Is the Prius a BAD purchase...Unless you drive many miles per year?

sure, if you can get a good prius for cheap, how can you go wrong?

but define good and cheap

 

I see the Prius overall as a good but complex car. That complexity makes it expensive, especially since elements of its design don't seem to age well. It is directly opposite of the KISS principle, and as such I wouldn't reccomend an older Prius to anyone unless they have very realistic expectations of what they might be getting into.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

When I picked up my car the break-even calculations included daily commutes, depreciation and guessing at the fuel prices. I periodically checked the resale. I owned it from 2002 to 2019. The conclusion that I came to over the years:

1) The "hybrid premium" is not always as much as you think once you factor in rebates, credits, etc. When you sell a hybrid the resale price is often higher than an equivalent conventional model.
2) If you don't drive much but sell in 6 to 8 years you won't get much payback from the great MPG but the resale will be much better due to low mileage.
If you drive it till it's dead, you'll get your money's worth because there are fairly few maintenance items. A car that runs well for 10 years with no work on engine or brakes is fairly economical all by itself.

 

OT - The rule of thumb when talking with clients is:

Fast
Cheap
Good
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Pick any two.

 

With Prius, we know fast isn’t part of the equation

 

Maybe they mean fast in terms of how quick it is to find one and buy one? I can't think of any other example related to fast other than that for Prius?

 

Maybe they mean how fast it happens to have a problem AFTER they bought it cheap?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Honestly, a guy that has been a member here for 3 months is going to lecture people about their cars?

 

Take a chill pill, Bob. I'm one very satisfied customer.

It is quite obvious the guy is an experience mechanic/technician, so how long he's been a member here is quite irrelevant.

 

Noted and understood. I will try to be more understanding in the future.

 

Let me just say this.

1. If the vehicle:
   • suits your needs...
   • is within your budget (both initial and TCO)...
   • and you like the car...
   THEN get the car! At this point it doesn't matter if Camrys are cheaper or if Tundras can haul more stuff. If you're sure a car is right for you, get it.
   
2. If it's not quite one of those but you still like the general idea/features/benefits/technology and it's worth the sacrifice/risk/price to you, then:
   • Sacrifice some features you like and get the Prius.
   • Or pay more money for a Prius with the features you want (if there is one)
   Mind you, the sacrifice or extra price needs to be worth your commitment to the car. For an example, if you just have to have a hybrid because you want a hybrid and there's no talking you out of buying a hybrid, even if the price is a bit steep in your opinion, then maybe you should get one anyway. But if you wouldn't be able to live with yourself because you paid much more on it than you could have with a Mitsubishi Mirage, then get the Mirage.
   
3. If it's not exactly what you need, want and are/or would normally be willing to pay for, and it's also not worth the sacrifice to you then don't get one. It's the wrong car for you.

And all this is a matter of opinion. Since this is on the Gen 2 forum, I'll take it you're talking about a Gen 2.

One guy can go buy a used Gen 2, the HV battery soon needs to be replaced, the dealer wants $2,000 to do it. Now he's sure he bought the wrong car. It's way too expensive, he wasn't prepared for it, should have got a Camry instead.

Another guy does the same thing. The HV battery needs to be replaced, and the catalytic converter, as well as the brake actuator. And on top of that, the thing guzzles oil like a camel at a water trough so he ends up re-ringing the engine as well. But this guy doesn't care. The car is worth any money he puts into it, maybe because he feels he'll save that much in gas. Or maybe because he feels he's doing the environment a favor. Or maybe just because he likes the hatchback design of the Prius and wouldn't have it any other way.

Everyone has his or her own opinion and agenda.

 

I understand your response to my post. I joined this forum 3 months ago because I wanted to gain more knowledge about the Prius and hybrids in general. I had bought a cheap gen2 as a training tool, and here I found a group that had some very capable and experienced people who go out of their way to share what they know.

Yes, I have been fixing cars for a living for 30 years and specialize in electrical and electronics systems- but haven't had much "hands-on" experience with hybrids.
Good thing for me that I came here, since I have had a "run" of gen2's at my shop - I must have about 7 or 8 new customers with various problems. This forum has helped educate me.

The thing is that a common theme I noticed for many posts is "I just bought a gen2 and I have this problem- I don't have much $$ to fix it". I want to help educate anyone who reads these threads so they can make an informed descision. If you want to buy a Prius, then do so but understand what might be involved. You CAN spend much more out of pocket to repair a Prius than say a Corolla (right now I have both). Any older used car could end up being a money pit, but the experiences presented here seem to indicate that for a typical non-DIY owner, there are more/ costlier pattern failures on a Gen2- HV battery, catalytic converter, CM, MFD, brake actuator, ICE oil consumption, etc.

IF you have the time or money or DIY attitude and ability to face the potential challenge that an older Prius could present, then go for it. IF you need a reliable car for a "fixed budget", then a Gen2 might not be the best choice.

Early on in my career, I found that 2 of the brands that had fewer problems over time were Toyota and Honda. So those were the cars that I would reccomend to my customers- and what I would get for myself. I would buy a car that someone didn't want to repair. Then I'd fix it and drive the snot out of it. I have owned: 86 Cressida, 87 Camry, 94 Prizm (Corolla), 97 Accord, 08 xB (now my wife's), 06 Corolla, and now 06 Prius.

So hats off to everyone who contributes on this forum. I want to help where I can, but remember; my advice is worth every cent you paid for it.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I suppose the answer to the question is if you have to ask if an old used Prius is the right car to buy, then the answer is "probably not."

They're probably not as bad as a rotary Mazda though.

 

This might help out of my first and 2 years experience. Its a used 2007 package 5 (not touring) with 98,000 miles and I paid $6,500 usd. I was actually in a scout for a corolla but the car was sold so I end up getting the 07 prius for the purpose of everyday driving to work and other day to day agenda. My work is 36 miles one way (40% highway driving).
I have a lot of experience working on regular cars but nothing on hybrid. I started reading about how to maintain the car on this site, the pros and cons just like the heading of this thread and I began to get a bit nervous. In 2 weeks I want to return the car and trade for a different one. But my wife convinced me to atleast try it. worst come to worst I have other backup cars to drive.
I applied everything that I learned on this site and my experience on owning regular classic cars. So I end up replacing parts that are expected to be replaced in 100k miles. both coolants, thermostat, all 3 electric pumps, mechanical pump, dogbone mount, transmission, service, oil and filter. all the filters, spark plugs, all new tires and tpms, belts, pulley bearing, back latch, auxiliary hybrid fan service and add a subwoofer. that was an extra $1,600 in parts. A few people here told me I went overboard but I want get the feel of owning a prius that's close enough to a like new running condition and see how it performs in time.
In a span of 2 years which is today, I have 150,000 miles. The only thing I have done now is the regular change oil and filter, air, cabin filter. rotate tires wash the car. I get roughly 415 miles full tank.
For a working purpose like what I use it for, It brought a lot of positive by saving up a lot of gas money, less maintenance, not being late at work, being reliable, and I was able to acquire other side jobs. This car brought me a lot of revenue and perfect for my 25,000 mile driving per year needs. Hope this helps.

 

My apologies sir. I made my statement before actually reading the bulk of your advice, now I eat crow.

 

In my opinion, too much focus is put on the high voltage battery as a point of failure, and not enough focus is put on everything else. An older Prius can be a reliable car, or it can be a money pit. On average, a Prius tends to be more reliable throughout its lifetime than most other cars. But each individual vehicle is different, and you can only predict so much. So in addition to looking for a reliable model (the Prius qualifies), you would want to look at the car’s repair and ownership history to get a decent idea of whether the car is likely to be reliable for the next several years.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I may have gotten a 2020 Toyota Yaris for 1/2 the price. It’s hard to say. Have to do the math to decide if the gas mileage saved is worth the up front cost.

 

As a comparison, I had a 1985 VW Golf that a CV joint or two would go out about once a year. And I mean catastrophically go out as in the balls all fell out and the car could not be moved. And I owned the car for about 7 years, so yes, I had replaced both CV axles many, many times. I also had rebuilt them a few times with new CV joints. I even tried different brands and still got the same problem.

What I'm saying is that there are cars with cheaper "problems" but that doesn't mean that they are cheaper or easier to deal with in the long run.

 

This is a Gen 2 forum, so our Primes are in a whole 'nuther category.

I'm not sure what your EV ratio is. Mine is fairly high. On average, up through August 16, which was my last gas purchase, I've averaged saving about $76/month compared to the same miles in a 28 mpg car. That's including electricity I had to pay for.

But a Gen 2 or any other Prius will not save anything close to that, although it will be significant. A Gen 2 will save almost 50% on gas compared to a typical 28 mpg gasser. Compared to a 35-40 mpg economy car, it's not a huge difference unless you drive a lot of miles.

 

Oh, we knew ours would never save enough to pay for itself long before we bought it, and that was back when we were putting 20k+ miles per year on the car.

We just couldn't find a nicer subcompact hatchback.

Look around. There aren't many 28mpg "typical" cars anymore. You can get large SUVs and minivans with numbers like that. Lots of Prius-sized & shaped gas cars are turning in 35-40 now, and some are almost old enough to be in the same used-car price bracket as the best of the 2nd Generation Priuseses.