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Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
2,254 posts, read 2,734,754 times
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Those are traditionally great cars. The Prism is a Toyota Corolla. I'd look for the following:
Check if they are one owner cars.
Check if they have receipts showing consistent maintenance, that the mileage is correct, etc.
Check for rust or accident damage (especially underneath)
Check that they have had the required timing belt change.
Have a mechanic take a look at both. A PPI (pre-purchase inspection) should be mandatory for all cars. $100 well spent.
If everything checks out they should be great cars. One my friends drove a 2000 Accord until last year and it was a very reliable car. He'd still be driving it but he hit a moos at speede, which caved in the roof. My buddy walked away with no damage.
I agree that both look like good deals. Whether the prism is a flipper or not wouldn't be a problem for me as long as he had the title in hand and the car looked good. I'd go look at both, inspect both carefully and decide if either was worth making an offer on. Don't forget to look underneath for leaks and torn cv joint boots and check all fluids for color and levels. I just did a quick search and that Prism has a timing chain not a belt, a damn good reason to choose it over the HOnda.
I agree that both look like good deals. Whether the prism is a flipper or not wouldn't be a problem for me as long as he had the title in hand and the car looked good. I'd go look at both, inspect both carefully and decide if either was worth making an offer on. Don't forget to look underneath for leaks and torn cv joint boots and check all fluids for color and levels. I just did a quick search and that Prism has a timing chain not a belt, a damn good reason to choose it over the HOnda.
Ya, sort of what I was thinking too.
I asked the honda guy about the timing belt change (cuz I know that's a big maitenance thing over 100k) and he said he "thinks" it was changed because the belt looks new and when he was doing other engine maintenance he thought he saw a more recent date on it, but he's only owned the car the past 4 years, so that make me want to have it inspected (which he wasn't interested in).
I asked the honda guy about the timing belt change (cuz I know that's a big maitenance thing over 100k) and he said he "thinks" it was changed because the belt looks new and when he was doing other engine maintenance he thought he saw a more recent date on it, but he's only owned the car the past 4 years, so that make me want to have it inspected (which he wasn't interested in).
If he's owned it for 4 years and hasn't replaced it, you can pretty much add that to the price - you can't assume anything or take chances with an interference engine using a timing belt, and an inspection is not going to tell you when it was last replaced. If you don't know how to inspect the mechanicals of a car do you have a friend that can go with you? there's nothing too complicated, check the fluids, under the hood and underneath for leaks, check for proper shifting, suspension, proper steering, brakes etc on a test drive up to highway speeds. I don't blaim the Honda guy for not wanting to dick around with an inspection, at this price point I woudn't want to waste my time with a buyer who can't inspect it himself either. If a seller doesn't have title in hand and has any kind of excuse about how he will get it just walk away, no exceptions unless it's a car dealer - but I'm sure you know that.
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