How to buy a Good Toyota Prius.

by Mujtaba Abbas

Toyota Prius 

Earlier I wrote about my driving experience with Toyota Prius. In that article I wrote about buying a low mileage clean Prius but one should be careful and exercise all sorts of caution while going to buy it however, people weren’t still sure about the process as many people messaged me asking to explain about how to buy a clean Prius in detail. And I have happily obliged.

So you’ve decided to buy a Prius. You might have owned many cars in the past, but nothing even close to the Prius. There are 2 sources to get a Prius:

A) Car Dealers/Showrooms.

B) Directly from a home.

My advice will be that you prefer buy a Prius being used in a home. Why? Because an overwhelming majority of dealers (Not everyone though) import High mileage and/or accident-ed Prius and after giving some cosmetic upgrades and reversing meters, they present you these cars as “Total Genuine, very less driven”. They do so because it offers them a high profit margin, at the cost of your money ofcourse. But once you’ve bought it, you will be stuck with a vehicle that will give you nightmares during daytime as well. There are good car dealers as well, but their numbers are very few and majority of dealers will not recommend you to visit them by saying “They charge too high!”. Still good dealers do exist, but are a rare sight. Anyways, buying from a Dealer or a Home, create a check-list with the following things a must to check:

Auction Sheet

This is a car’s equivalent to Book of deeds a.k.a “Amaal naama” in which everything good or bad about the car is written down to the smallest detail. Sadly very few people actually know that an Auction sheet exists, and they don’t ask the seller to provide it to them before purchase, much to the joy of people willing to rip-off buyers. This is to show you what an auction sheet of a Prius looks like:



Except for a few numbers, nothing makes sense. But I found some pictures on the internet and on Pakwheels forumsas well which will make things crystal clear to you about the auction sheet. Have a look at the explanatory image:



Now I think things will start to make sense for the common buyer. On the top right you; will see Auction grade, it ranges from 1 (worst) to 5 (Best). Just below the Auction grade, you will see Interior grade as well, from D (Worst) to A (Best)

Furthermore, the following chart will clarify each grade level:



The auction sheet also highlights the treatment to the vehicle’s body. For more clarification, here is a chart to understand the signs made around the body of the vehicle on the sheet:



My advice would be, don’t go for a car which is rated below Grade 4 overall and Grade B for interior. Also if the car is imported fresh, the same auction sheet can be verified online by going to auction house website, or you can even ask Pakwheelers at the Prius Fan Club on Pakwheels’ forums.

After all this information, do ask for auction sheet from people and if seller is hesitant or not providing you an auction sheet, then the probability of the car being tampered goes very high.

Now that we’ve covered asking for auction sheet? What is next?

BODY

This is a simple area for people now. Just get an experienced Denter/Painter with you to check the body/paint work. The front/back of the vehicle should be clean as to have a surety that the hybrid/Battery area of the car remains original. Do check for original Toyota label on every glass panel as well.

PETROL ENGINE

Just the petrol engine is like any other engine. You can easily get it inspected by a experienced mechanic who can give you his feedback about engine health. A word of caution: DO NOT touch Hybrid synergy system or wires when car is turned on, it can result in a fatal electric shock!

OTHER CHECKS

This is where the tricky part starts which very few people know. Please check the following things:

1. Start the vehicle, when it starts, it will be quiet for a while, then most probably the petrol engine will kick in to warm up and after about two minutes, it will shift again to electric motor provided A/C + lights, etc are off. After this period, the car being in Parking mode, press the accelerator and the petrol engine will once again start till your foot is on the accelerator. Do this procedure a few times, and notice the vibration while sitting. Is it less or too much to ignore? A Healthy Prius will get a slight shiver when petrol engine starts whereas a car with trouble in the hybrid synergy system will give you a noticeable jolt. Also open the Hood, and listen for a voice. Whenever petrol engine kicks in, is it just the voice of the engine?…A faulty system will give a noticeable “Takk” sound below the engine every time it shifts from electric to petrol.

2. Drive the vehicle on a light foot (and depending on battery charge) this car will never shift to petrol till 40-70 Km/h. A faulty vehicle, even with the slightest push on accelerator, shifts to Petrol, Meaning that the hybrid system is somewhat not performing to desired levels. Even when moving, observe the switch from electric to petrol mode, it should not be much noticeable and car should not shake to uncomfortable levels.

3. Drive the vehicle in EV (Electric only mode) if available, or on a light foot. On a full charge, the car must drive at least 3 km (4-5 preferred) Km before the battery depletes and petrol engine kicks in to regenerate it. If the car does not even manage 1 Km, then we have an issue with the battery capacity.

4. Start the car and let it idle after the petrol engine shuts down. If no electricity demanding thing (A/c, lights, Sound) is on, the charge level should remain constant for a while. In Prius’s with weaker batteries, the charge level falls very quickly, even when its output is 0.

5. The car when running on petrol, or decelerating, charges the battery, which is a gradual process. In winters If A/C is not on, it takes about 10-15 minutes to fully charge the battery and in summers when A/C is on, it will take 30 minutes or more to charge the battery. If the battery charges and discharges very quickly, again we have a problem with the battery.

6. When the car is idling, shift gears from P->N, N->D, D->R and randomly. A good transmission will change gears without any vibration or noise from engine, whereas a faulty one will let you know itself.

Last, and the most important criteria; take the Prius to Toyota motors (with a decent workshop). There are many advantages to you by going to one; firstly, some dealers won’t agree to it, and most probably, because they have something to hide. If you take a Prius there, and they hook it up with their diagnostic tool, it can give you a wide variety of valuable information. For example, it will most probably give you an error message (if the software of Prius is tampered to alter ODO meter reading). It can also tell status of many other things like A/C, Airbags condition (Faulty Airbag may mean they have been deployed due to accident), etc etc. Their mechanic can also check engine health and body condition for you and let you know their comments. Prius has been officially released here so trust me when I say this; Toyota mechanics know how to check a Prius. It will cost a few thousand Rupees, but buying a car worth lacs and avoiding fraud, there should be no hesitation in going there for a pre-purchase check-up.

If some people have a hard time understanding these checks, they can see a Prius owned by a friend or family member. Drive it and apply these checks to the vehicle to establish a baseline. Then they will be in a better position to judge the condition of other Prius.

source: http://www.pakwheels.com/blog/2014/01/30/heres-can-buy-good-prius/

Honda Accord or Accura

Hondgens a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976-Pesent, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989.

                                                     

                       

First Generation Accord 1976-1981

First Generation Accord 1976-81

The First Generation was introduced in May 7 1976 as a three door hatchback compact car and with 68 horse power and was assembled in Japan with a 2 speed automatic and 3 speed automatic and 2 speed manual transmission and a engine of 1.6 Litre EP l4 and EF I4. The engine had CVCC technology with a great fuel economy.

In October 1977 it was available in 4 doors sedan and with 72 Horse Power the EF1 engine was supplemented and in certain markets replaced by the 1,751 cc. Then in 1980 it was optional of semi 2 speed transmission that became 3 speed fully automatic transmissions and the four speed transmission was not available till 1983

The North American versions had slightly redesigned bumper trim. Other changes included new grilles and tail lamps and remote mirrors added on the four-door (chrome) and the LX (black plastic) models. The CVCC badges were deleted, but the CVCC induction system remained. In 1981 and SE model was added for the first time, with Novillo leather seats and power windows.

                        

Second Generation 1982-1985

Second Generation of Honda Accord 1982-85

The second generation was introduced September 1981 and assembled in Japan, USA and New Zealand and it was also a bestselling car in the American Market and with four speed automatic transmission and 5 speed manual transmission with a engine 1.8 ES2 I4 and 1.6 EY I4 with a body of 3 door compact hatchback optional of 4 door sedan and has amazing features like a digital clocks features and was similar to first Generations.

                    

                  

Third Generation 1986-1989

Third generation 1986-89

The Third Generation was introduced in 1985 in Japan and later in other countries and it was designed in styled by Toshi Oshika in 1983 and the amazing feature was hidden head lamps it was a 2 door coupe and 3 door hatch back and 4 door sedan and in 1985 it won the award best selling car of the year with the engines of 1.6L A16A1 I4, 1.8L B18A I4, 1.8L A18A I4, 2.0L B20A I4 and a 2.0L B20A8 I4 with a 4 speed automatic and 5 speed manual transmission. The third generation Accord became the first Honda to employ double wishbones at both the front and rear ends. The Brakes were either small 4-wheel discs with twin-piston calipers (only available on the Japanese-market 2.0-Si model), larger 4-wheel discs with single piston calipers, or a front disc/rear drum system.

ABS was available as an option on the 4-wheel disc brake models, though not in North America. And then Third Generations became available in 3 door shooting brake version and not available in Canada and USA.

Third Generation Shooting Brake Version 

                        

Fourth Gerneration 1990-1998

 Generation Mainly was introduced in 1989 Although much larger than its predecessor the sedan's styling was evolutionary, featuring the same low slung design and wraparound rear window as the 3rd generation Accord. For the first time a 3-door hatchback was no longer available internationally. And was assembled in Japan and New Zealand and USA

The Fourth Generation 1990- 1993 

And it was not a compact car it was a mid size car with 2 door coupe and 3 door hatch back and 4 door sedan with 5 speed manual transmission and 4 speed automatic transmission and designed by Toshihiko Shimizu in 1987

In the U.S., the LX-i and SE-i designations were dropped, being replaced with the DX, LX, and EX trim levels. The Canadian Accord trim levels varied slightly from the U.S. models with LX, EX and EX-R roughly corresponding to the American DX, LX, and EX, respectively. Fourth generation Japanese-assembled EXi Accords sold in Australia offered the same 4-wheel steering technology as was available optionally on the U.S. Honda Prelude, but was not included on the New Zealand-assembled versions. The four-wheel steering system was also available on the Accord's Japanese platform mate, called the Honda Ascot FTBi. U.S. Accord Coupes were available in the same DX, LX, and EX trims as the U.S. Accord Sedan (LX, EX, and EX-R in Canada).

              Fifth Generation 1994-1997

The fifth generation version was introduced in 1994 and assembled in Japan, USA, New Zealand, Mexico, Philippines with a mid size body with 4 speed automatic and 5 speed manual transmission and the engine of 1.8 L F18B, I4 2.0 L F20B, I4 2.0 L F20B3 I4, 2.2 L F22A3 I4, 2.2 L F22B I4, 2.2 L F22B1 I4, 2.2 L F22B2 I4, 2.2 L H22A I4, 2.7 L C27A4 V6

The Fifth Generation 1994-97

The 5th generation North American Accord was launched on September 9, 1993 and was based on the new 'CD' chassis. Larger than its predecessor, primarily to better suit the requirements of the North American market, the new model grew in width but shrunk in length, leaving it classified as a mid-size car in North America. It thus became too wide to fit within the favorable tax bracket in Japan, where its role was to be partially taken over by the slightly narrower second-generation Honda Ascot

             Sixth Generation 1998-2002

The Sixth Generation was introduced in 1997 and for the sixth generation, Honda split the Accord into three separate models, designed for the Japanese, North American, and European markets and designed in style by Toshihiko Shimizu and Gen Tamura and assembled in Japan and China and then this where Honda introduced Honda type R to compete from Mitsubishi Evo.

Sixth Generation 1998-2002 Honda Accord 

In Japan they introduced Japanese Models of Honda Accords introduced in September 1994 it became more narrower than the other previous versions When the previous generation Accord grew in exterior dimensions, this reclassified the Accord as a mid sized car in Japan.

            Seventh Generation 1998-2002 

The Seventh Generation was introduced in 2002 and 2003 in the North American version However; both were in fact sold in many other markets, fueled by the popular Cog advertisement for the Accord. Euro R trim continued into this generation as performance model for Japanese market, making use of K20 engine producing 220 hp, however, European performance model was renamed Type S and used larger K24 engine tuned to produce 190 hp.

The Seventh Generation looked exactly like the previous sixth Generation one but with a little touch in the headlights and with a new body as its introduction in 2003 it was awarded Car of the Year in Japan.

The North American Accord grew in size yet again, becoming a vastly different car than its Japanese and European counterpart. This generation was available in both coupe and sedan forms, while a hybrid model was introduced in early 2005.[33] For 2006, it was significantly updated