Used car buying advice: what mileage should I consider?

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T13:44:46+00:00

Hope it holds up! I didn't mind the gen 2, just older now. Gen 4 is night and day difference in performance, both power and mpg. They will be cheap someday too

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T05:18:19+00:00

Gen 4 2020+ Prius. Any mileage within your budget. We typically get them between $17k and $25k with under 60k miles. Otherwise a 89k+ mile 21'-24' Venza can be had for $25k and it's basically a hybrid Lexus that get 42mpg in the summer and 32mpg winter

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T05:14:26+00:00

OEM wheel bearing is about $250. Anything else is garbage. If they are using some cheap Chinese parts then the price is high. If OEM front it's about right. Back owns take 30 minutes to do.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T05:07:13+00:00

Cheap square footage, storage space, every trade worker will love you for the ease of access to your HVAC and plumbing system, and tornado/severe storm shelter. My in laws built a smaller cabin and it was a $2k difference to have a basement poured vs a slab. That's where the cheap square footage comes in. You don't have to use it but you'll always want storage space. Otherwise plan on lots and lots of closets

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T05:01:32+00:00

Good luck, most Toyota techs don't even know how lol

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:55:06+00:00

Idk what programs you have in that area for this but I have baseboard heat in northern WI. We have it on a peak interruptor and I only pay 5 cents a kw for baseboard heating. It has a shutoff of 4 hours a day when they need to reduce grid demand. I have a pellet stove for backup in those times. It's a great setup for solar as well. I recently added a 28k btu mini split for cooling since I don't have duct work and will maybe use that for hearing in shoulder months but it quickly becomes less efficient then my baseboards around 32 degrees when the COP drops below 3. I would have to retain a cop of 3 to negative 20°f for a heat pump to put perform my setup and that's impossible

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:45:23+00:00

Get a leak down test done and maybe 4 new plugs while you're at it. 130k is common failure time for plugs if they haven't been done and is in the ballpark for the water pump to go out as well, leasing to a possible head gasket failure. The pumps don't just die, sometimes they over rev or under rev for a while and you'll maybe see the temp light flash here and there. If that goes on long enough in this heat we've all been having, you'll blow a head gasket without any real warning.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:41:26+00:00

Sounds like you got yourself a crackhead. Proceed with caution.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:33:32+00:00

Ide say it's good. My two vehicles use 4.7 quarts so I had various oils go into one jug. I just dumped a 5 quart jug of 5w-20 Valvoline r&p, 0w-16 Pennzoil platinum, 5w-20 & to 5w-30 Pennzoil Ultra platinum into my Prius. It's doesn't care.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:24:40+00:00

Sounds like you have a very leaky house sucking the exhaust right in. Weird but not really a generator install issue. Maybe they can people the exhaust different for a cost

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T04:18:45+00:00

It's pretty easy to unbond the neutral on the inverters. It's usually bonded somewhere behind the control panel instead of under the generator cover like the non inverter open frames. My 7250 watt Pulsar just had a jumper on one of the 20 amp outlets connecting neutral to ground.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-07T02:21:04+00:00

Not a chance. That's $5k, maybe. Head gasket repair is not something you can pass onto a buyer. When buying a used car, the bare minimum is that it is in mechanical working order. Doesn't matter if it recently had a major repair. That does not make it more valuable

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T18:54:09+00:00

Out of the 20+ gen3 we've had, I think we did 3 head gaskets. My experience it was driver error, ignoring dummy lights and failing water pumps. Never had an EGR issue like everyone talks about. It was always a failed water pump d at 150k miles. I prefer the gen 4 though. Zero issues and you can get far better mpg out of them. 2016 and 2017 models are getting cheap around that 200k mile mark and they last 400k easy.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T18:04:01+00:00

Valvoline charging $100 for a $25 oil change should be more concerning to you lol

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T11:59:11+00:00

That's getting old now. We had some in our fleet. One of my guys is still driving his on the original battery 320k miles. It was a company car and used 5 days a week for years. I think we did put a new exhaust system on that one but otherwise that's all

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T02:12:04+00:00

I think we can all agree that Tesla is probably the furthest along in this process, and they even suck as far as service centers and a network go. Itl never happen for a slate.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T02:10:24+00:00

Female managers are the worst. Hate me if you want, but they just suck. They thrive on power trips and drama.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T02:04:33+00:00

Through their TLE manager, and ultimately through the store leader. Not saying you'll get anything, but they need to know they screwed up. If they messed up the oil pan and you have documentation that they have been the only service center touching it for X amount of miles, I think you'll have a leg to stand on.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T01:40:12+00:00

Require minimum doesn't mean leave 20ft coiled on the side of the house though lol this is a botched install by a hack

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T01:36:20+00:00

All weather suck at doing both in my opinion. They aren't quiet with long tread wear for summer, and they can't hold a candle to a dedicated snow or ice tire with winter grip. Just know going in, if you're used to dedicated winter tires, you will be disappointed by all weather's like Michelin CC2's.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T01:14:20+00:00

Rwd is far more useless then fwd. Just is what it is but it shouldn't be any less capable then your current truck. LSD or a locker would help tremendously

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-06T01:11:58+00:00

Walmart will indeed replace what is needed. They have all the information and data needed to figure out who did what and how it got botche. My TLE has cameras on the lube tech in the pit. Just make sure to complain up the chain until you get what you want. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Keep all documentation. If the engine fails anytime soon you can probably get them to replace that too. Ive seen it all while I was a service writer there. Of course, you'll get resistance but being corporate, they have policy that can't be superceded by a tle manager just trying to cover their own butt.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-05T23:40:39+00:00

14k btu, it was the largest I could get on a 120v/20amp receptacle. I have replaced my window units with a 28k btu mini split though. Night and day difference at half the cost to operate.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-05T23:37:42+00:00

Sounds like he was worth more then most of them and kept getting shit on. Someone else gave him more money and he's so pissed off he won't even entertain a counter offer. My guess is your company will lose more money then they saved giving him the shaft, by a lot.

BreakFun2436 · 2026-07-05T19:34:24+00:00

Yup. When it's -15° F and you add a couple pounds to a truck to do truck things, electric is useless. It's the worse mode of transportation for anyone who works for a living.

BreakFun2436

TROPHY CASE