To Prius or to not....

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Ok I found a nice deal on a 2008 Prius, Level 2. 55,000 miles. Ive driven it twice and absolutely love it.

I'd be coming from an Envoy SUV that Ive had for eight years. It has 162k miles and is starting to suffer from the "nickel and dime the owner" syndrome. Plus the mpg's stink.

I was worried about the battery going bad, but really its a non issue. Toyota covers all hybrid components for 8yrs/100k miles. NYC taxis have over 300,000 miles on the original batteries. BUT if it goes bad, you can easily swap in a new one for $1200 or so. OR rebuild it yourself for $300-$400 by replacing the individual cells. So I guess the battery is a non issue for me.

Would you do it? Any Pri owners out there care to chime in?
 
If you love it, why even ask?

I wouldn't worry about the battery issue - it's another part on a car...and years ago, I was considering a hybrid (I was driving 60K/year) when the parts dept quoted me $6,000 for a battery, I shied away from the hybrid (a Civic) because of that cost...but now that costs are reasonable, I wouldn't worry about it.

When we considered several compacts for a kids' car in 2006, we bought a less than one year old 2006 Corolla (dealer demo with 6,000 miles on it), for about $10K less than a new Prius and $8K less than a new Corolla, it's now gone over 100,000 trouble-free miles, and what we saved in purchase price will pay for all the gas that it ever burns...

Personally? I like how the Corolla drives better than how the the Prius drives (I've rented several Prii...). But if you love it, then go get this one!
 
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I personally wouldnt, the only hybrid that is worth it salt is the Prius C.
 
It sounds like you have it covered. Only issues I know of is the headlight levelers, occasional transmission failures, occasional invertor failures. HID's were a problem I think; and a person I know of had an LCD failure (may be a total fluke). Otherwise I don't think they have many issues; I'd look at those issues and make a decision. Odds are, those problems are no worse than what any other vehicle may or may not face.

Good chance fuel savings would pay for any repairs. Doesn't seem like a high risk to me.
 
A friend has a Prius with 190K on it and it has been nickel dimeing him for a long while. It seems that only Toyota will work on it and it has cost him a small fortune.
 
I would consider a Prius if I lived in a warmer area that was densely populated with heavy traffic. Otherwise I would stick to a gas only miser as I chose the Corolla.


(btw the Prius C is the cheapest model in every way possible from what I have read.. the bottom rung of the Prius family)
 
Having put a quite a few miles on our company's Prius'es, I'd say no. They are cool science experiments (and it was cool going far on little gas) but they are HORRIBLE cars. Loud, handle poorly, and not comfortable to drive. No thanks.
 
The only caveat I would add is that the 2008 model seems to be less comfortable on motorway/high speed driving situations from my experience.

Very economical if used urban only though.

Can be sore on front tyres round town especially the Bridgestones fitted OE in UK. Most fit Michelin Energy from what I have observed.

Batteries are certainly a non issue. Loads of them being used in the Private Hire industry in London especially. Some are well into 200/300k region with just servicing.

Really nive to drive around a big city. Especially in the evenings when you really notice the lack of noise at slow speeds.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
A friend has a Prius with 190K on it and it has been nickel dimeing him for a long while. It seems that only Toyota will work on it and it has cost him a small fortune.


What kind of issues has the car had?
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Having put a quite a few miles on our company's Prius'es, I'd say no. They are cool science experiments (and it was cool going far on little gas) but they are HORRIBLE cars. Loud, handle poorly, and not comfortable to drive. No thanks.



I thought the same when I test drove the first generation Prius.

Fast forward to Generation 3, It's a delight to drive one in city and OK, but not great for high speed hwy driving. I'm hearing Porsche is better for that.

What Prius do you talk about?
 
Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Originally Posted By: tig1
A friend has a Prius with 190K on it and it has been nickel dimeing him for a long while. It seems that only Toyota will work on it and it has cost him a small fortune.


What kind of issues has the car had?


Only 2006 has some frequent issues, mostly HID lamps that dealers overcharged for and waterpump recall: http://www.truedelta.com/Toyota-Prius/reliability-272
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Get nearly as good of mileage and a lot more fun if you buy a manual transmission Ford Focus.


Are you sure about it?

Manual 2008 Focus combined 29 MPG: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSear...amp;srchtyp=ymm

Prius 2008 combined 46 MPG: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=24882


Sorry, have to go to a recent Focus, like a 2012, gets around 40 highway with a stick.

Better yet:
2003 VW Beetle/Jetta/Golf turbo diesel rates at 42 city 49 hwy with a stick according to Consumer Guide 2003 edition.
 
Well today was the day I was buying the car. On the way to the bank, I got cold feet
smirk.gif


Called and rescheduled until tomorrow so I can mull this potential purchase over some more.

Story of my life....
 
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