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I'm looking at buying a CT. Years and years ago I test drove one and liked it. I like the design on the newer facelifed CT a bit better but the price is right on this one. It's a 2013, 83k, 2 owners, clean title, new tires, heated seats and pretty darn cheap. I'm planning to find a Lexus dealership to do a PPI on it but I'm not real sure what to look for otherwise. I have a 2001 BMW 330xi now. Over the years I've test driven a 11 CT, 08 LS, 13 ES, 13 Avalon...I just really despise most in-dash screens and especially the Toyota infotainment garbage, thankfully the CT I'm looking at does not have it. I'll be going to take a look at it this week but I'm extremely unfamiliar with Lexus/Toyota besides the ones I've briefly test driven. I know the CT is dog slow but the reliability, efficiency and cost has me interested.
I haven't seriously shopped for a car in 12 years so I'm a bit lost as what to do here. He said he put Continental tires on a few months ago and recently did an oil change. I asked him for service records and he said he'd get them. Is there a way to check the health of the battery? What else should I be looking for? Is a Lexus/Toyota PPI worth it?
Yeah you really should get a 2014. So many updates mechanically and structurally. And visually. 2015 got the latest and last wave of structural/safety related enhancements though and is the best year. but 2014 is second best choice as it got a number of other updates.
I've been reading up on the engine issues and the EGR situation. It doesn't seem like a whole lot of work to do once every 50k miles or so. I'm used to replacing the Valve Cover Gasket on my E46 so I'm not afraid of a bit of work once and awhile. That said, I do see the 2015+ would have the most revised version of the engine (what I read applied to Prius so I'm hoping that would apply to the CT as well).
The car I'm looking at is only $7k. My most preferred CT is like $20k+ (blue, 2015+, no nav) but I can make quite a few compromises for $13k...as long as the engine doesn't fail. Without Nav, the inside is pretty much identical and that is the most important part to me (besides glaring reliability issues).
Based on the bit of research I did, it looks like it's worth cleaning the EGR, cooler & pipe. While I'm at it, the spark plugs and coolant as well.
If I keep the EGR system clean, does that rectify the engine issues or will it eat oil regardless? Anything else I'm missing?
2014 got revised pistons and piston rings as well as a revised intake manifold. the 2013 you are looking at should be fine for 7k.
honestly there's not much to look at with a PPI. personally i wouldn't waste my time or money with one. if you can wrench on your E46, this car is 40x less complicated in terms of things to inspect. everything is sealed so short of oil change receipts, there's really nothing to see there. there's no pulleys or belts. brakes last pretty much a lifetime. the only thing i'd try to verify is whether or not the oil has been changed regularly.
owned my 2002 330i manual for 9 years or so. great car. just got tired of babysitting just so i can get to and from work daily.
How much does the slowness of the CT bother you and what is your REAL WORLD average mpg? I do like my 330xi Manual that I've had for 12 years but it's starting to rust badly and the 21mpg average I'm getting isn't all that great.
I want it inspected because I want to know if it's been in a collision, etc. I don't really know anything about Toyotas and the only things I know about my car is how to follow guides. I'll do just about anything with a quality guide (I even did VANOS on my e46).
I also literally just learned about the engine issues 2 days ago. Before that I thought it was bullet proof.
Slowness doesn't bother me. you get used to it. And when I floor it at stop lights, you end up accelerating WAY faster than normal traffic anyway. so you'll always have more than enough juice. I average about 38 mpg and i drive pretty aggressively. That's with mostly city. I'd say 75% city. If you do a long highway trip, 50+ mpg is easy.
it's pretty bullet proof. thats why i bought it. remember what you read on the internet are mostly people that experience failures. happy owners remain quiet. there's plenty of Gen 3 priuses doing 300 and even 600k on the original powertrains. Just change the oil every 5k, it's super cheap and decently easy (though not as easy as the E46 with oil changes you can do from the top with an extractor)
though you could relocate the oil filter to the top if you wanted... just too much work.
as soon as you get the thing, i'd budget an extra $700 or so and completely replace the EGR cooler, pipe, valve. that should give you some peace of mind.
It really doesn't feel that slow most of the time. Short bursts are quick, but on ramps are when you feel the slowness. 0 to 30 is great. 0 to 60 stinks. But once you're moving, passing cars is no issue. My mileage has stayed around 44 mpg over the last 4 years.
I always get "how fast is that thing?" comments... cause no one really knows anything about a CT200h.. i'm like man.. it's a prius. and even some kids on scooters at a stop light were like.. hey sir.. we like your car! So it gets peoples curiosities flowing for some reason.
How much does the slowness of the CT bother you and what is your REAL WORLD average mpg? I do like my 330xi Manual that I've had for 12 years but it's starting to rust badly and the 21mpg average I'm getting isn't all that great.
I want it inspected because I want to know if it's been in a collision, etc. I don't really know anything about Toyotas and the only things I know about my car is how to follow guides. I'll do just about anything with a quality guide (I even did VANOS on my e46).
I also literally just learned about the engine issues 2 days ago. Before that I thought it was bullet proof.
I don't know if you took the plunge. I bought used 17" Konig Hypergrams (about 16 lb. vs. maybe 20 lb. for the stock where the winters are mounted) and with the Bridgestone Ecopia I think I feel a little more oomph lol, maybe because the CT200h is weak sauce and any reduction in unsprung weight makes some difference.
I only had the car since March and I like it and don't know if it's a placebo effect I'm experiencing but the CT200h is not that slow. We have an 11 Accord 4 cylinder coupe and a 16 RAV4H so I was thinking it would be really slow, even compared to the 02 Civic 5MT it replaced.
Got it off a friend who was leaving the country. It's a 2012 with some scratches and marks here and there but never in a big enough accident.
I decided to hold off buying the CT I found because that particular seller had some ownership irregularities in his story. I'm still searching for a good deal on a 2015+ with NO nav.
My friend recently got a 2019 Accord Hybrid and that car is fantastic. No doubt it's better than the CT in every single way but the price is 3X a used CT.
^yep. if the point is to be frugal and save on overall costs, a new accord hybrid won't make sense compare to a used CT. At that point may as well get a non-hybrid.
I have a 2012 CT with about 94,000 miles on it. It runs great. I've gone 400 miles on a tank of gas at least one time. I usually go 300 miles on a tank and it takes a little more than 9 gallons to fill it. The computer is sort of helpful, but not that accurate...at least on mine. I would say that I get around 40 miles to a gallon. It's a slow accelerating car, especially in eco mode, but I've had it up to about 100 mph with no problem getting there and would have given me more MPH had I asked for it. When you put it on the sport mode, it does have a bit more pep and doesn't seem to effect the gas mileage. A lot of people run it on sport mode all the time with no problems. I like how the ride is on mine. It's not swooshy like an ES and above. It feels tight and has great handling...sport like. The interior is nice..just as Lexus is so well known for , but the backseats are a little hard. I drove a 2017 BMW 3 series yesterday. There was no comparison in the interior. I found that the BMW had hard cheap feeling and looking seats compared to the CT. There is hardly any cabin noise my CT with almost 100,000 miles on it and no rattle noise you might expect on a car with that many miles on it. It rides great and the interior looks fantastic for an 8 year old car.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the longevity of the electric engine/battery. That's why I'm looking for some sort of IS. Maybe someone can talk about the electric engine and battery and say how long these can last. I hope as long as their regular engines. If you're not into needing a lot of pickup when you accelerate, this is a great car, just like every Lexus that has been taken care of. Oh I almost forgot, the back end comes in handy if you need to haul semi-large things.
the battery should last the lifetime of the car. usually 15+ years. and even if it doesn't, the cost to rebuild is is trivial ($1,200) not even worth talking about or worrying about.
04-26-20, 04:53 PM
Buying a CT, what to look for?
