When buying a car you are faced with several options. One of them is to outright buy a new one; but another one which is also great is to buy a used car.

Used cars are available at a fraction of the price of the new one; but you have to carefully inspect it before finalizing one. Just by looking at the exterior of the car will not tell you its internal condition.

When you are buying a second hand vehicle, it should be looking great as well as running great; it is essential for your own well-being as an unsound car can be very dangerous. The task of buying a perfect used car fulfilling all required conditions is very difficult; if not rare.

However, if you know how to inspect a car, you can land yourself a pretty set of wheels at a bargain price. But if you don’t know much about car inspections, or cars in general; then you can definitely hire a mechanic to assist you. He will assess the car condition and health and will report back to you with any anomalies he finds. When you don’t have the skill and knowledge, invest some money and hire someone who does.

These car mechanics have been at their jobs for years and know every nook and cranny inside an automobile. They are experts in their field and we should rely on them for their opinions. Apart from that, they also have all the materials and equipment to uncover any existing or impending damage that might be hidden from plain sight.

Car mechanics also have a fair idea about the cars true value and the costs you would incur to get it fixed and restored. He will also be able to tell you how the previous owner had maintained the vehicle.

When you know how much money needed for its repair, you can then make a smart decision whether to buy it or not. There is no point taking on unnecessary risk purchasing the used car based on luck.

Before Buying A Used Car

You must ask for a test drive of the car from the owner and also be accompanied by the mechanic. The mechanic will then be able to check the performance of the car as well as look for telltale signs of a troubled vehicle.

Always enquire about all the documents and certificates about the car. Knowing the exact model number, date of manufacture, modifications made and the original purchaser are important and might be required in the future.

Make sure that the car has an ‘Auto Check Report’. This will ensure that the car you might be buying is legal on the streets and not smuggled or stolen. Make sure you give all the paperwork to the mechanic to assist him on his job.

The mechanic’s job is to inspect various aspects of the car such as suspension, wheel alignment, tires, engine, wheels, transmission, and signs of rust, scratches or any other anomalies. He will also ensure the cars performance by checking for steering, emissions and brakes.

It is always better to hire an expert mechanic to analyze a car before buying because he will save you thousands of dollars of future expenses on repairs and maintenance. He will give you an idea of the unresolved issues and existing problems on the car.

A car mechanics fee ranges from $100 – $200. Your investment is definitely worth it because it will save you from all the future troubles you might encounter. Furthermore, if you are a novice, then asking for expert advice and tips is always a good way to gather knowledge about automobile.

Quite often, Toyota Prius owner gets stranded on the road or are held up at home because the car would not start. When the car does not start, most people normally conclude that the problem is with the dead Prius hybrid battery and proceed to repair the main battery.

However, many times the main battery may not at all be the problem, but the 12 volt battery in the Prius which is the culprit. If the 12 volt accessory battery is dead, the car would not start. It is as simple as that. Luckily, it is much easier to repair a 12 volt battery than work on the hybrid cells.

The following guidelines may be helpful to repair the 12 volt battery:

As a first step, the Prius battery’s cover should be opened. This can be done by pulling the handle situated right at the bottom left of the steering wheel.

After that the plastic protector to the battery located on the right-hand side of the engine should be opened and next, the small red plastic lid covering the positive port of the battery should be opened.

There is a positive cable, which has a white line painted on the rubber. This positive cable should be clipped to the positive port of the car providing the electric current from the Prius hybrid battery.

The negative cable (black in color) should be clipped to the negative port of the car giving electric current, while doing this; it should be ensured that the other end does not touch any other metal before connecting to the Prius main cells as electric current may already be flowing through the cables.

Next step is to start the car to provide the charge and press the accelerator a little so that sufficient current flows to spark the 12 volts battery in the Prius.

After charging the battery, you should start your car and drive for at least 20 minutes without switching off the engine. This will recharge the battery sufficiently and ensure that it will not become dead, when the engine is turned off. Those using a battery charger should start the Prius and leave it charging overnight.

With all the steps, if your Prius battery still does not work, it means that there is a more serious problem with the hybrid cells. It costs around $5000 to buy hybrid cells without warranty from Toyota.

As this option is quite costly, it is much cheaper to repair the dead Prius cells via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach thereby saving around $4000. The dead Prius battery cells can be replaced with the help of DIY replacement guide.

The repair guide is prepared by experienced mechanics that specialize in reconstructing HB packs. The guide gives step by step instructions with detailed pictures.

Alternatively, those not keen in buying new battery cells from Toyota spending $5000; they can buy rebuilt the battery pack by spending half of that money. However, this still works out costly.

Considering all available options, it is highly recommended to take the help of Prius Hybrid guide and repair it by the user himself.

Toyota Prius Battery Replacement Guide

Is there a cheaper option to replace the battery pack on a Toyota Prius? As a matter of fact, the guys at www.hybridbatteryrebuild.com can get the battery replaced for under $500. Want to know they can get it done so cheap? Click on the link below to learn the answer.

==> Click here to visit Prius Battery Replacement Guide!

How do you save cost and yet get the most driving mileage out of your homemade electric car? Many Do It Yourself (DIY) electric vehicle enthusiasts utilize Sealed Lead Acid Batteries (SLA) mainly because they are relatively much cheaper than lithium-ion batteries. However, the SLA’s life span is about half that of lithium batteries. Then again, current lithium batteries used on EVs cost an arm and a leg.

Even with lithium-ion batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries, known as LFP are comparatively stable than the cobalt-based lithium batteries manufactured for a few commercial vehicles. While cobalt-based lithium batteries are more efficient in operation due to ‘higher energy density’, the cycle life of this type of battery is much less than the lithium-ion batteries with phosphate or magnesium compounds as cathodes or even polymers.

Moreover without proper maintenance or supervision, the cobalt-based battery may get overcharged resulting in a fire, a condition called ‘thermal runaway’. On the other hand, lithium batteries with phosphate compound based cathodes have better chemical properties that protect the batteries in case of overcharging.

Most of the lead-based batteries used in electric vehicles do not have any provision for regulating the charge. In such situations, the batteries just get fully charged. However, a proper management during charging will be a good idea since you don’t want to damage the expensive batteries that you’ve invested.

In some of the battery packs, it suffers the risk of being fully, and yet it has not attained the full-charge state. This is not a good thing because it will decrease the plate area in the battery and in turn reduces its charge capacity.

A good battery management system (BMS) is essential for your DIY electric car if you are using deep cycle batteries.

Do you know what is the usual percentage of charge when the battery is in idle condition?

While a number of people are of the view that the idle charge for lithium batteries should be 45%, others do not agree with this percentage. The idle charge of batteries depends upon several factors, such as environment, ambient temperature, quality of battery and others. Many people feel that the charge for lithium battery lasts longer even if it is charged partially.

It is a bit challenging to determine accurately at what percentage of charge for batteries when in idle condition. Nevertheless, you can reasonably conclude that 85% charge for a battery in idle condition is adequate. Thus, if you go on a holiday trip for a couple of days, set your BMS to charge the batteries at this level. When you return, your EV batteries will still have most of its juice.

It is not clear why the ‘lithium substrate’ gets worn out when left idle in almost fully charged condition, especially when it is hot. This characteristic is fairly well recorded for cobalt batteries, it is not certain how much does this apply for phosphate-based lithium batteries.

The batteries would last longer, if you drive short distances and recharges the batteries only partially but doing it frequently. Whenever possible, it is better to charge the batteries during the day, when you haven’t been using your EV for long distance driving which will deplete the batteries to a low level.

In conclusion, as the owner of a homemade electric vehicle, your driving habits and lifestyle will determine how often you should recharge the battery pack. Charging the battery pack every day as a matter of routine is very important to ensure long life for the battery.

With ever increasing prices of gasoline and other petroleum products, using an electric car is much more economical than conventional vehicles with an internal combustion engine power plant. Contrary to what many people believe, charging the battery pack all night just to retain top voltage is not at all necessary.

The best way to preserve batteries is to charge them regularly, ensure that they are not overcharged and utilize a systematically battery management system (BMS).