HELP NEEDED >> Looking to purchase this used 07 TCH

[pradeep1]

I found this pretty nice used 07 TCH on Cars.com: http://bit.ly/bJfTWe

I test drove it. It drove well and aside from a few minor blemishes inside and on the body, it was a good deal. It has 70k miles on it. It has a clear title, clear AutoCheck, clear Carfax (you can see it in the link above), and Carfax lists all the maintenance work done on it since it was bought. It is a one owner car and the owner did every regularly scheduled maintenance on the vehicle (oil, brakes, etc.).

So after test driving it for a good ten miles, we pull into the parking lot and I open up the hood and I hear this strange sound coming from the bottom left part of the engine compartment near the ABS booster. I can't quite describe the sound, but it sounded like a whirring fan along with some gurgling sound (I wish I had captured video/audio of it). EDIT - my wife only recalls the whirring and wushing sounds, but no gurgling. But I could not see anything and it stopped after about 30 seconds. I assumed it was some type of new fangled cooler for the hybrid.

I searched on here and found someone else facing a similar issue:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...-noises-24689/

I have not taken possession of the car yet, but will do so tomorrow (Monday). So I called the seller tonight and asked him to check if he saw any leaked pink coolant inside the engine cavity.

I don't recall seeing anything leaking or dripping when I looked yesterday, but I just want to make sure. I did notice that the coolant level was low, and considering that this car was factory serviced on 10/2009 (8,000 miles ago), it did seem a little strange the coolant was low.

And one more thing, when I pulled the oil dipstick, I saw a little smoke come out. The same thing happened when opened up the main oil filler cap. Just a minuscule bit of smoke that came out and then quickly dissipated.

What do you guys think?

[Warminwisco]

Did you pay the guy yet? How much if I may ask? If it where me I would not buy a hybrid out of warrantee without having it gone over at a Toyota service center, cost you maybe a 100 bucks). Just to many things you can miss and the seller may not even know his car has problems. Just my 2 cents.

[pradeep1]

Nope, never bought it. I told him that I'll pass on this and he was fine with it.

[razol]

I know that I am replying a day late and a dollar short, but that is the story of my life. You forgot to mention if the car was switched off or still running. If the car was switched off, then the ticking is normal.

When I turn off the ignition, the car does a little tick, tick, tickety, tick tick, whir routine about 2-3 minutes after I shut it off. I checked with Toyota on this and was assured that this was normal. If I recall correctly, this is even addressed in the owner's manual. These sounds do seem to emanate from near the ABS system, but I think that they are actually related to the spinning down of the hybrid system.

I agree with the poster about buying a hybrid post warranty. That is why I bought the 100k Toyota platinum warranty on my car even though I have no intention of keeping the car for very much longer. The warranty will be transferable to the new owner when I sell it. Even though I am meticulous about taking my car into the dealer at every mileage interval, this will give the buyer some added confidence.

The thing that surpises me about the car that you posted is that it seems to have a lot of miles. My 2007 only has 53k miles and I thought that my driving habits were higher than the average user.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of my car, I just cannot get used to the ergonomics of the car and it really bugs me. I do not think that I will ever get another Toyota. Reliable yes, but I find the car more annoying than my nagging wife/mother. The way that the navigation system, satellite radio, and other functions work, just drives me crazy.