The present scarcity of latest vehicles, coupled with steadily rising costs, have led many Malaysians to show to used autos as a less expensive, extra available various. But the used market has its personal pitfalls, as one purchaser just lately discovered.
Melvin, a member of the Prius Club Malaysia Facebook group, made a put up saying he was looking to purchase a facelifted third-generation Toyota Prius and scoured a number of on-line classifieds. Going above and past the standard used automotive purchaser, he requested the sellers for the vehicles’ plate numbers then cross-referenced them with UMW Toyota Motor to confirm the claimed mileage primarily based on their final service.
The eight items that Melvin checked have been 2012 and 2013 items and all claimed to have mileage below the 120,000 mark, with the bottom being round 68,000 km. That determine, because it turned out, was make imagine – the automotive was famous to have travelled 197,066 km by the point it underwent its 200,000 km service in November.
Two different Prii had their mileage tampered with, essentially the most egregious instance being a 2013 unit with a listed mileage of round 93,000 km that had really logged a whopping 316,056 km. It isn’t stunning for a 9-12 months-outdated automotive to log excessive six-digit mileage however that’s greater than 35,000 km a 12 months! That car was in all probability properly taken care of, at least – it was final serviced at an authorised Toyota supplier in March.
Only one automotive on the record had mileage that was anyplace near what was claimed – a 2013 unit with round 69,000 km listed mileage and a verified 66,831 km when it was final serviced in 2021. That automotive, nonetheless, wasn’t the fascinating Luxury variant, so Melvin determined to not buy a Prius in any case.
Mileage tampering isn’t new, after all – it’s frequent apply with reconditioned automotive sellers, and in reality it’s uncommon for a Japanese-market car to be offered in Malaysia with its precise mileage. But the truth that secondhand automotive sellers are doing it too (and with an official Toyota product at that) is one other signal of unscrupulous events doing no matter it takes to get a sale on this new regular.
It’s not all doom and gloom, nonetheless. One consumer chimed in to say that he purchased one of many tampered vehicles – a 2012 unit with a claimed 80,000 km on the clock however an precise mileage of 171,877 km. He stated he was glad with his buy, having gone to a hybrid specialist workshop and located that the hybrid battery was estimated to nonetheless be at 75% well being. That’s not dangerous going for a ten-12 months-outdated automotive.
The important takeaway is that you simply all the time must be cautious of mileage claims on used vehicles and never assume that tampering solely happens in “recond” autos – even these introduced in by means of official channels are inclined to this situation. If the said determine is just too good to be true, it in all probability is.
And there actually is not any disgrace in shopping for a high-mileage automotive. Just as a result of a car has travelled tons of of 1000’s of kilometres doesn’t all the time imply it’s in a foul situation, not if it’s been maintained correctly and had its put on-and-tear parts changed as crucial. In reality, most often – particularly if it’s not a extremely-prized collectable – it’s higher to purchase a well-used automotive than one with a low mileage, because the latter means it has in all probability sat for prolonged durations of time. That comes with its personal Pandora’s field of issues.
You may also take coronary heart in the truth that Toyota has provided an eight-12 months, unlimited-mileage guarantee for hybrid batteries since 2009. This would’ve lapsed on most (if not all) Prius fashions offered right here, nevertheless it does imply that many house owners would’ve taken up a substitute and thus have batteries which might be 4 years outdated at most.
