in Atlanta. The guy that is
helping me said that it is their policy to lower the price on cars if
the have been on the lot for more than 25 days. The car was listed at
16k but now its 14k. He said that there is not a huge demand for the
Prius in Knoxville like there is in other cities (esp. Atlanta). If
you would like to take a look and let me know what you think here is a
link to where I found it.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=223390270&dealer_id=100007440&defau lt_sort=priceDESC&model3=&end_year=2008&address=30 316&make2=&start_year=2003&fuel=&certified=&keywor dsrep=&color2=&search_type=both&max_mileage=&drive =&min_price=&distance=300&engine=&transmission=&ma ke=TOYOTA&model2=&keywordsfyc=&color3=&doors=&styl e_flag=1&max_price=&advanced=&make3=&model=PRIUS&c olor=

Thanks again for your comments! I really appreciate it!!!
alison

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:28:06 -0000, als <com>
wrote:
 

Since you are buying from a dealership, ask about a warranty. They
probably offer one on used vehicles.

Good luck. Looks like a good deal.
-
Piper

On Aug 24, 1:20 pm, Piper <net> wrote: 

I'm getting a 4 year unlimited mile warranty (for extra of course).
Does anyone know of any Prius specific questions I should ask about
the warranty?
Thanks!!!!