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Quick Purchase Question from a Noob

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by rexg, Feb 8, 2008.

  1. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    Hi Everyone, I joined this forum a couple of days ago. i am trading in my 05 mitsubishi evo 8 which is a garage queen and I am finalizing my purchase of two prii one magnetic gray for me and the other one classic silver for my fiancee all with pkg2.

    i have all the prices down and i even have the vin for the cars already for insurance and will close everything on saturday. my question is, the silver one is a dealer trade and has 164 miles on the odometer. do you think i should worry about this or should it be ok? i would be getting each for 21,940. i do not know if the break in period for a prius is really critical unlike my evo where i had to maintain rpms, speed and boost pressure, etc. let me know everyone's input.

    btw im loving the fact that i only have to pay 53 dollars per month on insurance unlike the evo at 130 and im 30 years old!
     
  2. bandaid

    bandaid New Member

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    Break in period? Are you serious? Your Evo is a performance car, the prius is a "better than riding the bus car". Why would you need to break in an engine that has about as much power as a rascal scooter? By the way, was this purchase your fiancee's decision? My advice, keep the Evo and ride the bus to work.
     
  3. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    The Prius will look after its self pretty much. Just drive it reasonably for a while to ensure the tyres suspension and transmission are settled in properly while the computers will look after the engine and electricals. You will notice according to others on here that you mileage will improve at around the 10,000 mile mark.

    The first service is, as with most cars the most critical so get it in on time or a little early. No need to idle the Prius to warm it up or allow turbos to spin down, how good is that!! Just hit power and go then switch off when you arrive.

    Enjoy your 2 Prius, let us know who gets the best consumption too.
     
  4. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    kinda negative?
    prius is a fast car because of the elec motor.:)
     
  5. Jack66

    Jack66 Kinda Jovial Member

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    I was given only one instruction for a break in period - don't use the cruise control for the first 1000 miles. I am almost at 830 miles and wonder if I will ever use the cruise control except on long, steady trips. My Prius has changed the way I drive and I don't think cruise control will get the best MPG.

    I'm curious -- who is getting the better Prius? You or your intended? It might not be something you want brought up at your tenth wedding anivversary and the rest of your life...
     
  6. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    Bandaid, as someone who calls himself a certified Prius tech in another thread, why do you feel the need to immediately start putting down the car upon joining PC?

    I smell a troll.
     
  7. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    well anything mechanical needs to be broken in. sometimes even the non mechanical. even your shoes needs to be broken in for the exact fit! some are just more stringent like the evo since everything is a mechanical precision (turbo, differential, transfer case, etc.) unlike the prius which can switch over from gas to electric and a set of pulleys for transmission. correct me if im wrong.

    well we have been bickering about who gets the gray and who gets the silver but she has decided on the silver one and told her that i do not want to be bitten in the back for this in the future hehe. some of you understand this. that is why a lot of us are driving the prius because we switched from the impractical to "what the hell, if its good in gas then im there. even if there is no power." the dealer supposedly has a package 2 with leather and moonroof for 23,8xx but the boss does not approve of it anymore due to the extra 1800 bump and she said she also doesnt like leather. too cold without bun warmers.

    i commute 75 miles daily to work and currently have two cars, one is the evo and the other a yaris. however, i drive through the mountains in the bay area and the yaris just wants to get thrown around in high winds. i hope that the extra 800 lb or so weight gain from the prius will help.

    i know im making the right decision because i am saving a lot of money by making this move. hehe
     
  8. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    yes, what i usually did is change the oil for my cars at the 1,000 mile mark. i think i can wait this one out to 2,500 then 5,000 then the regular intervals. i use mobil one for all my cars. do a lot of you use syn or dino oil? i mean its a small engine and it only gets used half the time or so and doesnt really heat up to a point where the oil molecules deteriorate as long as they are changed in the right interval. i would use amsoil and do longer intervals if toyota did not have that bad sludge problem a few years ago.
     
  9. Bruce Nyhlen

    Bruce Nyhlen Junior Member

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  10. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

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    I didn't know about break-in periods and all, I used cruise control and drove 1300 miles in the first three days...

    Hope nothing bad happened to it. Now I have about 16,000 miles.

    Congrats on your new Prii and welcome to PC.
     
  11. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    A number of folks here are in similar positions, having come from WRXs to the Prius. I can honestly say I'm happy we made the switch. The WRX was a lot of fun, but the Prius is too (just in a different way). Knowing how much gas the WRX was sucking down and how bad the emissions were (not to mention fuel costs) started to take a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. I find I'm generally much mellower behind the wheel now, which I'm sure has been good for my stress levels. On the rare occasion I've had to flog the Prius its done a pretty respectable job, it will pretty much do whatever you ask it, just not quite as quickly as the WRX/Evo. I frequently find myself getting really pissed off when driving other small/eco/non-performance cars, as they often just don't do what you want them to. I've never had that experience in the Prius.

    As far as break in goes, I'm not aware of any special requirements. You don't really have any direct control over the engine anyway, the computer is managing that. It may very well have a built in break in sequence, but I've never heard of one.

    Some do feel the Prius still gets pushed around too much in the wind, but you'll have to see how it feels. The common opinion seems to be that this is due to the high strength / very springy steel used, and that you can improve it with bracing if it bothers you.

    Welcome, and enjoy your new Prii!

    Rob
     
  12. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    I do agree. I could not drive the evo anymore because of gas prices or I drive it thinking how much money i am spending on gas and tires. I used my yaris more but I find it a little too small. I think the prius handles better in the wind and rain as it is classified as a midsize car. so hopefully.
     
  13. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    has anyone used the graduate rebate program more than once? I would like to use one rebate per car when i get it tomorrow. I checked with my dealership and they said that there is no restriction on limits. I checked everywhere and couldnt find it. I saw the tfs grad rebate program in canada and they stated one rebate per car which means i can have a rebate on both. im confused.
     
  14. bandaid

    bandaid New Member

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    Yes Jim, I actually am a prius tech and I did join this site to "troll". I do apologize to anyone I have offended but I was just trying to let off a little steam (probably in the wrong way). I am just so tired of dealing with the attitude (some) prius owners have towards the everyday non hybrid owner. Even if we all drove hybrids it wouldn't do a thing to stop global warming. We need to stop relying on fossil fuel to power our vehicles. Hybrids are a bandaid technology (hence my name). So again, I apologize for offending anyone. I will not post on this site again (so don't bother with the warning emails). Scott
     
  15. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    I believe in breaking in the engine... so, for the first 1000 miles, vary the speed (limit cruise control), try to avoid "jack rabbit" starts, don't dog the brakes, and go for a few long, rolling hills type of drives.

    We put Mobil 1 in Rudy, and we DO NOT USE FRAM FILTERS!!! (we use Bosch, actually, so far.. but OEM filters are good, too)
     
  16. rexg

    rexg Junior Member

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    so it is basically the usual break in. what concerns me is that one of the two i picked up was a dealer trade and had to be driven 80 miles away. i hope the driver did not abuse the car. so far it is doing 50.2 on the computer and my other one which had 1 mile on it when i picked it up is doing 46.

    for filters i use either the oem, napa gold or wix. ive been looking for the japan oem filter. have you guys seen the elements in the original filter? i think ill stick to oem for the prius and use dino oil in it since the engine is not as overtasked as turbo cars.
     
  17. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    OK, you are wrong. The Prius uses 2 electric motor/generators, a computer an inverter, a battery pack, a computer to control it all, and an epicyclic gear set for a transmission, there are no pulleys.
     
  18. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Well, Rudy had 200 miles on him when we got him. I don't seriously think that the mileage they put on the car before you got it would be that critical.

    Since you are going 5K between oil changes, it may not be that important to use synth vs. dino oil... but, we like it :)
     
  19. UKChas

    UKChas New Member

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    Although a "newbie" here (this is my first post), I've owned (and loved) my Prius for nearly three years now. Here in the UK the service interval (and oil change interval) is 10,000 miles - and I have to say the oil looks as clean when it comes out as when it goes in. Anyone here know why the US recommended interval is only 5,000 miles? Just curious. PS 30k miles on the clock and (so far) not one jot of trouble (apart from new tyres at 25k - ouch!).
     
  20. Doc Willie

    Doc Willie Shuttlecraft Commander

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    I can guess:

    1. Toyota had a problem with sludging in some engines in some models in the past. Due to the litigiousness rampant in American society, they are probably gun shy.
    E.g. A woman filed a lawsuit against Toyota when her engine froze up after 80K miles. She had been told that the Toyota required NO maintenance, so she never had an oil change or even added oil. Her lawyer was claiming that Toyota was negligent in not having a sticker on the dashboard notifying the owner that oil changes were necessary.

    2. Modern America is built on the assumption of cheap oil. The true costs of that are just creeping in.

    3. The dealers make a bundle from doing routine stuff like oil changes, plus using that as an opportunity to sell more services.

    Therefore, mandating a 5K oil change makes it easier for Toyota to get out of warranty claims.

    Just my opinion.