Batteries Included: Toyota rolls out certified hybrid program
Underscoring just how important hybrid cars and crossovers are to Toyota's overall sales strategy is a new certified used hybrid program that will reside alongside the automaker's standard certified pre-owned program.
Like the automaker's existing gasoline-only program, certified hybrid vehicles will have passed a thorough examination with 174 individual points, 14 of which are hybrid-specific. Assuming a hybrid were to pass the inspection, it is then covered under a warranty that includes seven-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain coverage. Batteries are included, in this case under a pre-existing eight-year/100,000-mile factory hybrid battery warranty. If you should happen to break down, each certified Toyota comes with free roadside assistance for seven years. With over a million hybrids sold to date, Toyota has been seeing more and more come in as trade-ins, so it's only natural that the automaker would introduce a program to resell them and boost profit margins. Press release after the jump...
[Source: Toyota]
PRESS RELEASE:
Toyota Introduces Certified Used Hybrid Program
TORRANCE, Calif. (January 20, 2009) – In an effort to attract new buyers to the hybrid market, Toyota today launched the all-new Toyota Certified Used Hybrid (TCUH) program, an extension of the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles (TCUV) brand which provides added inspection and warranty coverage on certified used Toyota hybrids.
"The program is a great way to increase awareness of certified used hybrid vehicles," said TCUV Marketing Manager, Steve Gallagher. "As more hybrids enter the used vehicle marketplace, Toyota Certified Hybrids offer high-quality options to customers interested in purchasing these fuel-efficient vehicles."
As the industry's first dedicated certified pre-owned program for hybrid vehicles, TCUH was designed to drive sales of certified used hybrids while expanding Toyota's customer base for these types of vehicles.
Customers benefit from additional inspection and warranty coverage on Toyota hybrids within the program. Each vehicle comes with the three-month/3,000-mile comprehensive warranty, seven-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty and roadside assistance plan offered on traditional TCUV models. The program also brings added awareness to a pre-existing eight-year/100,000-mile factory hybrid battery warranty. The TCUH quality insurance inspection also includes 14 additional inspection points beyond the current TCUV 160-point quality assurance inspection. This expanded 174-point Toyota Certified Hybrid inspection includes examination of key hybrid components, such as the hybrid transaxle, control modules and battery.
The Toyota Certified program combines the confidence of purchasing a new vehicle with the value of a used vehicle to provide a "like new" ownership experience. Toyota certified used vehicles offer consumers a smart alternative to traditional used car options and give them the peace of mind they seek when purchasing a used vehicle.
About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers. Toyota directly employs over 36,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 2.2 million vehicles in 2008. For more information about our company, please visit http://www.toyota.com.
About Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
Launched in 1996, the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles (TCUV) program offers the next best thing to the purchase of a new Toyota. TCUV provides peace of mind in the purchase of a used vehicle that only a Toyota factory-backed certification program can offer. Since its inception, TCUV has sold over 2.4 million certified vehicles. Under TCUV, all vehicles undergo a minimum 160-point quality assurance inspection, including mechanical and appearance reconditioning. TCUV also offers a seven-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, a seven-year, 100,000-mile 24-hour roadside assistance plan, a three-month, 3,000-mile comprehensive used car warranty and a CARFAX vehicle history report. Currently, over 93 percent of Toyota dealers offer vehicles under the TCUV program.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dkw 5:36PM (1/21/2009)
Guess I didn't realize that the current program did not include Hybrid vehicles to begin with.
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Sea Urchin 5:38PM (1/21/2009)
Great for Toyota. I am a little disappointed with current Prius because Autoblog was rumoring that new Prius will get 80 MPG.
The new one will get 50 MPGs, which still makes Prius one of the best overall cars is small sedan segment.
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Visnick 5:48PM (1/21/2009)
The only thing worse than a new Prius.
(Yes I have driven one, won't do it again)
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Randy915 7:10PM (1/22/2009)
Worse in terms of what? Performance?
Visnick 7:23PM (1/22/2009)
Performance
Handling
Driving position
The stupid rear brace that makes it hard to see out the back.
I (personally) think it is ugly and would much rather have a diesel economy car without the overly complicated battery system.
elprogramer 5:52PM (1/21/2009)
Talk about recycling.
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neor 6:20PM (1/21/2009)
A used Prius has dropped $8000 to $10,000 in the last 6 months, they were selling for almost the same as new last summer. Toyota needs to increase this resale or it will continue to kill the sales of new.
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denton 7:17PM (1/21/2009)
really? that's a pretty bold statement. and it doesn't sound correct to me. a used prius holds its value extremely well over time.
would you be willing to show a link to prove me wrong?
71cuda 11:27PM (1/21/2009)
That's more or less true. During the summer, when there was only waiting lists for new Prius', the used 08s were selling for more than MSRP at the wholesale level. Since the gas price has fallen, the resale has swung the other way, since you can pick up a new one for about invoice. $5-$8k depreciation has happened on the used 07-08 models since gas peaked. It's the same thing that happened to big SUV's when gas went up. Now they are out of the book again, because it fell so far during the summer.
Tyler Mayes 6:36PM (1/21/2009)
I really like the Prius, but they are going to have to hit the 75+ MPG mark for me to consider buying one.
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Sea Urchin 6:38PM (1/21/2009)
Wait 5 more years.
alex 6:57PM (1/21/2009)
or just buy a volt
CarbonBlack 9:37PM (1/21/2009)
"I really like the Prius, but they are going to have to hit the 75+ MPG mark for me to consider buying one."
It would have to get 175+MPG before i would put myself behind the wheel of that $hit Box!!!
nardvark 7:02PM (1/21/2009)
So... basically the big problem with buying a used hybrid, the battery pack, isn't addressed by buying the certified product.
Or was the original 8 year/ 100,000 mile battery warranty non-transferable?
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FThorn 7:15PM (1/21/2009)
My used prius IS/WAS covered by the warranty. I've surpassed that mileage now, though. But, who cares? I can pick up batteries from $1,000-$1,500-ish and Toyota replacement costs keep dropping. I read where only 300 batteries have EVER needed to be replaced, though, through the entire Prius 3 generations. (Gen 2 is/was the USA's Gen 1).
Love my little Prius. Very well screwed together. Not a rattle or creak and it's a 2001 model.
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Farris 7:58PM (1/21/2009)
I don't know about that 1-1.5K statement. I've heard that those battery packs cost upwards of 5 or 6 times that. (I honestly haven't looked into it much, though. I'm more of a diesel guy than a hybrid guy.)
Do you have a link to a source for a thousand dollar Prius replacement battery?
FThorn 10:08PM (1/21/2009)
Well, direct from Toyota is $2,5xx.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/09/toyota-lowers-price-on-prius-replacement-batteries-says-business-slow---for-now.html
eBay is a good place for GOOD batteries out of otherwise damaged Priuses.
Can get some in the hundreds it looks like.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=prius+battery&_sacat=See-All-Categories
I can't find links to the well-known Prius third party companies at this moment.
JDMlover 8:14PM (1/21/2009)
Thats Toyota for ya.
Love the new Pruis.
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geeno 9:58PM (1/21/2009)
Did we just learn that you have to have a 10 year/150,000 mile warranty if you sell a Hybrid in California? Or was this something the poor guys doing the conversions have to come up with? So I really don't see where this CP program does anything except rest the mind of the uninformed buyer.
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macdoc 5:58AM (1/22/2009)
What GAY car!
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