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Posted by Richard Warren on April 3, 2007, 1:37 am
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als wrote:
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> wrote:
buy a used 2004 Prius with 69,554 miles on it for
>>>>> $14000. Is this price too low? I checked the carfax report and it was
>>>>> clean but I am nervous still that there might be something wrong with
>>>>> the car. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I'm going to pick
>>>>> it up in two days so any feedback would help.
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>> 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
>>> 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=1000...
>>> Thanks again for your comments! I really appreciate it!!!
>>> alison
>> 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
>
> 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!!!!
>
No one has mentioned it yet, but Tennessee is a state that allows car
titles to be washed. If your car was a flood car, this information can
be removed by selling a car through a Tennessee dealer. You may want to
check for obvious signs of flooding...look underneath the carpeting and
and/or see if any sand or grit is trapped in various nooks and crannies.
Bill in Cary
'04 Prius package 9 + XM + GPS override
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