Buying a used Toyota

Natalie

I just sold an '02 Dodge Grand Caravan on Craig's List after buying an '05 Prius on Ebay. Both worked out very well. Craig's List was very easy to use, with their form page that accepted my description and 4 pictures of any size (I think mine were 1024 by 768) and displayed them in their standard size. The car was sold the day after I put up the ad. The Prius I bought on Ebay had been stuck in two auctions without reaching the reserve price for 15 days, I guess since it had a salvage title, but the temptation to buy an '05 Prius pkg #3 with 3300 miles on it for $17,000 (the reserve amount) was irresistible. And the car has proven to be virtually perfect as judged by my local Toyota dealership through their $116 inspection. So check Ebay and Craig List

when you decide what to buy. Good Luck

Chuck

Before I buy any car,I get a copy of the latest Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue. You can get one at the library or buy it at a newstand. They cover reliability records for all cars from present and going back

6-7 years. According to them all models for Toyota are equally reliable including the Trucks. I've only had my 2000 Camry since May,so far so good,I love it. Let a mechanic check it out before you buy.They're only reliable if they've been treated right.

-Good Luck

Generally, any Corolla is pretty bulletproof. Camry's are good also.

Celicas from 99-05 Have 'issues'. Other models I don't know.

When you are fixin' to buy ANY used car, Consumer Reports is useless. How the model was evaluated when new has NO BEARING on the car in front of you. Have we all not heard that Camrys are low maintenance and nearly bullet proof? By the same token, the car in front of you might have been owned by some coupon clipping soccer mom who assumed low maintenance meant NO maintenance. So there you are, standing in front of a Camry having 25k miles on the original oil and filter ... with your STUPID Consumer Reports magazine telling you the model is the best thing they've ever tested. What rubbish. You examine used cars on an individual basis.

_Philip

including

Philip, You said 'fixin',but I don't know.I don't think your from Texas,am I right? Of course I agree with you. Just because Consumer Reports says a car is reliable,that doesn't take into account the treatment given it by the previous owner. You have to have the car looked at by a mechanic before you buy.That's what I advised eglamkowski to do.Like you said,on an individual basis.

I would say Corolla first, Camry or small pickup second.

Like hbuck, I do a lot of research before I buy a car. I read all of the pertinent Consumer Reports articles, look for old car magazines with related articles, ask all my friends and then, ultimately, buy whatever I decided to buy before I did all the research. Makes me feel like an informed consumer. (any Toyota except an old Cressida!) jor

Forget about buying a vehicle based on the opinion of others! A used vehicle purchase should be based on the condition of that particular vehicle, not whose brand in on the hood. When one buys a used vehicle there is no definitive way to know how that vehicle was used or abused or if it was serviced properly or not. Any vehicle from any manufacture will last up to 200K IF it is given the proper maintenance. Even a Rolls Royce will not last is not serviced properly. Everyone say the brand they buy is good, that does not mean the ONE vehicle you buy will be good. Have a competent person examine the particular vehicle that you are considering to determine the condition of that particular vehicle and if the price fits your budget, buy it. The fact is ALL manufactures are building good vehicles today and ones chance of getting one of the 2% of the bad ones that every manufacture builds is rather slim compared to the 98% of the good ones they ALL build.

mike

You may 'feel' like a more informed buyer but ... what good does all that research do when all that study compromises your accurate assessment of the actual car in front of you?

-Philip

Obviously you have never read the annual Consumer Reports auto issue.

It takes a survey of over half a million car owners and judges reliability on these results. Toyota always comes out on top with actual car owners.

You are confusing the articles about new cars included with this issue with the reliability survey of actual owners of all cars.

The Duke

There is one way to know if the vehicle was serviced properly - ask for proof of the service. One person had a car for sale, not a scratch on the car - and he had a 3-ring binder filled with every receipt/work order for all of the service done on the car. I saw another car, a

2000 V6 Camry with a manual transmission - just like the one I had. Mine was totaled when a tree fell on it. The seller could not produce one piece of evidence the car has even one scheduled maintenance work done. I walked away from that one.

That proves nothing, that owner could actually had provided the required service and then some but simply did not keep records. The other could have a book full of records but never actually performed the services listed

mike

What impressed me when I bought my '98 Avalon, coming in off a 3-year lease, was the record in the Toyota-supplied service book. All the recommended service -- and several in-between based on elapsed time -- were stamped and dated by Toyota dealerships.

Brent

What proves nothing, top poster?

Would you buy the car where the owner could not provide any evidence of service? What if her name was Charlene and she was selling a Sienna?

I thought Charlene claimed to have proof of service (but not from a Toyota dealer).

Ed