I am about to purchase a 2006 prius, 28,000 miles, garaged, in excellent condition. Two questions for starters - the owner does not know what package he has. He paid $27,000. Is there a way for me to find out the package? Second question, does anyone know of a good dealer to service the car in the NYC area? I would be grateful for any help on this.
Hi Paul, I don't know of a good servicing dealer in NYC. For routine maintenance I use my local inexpensive and good mechanic/body shop guy. For warranty work I use my dealer, Toyota of Manhattan, but I wouldn't recommend them. Here's a link to the 2006 Toyota Prius eBrochure: http://www.toyota.com/html/tcuv/brochures/06_prius.pdf By looking at the chart/list of features in the different Option Packages, you should be able to figure out which Option Package # you have.
Thanks for your help, Tom. Besides the warranty work, are there other things that should be done by the dealer, like engine work? If your mechanic can handle engine work, would you mind sharing the name?
Paul, Besides warranty work, I think a lot of people might entrust their Prius with only a Toyota dealer if the work involved the hybrid system and/or perhaps the electrical/computer systems. In this regard, note that I believe that the Prius hybrid system is warranted for 100,000 miles, and the hybrid battery is warranted for 150,000 miles in New York. In any event, my mechanic/body shop guy is: Sam's Auto Body Shop 424 East 10th Street (between Avenues C & D) New York, NY 10009 (212) 254-4331 Please note that because my Prius is relatively new (2007 model year with 3300 miles on it now), I've only used Sam for 2 things so far on my Prius: (i) installation of my Philips X-Treme Power bulbs, and (ii) installation of my BT Tech Stiffening Plate. However, Sam has said that he can work on the Prius. And I've been very pleased with the extensive work that he's done on my prior car, a 1995 Volvo 850. The things I like about Sam are: 1. He seems to do good work. I've had him do body, engine, brake, suspension, air conditioning and electrical work on my Volvo. 2. He seems honest. If he recommends and does work on my Volvo, he always shows me the original worn or damaged part. He'll also turn down work that he thinks is best performed by someone else. E.g., when I asked him to install a replacement seat bottom cover, he said no. That for any auto reupholstery work, I would be better served by a professional auto upholsterer. 3. He's relatively inexpensive. A lot less expensive than any dealer who will charge you at least $90 an hour for labor. And perhaps cheaper than other body shops/mechanics. For instance, he charged me only $100 to repaint my rear bumper (I think that other places may charge $200-$300). I've also noticed that he charges less for Volvo OEM parts than either my Volvo dealer or the cheapest online Volvo OEM parts seller. 4. If you ask for it, he'll give you a discount for payments by cash. Good luck.
