Buy 2011 Prius or not?

I don't know what you mean by that. The Corolla has stability control standard on all varieties.

 

I already spend a LOT of time on Priuschat.

Yes, I found threads about the 2nd gen brake lights after you mentioned it. From my quick glance at the thread, it does not seem to be a common problem. There are other things that are of bigger worry on the 2nd gen Prius than brake lights.

 

well, since numerous statistics, from usa to europe, point out prius as one of the if not the most reliable car on the road, then surely other cars have more issues and we have no other choice but to reccomend prius as sole option for purchase?

you first say that prius has dimminishing mpg (proven wrong by recent reports at 200k), but then say it is ok for cabbies to like prius since they cover a lot of miles.

so then if cabbies love it and trust it to go million miles, isnt the joe average going to be thrilled with its reliability over much lesser period?

you are arguing opposite arguments in the same thread, and only reason is to educate us who have or have had prius that it is really not that good as we all think it is.

i hope you are getting paid to do this since anything else means you might be wondering off the beaten path as brits would say while whistling and doing circural motion at their temple.

 

Mandated.

 

Due to the high mileage put on the vehicle, it doesn't take much of an mpg improvement (even with diminishing mpg) for cabbies to save money overall. Not so for the ave joe (10K/yr ?)
Secondly, a cab company with a fleet of Prii is more likely to experience the average maintenance and repair expenses than one owner of a single Prius. I do not doubt that on the average, the Prius is a reliable car. The unexpected expense is what any owner should be prepared for. The cost of parts in the Prius are higher than those in economy cars e.g. Corolla.

Thus, I am not making any opposite arguments.

 

Last week I traded my 2001 Prius, purchased in West Michigan August 2000, for an excellent all new 2011 Prius Level III with the navigation & solar roof packages.

The NiMH traction battery of my former 2001 Prius suddenly began failing a couple weeks ago, shortly after reaching 166,000 miles. And as it began failing the drive ability began to deteriorate quickly. My local Toyota dealership noted the replacement cost of the 2001 OEM NiMh pack including installation was quoted at $3,000.(US). BTW, the original NiMH battery pack in my 2001 had worked without incident or repair for over 10.5 years!

Last fall I had the catalytic converter of the 2001 replaced ($2,000.). When I purchased my Prius in August 2000 I included the Toyota Platinum warranty plan and that turned out to be a very good idea over the past decade as several major components malfunctioned just under 100K miles.

Was it worth trading rather than restoring the 2001 Prius? Definitely yes! Any fuel savings realized over the past decade were being lost as expensive parts replacements were needed to keep the old car running. I enjoy all types of cars and appreciate auto restoration and preservation, but this enthusiasm didn't extend to slowly rebuilding the older 2000 Prius.

I might mention I've been closely following the Chevrolet Volt's development for the past four years and last November was privileged to have two test drives in Chicago courtesy of GM. This was the only other car I was considering buying other than a new Prius. While the Volt has undoubtedly remarkable advanced hybrid technology I concluded the combination of the high initial cost and the Volt's far lower highway MPG when running in charge sustaining mode, were significant drawbacks. It's generation one for the Volt whereas Prius engineering has continually been refined and advanced over the past decade. And because I'm now semi-retired I enjoy being able to do more cross country drives which the generation one Volt could also do but with far lower fuel efficiency.

So I have no regrets buying the 2011 Prius III, superb engineering. The quality of the service team at the local Toyota dealership and from Toyota "the company" have both been uniformly positive for the past ten years. Now I'm learning and appreciating the ongoing R&D efforts made by Toyota with the 2011 Prius III.

 

Krel, right on with that. When folks give their MPGs, it helps to validate the numbers by including their average speed if known. The Gen III shows average speed, but I don't know about Gen IIs.

 

Looks like when the battery starts failing, it goes quickly within a few weeks (days ?) or is that only when you started noticing the sluggishness ?
The fuel economy should have been decreasing for a while, I would think.

 

Yes, a very good comment about the engine performance and battery. The 2001's fuel economy had been gradually decreasing over the past year until during recent cold weather the MPGs were only in the upper 30s. Apparently the battery had gradually been failing for some time as the MPGs dropped slowly, but not precipitously, from the upper 40s to the mid 40s about a year ago and then really did precipitously decline to the low 30s after the two cells failed just before the car was traded.

I was fortunate the battery didn't fail entirely and that the issue became apparent while close to home instead of on a distant freeway somewhere. The engineer at my local Toyota dealership checked the codes and found one or two cells defective. I believe he said once a NiMH cells fails the (2001) Prius is programmed to automatically shut off some of the less important control features that draw extra energy. After the special Saturday garage visit I was able carefully drive the 2001 two more days while choosing a new 2011 Prius III. I've again included the Toyota Platinum warranty package.

 

CR reports match your experience.

quote: Many have complained about batteries failing between 100,000 to 150,000 miles of use. Consumer Reports rated the reliability of the battery of the 2001-2003 Prius as worse than expected. A brand-new replacement battery can cost between $2,200 and $2,600, ...
Toyota Prius stands the test of time - Chicago Tribune

 

And to quote from the above article:

The above is what people frequently do if they have a failed out of warranty HV battery, otherwise they can go w/solutions like FAQ. It's rather convenient for you to scaremonger with a high battery cost by leaving off the phrase following your quote.

For those in CARB states, such as California, model year 2004 and beyond Priuses sold, registered and operated in those states have a 10 year/150K mile warranty on the HV battery.

 

You are seriously suggesting people with an undrivable Prius who needs it repaired now, hunt around for a salvaged battery or buy that reinvolt battery with a 12 month warranty.

quote:[FONT=Courier New, Courier, monospace][FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]We have developed the equipment and procedures necessary to remanufacture the High Voltage battery pack in your hybrid vehicle. All remanufactured packs come with a 12 month/ unlimited mileage warranty.
Why pay $3000-$7000 for a new replacement when we can recycle your old pack and restore it to like new performance.
Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

Yes or (for example) pay $1475 for a Re-Involt. They aren't the only folks that do this sort of thing.

But per http://priuschat.com/forums/generation-1-prius-discussion/74150-buying-new-battery.html#post1030797, unfortunately, a new one would also only have a 12 month warranty. :/

 

Hi TampaBay

The replacement cost is less than half that, and the resale (in like condition) is better than "most" like priced sedans.

There will always be more.
For this vehicle, that is a fair market price...but you can do better. Do not even talk to the regular sales people. As soon as you are greeted, politely and firmly ask for the Fleet Manager (the real one). Let said Mgr. know you're not in a hurry, want the car optioned your way and you are ready to buy. Not just one Dealership either.

That is pretty close but remember the Dealers do not all charge the same. The owner/s set the overhead.

You've heard from alot of happy owners here, and from one, who through all indications, may have never owned a Prius. Buy 2011 Prius or not? My vote is yes. I bought mine for the price, available space, reliability and unsurpassed MPG. It met all "my" needs. Whether or not this car will meet your needs is something you must decide. No one car is for everyone. Good luck whatever you choose.

 

Duck and Cover!

 

Brand new at 2-3K vs remanufactured at 1-2K, I would pick the former.

 

The battery is warrantied for 8 years/100,000 miles. If I have to shell out for a repair, I'm not dumping that kind of money into a 10-12-year-old, 150,000+ mile vehicle. Unless I got extremely unlucky with my battery, I'm going to search a salvage yard or maybe do the Reinvolt.

 

Has anyone purchased a new 2011 Prius II for less than $23,000.00 out-the-door? Is $23,500.00 OTD the lowest car dealers are willing to go? From a wheeler-dealer standpoint, what tactics can I use to get a dealer to budge from $23,500 down to $23,000 or less? Thanks for your input, Kevin

 

Bought a new 11 Prius 2 today. It only had 2 miles on it-really new. Paid 21175+T&L. Too soon to know how I like it, still processing buyers remorse.
I'm not worried about the traction battery life, I just hope I last until the warranty expires.

 

The best case would be if it fails and requires replacement right before HV battery warranty expiration.