I drove 1 hour to a 'buy here-pay here' car lot to look at a 2006 Prius. Nav, Gray, Backup camera. Very nice car. 95,000 miles - $ 12,990. This is when the adventure began.. Doors would not open with FOB (?). I had to show the salesman the 'hidden' key in the FOB. Finally got it. Inserted FOB.. nothing.... No lights no nada He figures he will try to 'jump start' the battery - ha. No battery under hood He fumbles for about 25 minutes with 'too big' jumper cables and proceeds to about ruin the electrical system in the car. Finally brings out a smaller version of a battery charger.. he manages to finally 'charge' the battery. Now, the nav comes on, and a christmas tree assortment of lights come on... the Nav display gives this error: Something to do with the battery being dead, a problem with the "P" transmission - please fully depress parking brake and stay on level ground??? WTH ?? After an hour in the boiling sun, I said NO THANKS and left. Good Times! :rockon:
Prii should never be left to the care of such a yah-hoo, gads. I hope you told the salesman to really pump the accelerator pedal to prime the carburetor before starting, once the battery is charged. Good luck in your continued search.
I believe that is the error one gets when one puts the Prius in Drive with the driver's door open. I would be pretty leery of purchasing from someone if either I or they didn't know basic facts about the car.
Of course, Bisco is correct. Make an offer to steal just to get that piece of iron off his lot. And remember, you have not because you ask not! Utlimately this Prius needs to be rescued from the evil that lurks at a "buy here/pay here" lot.
Alright, my wife and I went back to the dealer. He had 'charged' the battery and this time we could actually drive it. very smooth ride, smooth shifting.. maybe the dead battery was due to sitting there ? I have a 2003 Ford F-150 SuperCrew FX4 package with 175,000 miles on it. we kept going back and forth on the deal.. final offer was accepted.... my truck and 6400 in cash - out the door with tax, tag, title, and 3rd party warranty.... I am planning on picking it up tomorrow morning. what do you think? all opinions welcomed!!
we looked at 'newer' ones that were no less than 20,000. with this 2006 - no car payment with any other car - min - 300/per month car payment.
I figure trading a gas guzzler with 175k miles for a gas sipper for 6400 - a good deal. ( I just hope the whole dead battery thing was a fluke ).
Welcome to Prius ownership. No car payment is great!! My suggestions: Do some preventive maintenance on your new (to you anyway) Prius. Oil and filter, change transaxle fluid, check the brakes, new engine and cabin air filters, spark plugs, check tire pressures (including spare), etc. Search the GenII Prius forums for maintenance suggestions and tire pressure recommendations. Create an account at Toyota Owners - Official Toyota Owners Website using your VIN. Read the owners manual. Have fun with your new Prius. :welcome:
You mean that beautiful thing was in the hands of a hack dealer?! Congrats on the Prius. Barring unforeseen things, I honestly believe that you will not regret your purchase. Granted, the first time you want to throw a few sheets of 4x8 plywood into the back of your Prius because you used to do it with the F150, you'll kick yourself. But I'm sure you have friends with trucks and just put aside a little bit of the saved gas money to buy them a six-pack for loaning you their truck. Stick around here for tons of advice. You don't have to post much but if you come up upon something that has you stymied, just ask. We're a kind lot of folk. And, of course, welcome to Priuschat! :welcome:
That'sa sweet looking car. Good luck with your new purchased. I think you're going to love her, I love my baby
Congrats! Keep an eye on the 12V battery though because it's already been dead once. I drained ours twice on the 2005 and it didn't last very long (replace it last year). Granted, it was 5 years old.
Thanks for the heads-up on the 12v battery. So far, everything is going well. I filled it up when we bought it ( 6 gallons ) and so far we have 375 miles and still have 2 'pips' left... I am blown away... My F-150 could barely get 300 miles on a 24 gallon tank.
:welcome: The 12 volt battery is toast, get an optima yellow top with fit kit. It's what saved the day, the seller knew he had a dead battery and knew he didn't want to get involved with a can of worms, his loss your gain. It's not a can of worms, it's a vehicle that's gonna get you 50+mpg for the next ten years.
