any one with buyer's remorse?

Best Car I've ever owned. Wouldn't change a thing and this site helped me choose the car and features. If not for Priuschat, I would probably have bought an Insight before the 2010 Prius came out. Then, maybe I'd have remorse. I hate driving regular cars now, and dread having to drive my wife's "regular" car when she has my Prius.

 

Buyer's remorse? Well, yeah. I have that whenever I spend big bucks. No car is perfect for one, let alone all. (I want 0-60 in under 6 seconds, lots of room and safety features, great fuel economy, and the best driver's seat imaginable). Cannot be done. But I've been quite happy--it is what it is, and I knew what I was getting into.
-T

 

It is a commuter car for getting me on the HOV. It is not a luxury car - I don't have a luxury car. It is not my family hauler - I have a minvan for that. It is not leather. The trunk is not automatic. There is no separate AC for left and right. There are no electrically adjustable seat. There is no seat heater.

I love the car. It is extremely frugal and I feel like I am prepared for peak oil/recession/layoffs. I wouldn't change a thing. It is the perfect commuter. It is a tool. When it wears out, I'll throw it out. This is not my last car and it is not a projection of my persona.

I am happy I saved so much money from not buying a more expensive car.

No remorse at all. I love it.

Now if I bought a more expensive car, I would worry about paying for it if I get laid off. With the Prius, it is the best I can do so no remorse even if I lose my job.

 

I've only had two. The second came with the 2010 when I could not figure out how to get "accident avoidance" in a Prius I could afford. It remains a problem to this day.

The first came in October of 2005 when I picked up a used, 2003 Prius with 49,300 miles and drove from Fort Worth to Shreveport LA:

Oct. 12, 2005, 251 miles, 6.4 gallons, 39.0 MPG
​

I was well aware that the current EPA ratings were: 45 mph Hwy, 52 City. I briefly thought about turning around and taking it back. But I had the elapsed time and realized that I'd been traveling 75 mph ... way higher than I would normally drive. So the next highway segment after sun down, at just under 65 mph:

Oct. 12, 2005, 156 miles, 3 gallons, 51.7 MPG
​

That started my study of Prius and we still have to 2003 Prius (see signature.) It led to buying our 2010 Prius in late May, 2009.

So my wife and I on Monday drove to Nashville and back, 72 mph and got 48 MPG. Our 2003 Prius would have gotten ~42 MPG, about 5 MPG less. But the 2010 is nine years younger than the 2001 Echo we sold.

So that is our buyer's remorse.

Bob Wilson

 

I would say no, no buyers remorse, but I am not picking up my 2010 until this saturday. Of course this is my 3rd Prius, yes, my third. I have owned both prior generations of Prius (2002 Gen 1, and the Prius I am trading in, my 2004 Gen 2). I pay cash for all of my cars, I don't believe in financing. The only reason I am trading in my 2004 Gen 2, my 7 year / 100K Toyota Platinum warranty expires in a few months, and I have 80,000 miles on the 2004. I am getting about $8200 for the 2004 trade-in (which was a loaded Gen 2, Navigation, Homelink, XM. Tire Pressure Monitor I added, etc). If I wait much longer, I'd get even less in trade, and by trading now, my dealer can offer the used Prius as a "certified used toyota", still being under the extended Toyota warranty. Sure, I could probably have driven the 2004 into the ground, I have had very few issues with it in more than 6 years (picked it up 10/29/2003), I have only ever done oil changes and standard maint. I have had to replace the 12V ignition battery once, and I have gone through 2 sets of tires, yes, I love my Prii, and wouldn't buy any other car. Regrets? I usually pre-order, and wait for delivery, this time, I decided to let things shake out a bit, and let others take the "arrows" of the initial production run, such as the missing USB adapters that Toyota is now including, etc. No, I have no regrets letting things shake out a bit. My dealer had pretty much the exact car I wanted in inventory, Gen 3, V, loaded.. no other options available. I could probably sell the 2004 on my own for a few thousand more, but it's just not worth the trouble.

Mitch

 

No remorse for us. It's the wife's commuter. We had to have a hybrid so she could use the HOV lanes in VA. The reason we decided on the Prius was the lack of new hybrid Camrys last August during C4C. We didn't want to risk losing out on the C4C deal waiting for the Camry. We got the last Prius on a local dealer lot and the C4C deal was really good. We're very happy with it.

I do wish it had memory seats, mirrors, and steering wheel like our Lexus RX400h.

 

Not really as this is our second Prius (we traded a G2 2005). I guess if anything, this forum has alarmed me with all that's reported to be wrong with the G3 but quite frankly, most of the critical reviews haven't been applicable to our car anyway in our experience or perception with it. I'm on ThunderbirdNest.com a lot (we also own a 2002 retro Thunderbird) and they all report problems too; most of which I never experience. It might be that the data is skewed in that the majority of Prius owners are not on PriusChat and perhaps those who have problems and post are more vocal; I don't know.

Right before we purchased the G3 we read about the NHTSB review of the braking problems and it mentioned PriusChat.com in that article. Since I had not been active on this forum in a while, I logged in and read the posts. Some were scary but as I kept reading, I figured part of the problem could be a person's perception of hybrid braking and since we owned one already, I decided this was not a reason to back out of the purchase. My experience to date with the car is that for me, this is true. It brakes and handles in a similar fashion to our 2005 and I'm used to hybrid braking.

Bottom line, I'm not remorseful but rather a little concerned after reading everything here.

 

You've hit on the solution!
Enjoy the car and ignore this chat group -- a group that fusses more about idiosyncrasies than real faults. I enjoyed my 2004 for five years, I've enjoyed my 2010 since June. Of course I might have chosen a better package, but I cannot find a more satisfying car.

 

With over 18,000 miles on our Prius my wife, who drives it nearly all the time, really likes it.

My only dissapointment is the noticeable lower gas mileage during the winter.

But, all things considered, I have to admit that when you combine the increased mpg in the summer with the less mpg in the winter it still averages a true and real world driving of 45 mpg or so.

Now that you can go 10,000 between oil changes is a real plus.

Also since we bought the car, May 17, 2009, there has not been one problem or glitch with this car.

Even though I am a diesel guy at heart thumbs up for the Prius.

alfon

 

No remorse.

I did have some separation anxiety for a few days afterwards (we paid cash) but now I'm fine.

Red II. Got 40.3, 41.3, 41.8 from the first 3 tanks.

But the 4th tank started on a warmer day and I got a hint of the potential. A 100 mile round trip at 37F there and 32F back ended with the display saying 50.1mpg.

I know the Prius is a big fat liar (Tanks 1-3 41.1mpg calculated, 43mpg displayed) but if it can manage 47-48mpg in cold temperatures I'm looking forward to the warmer months.

We have the Yokohama tires too and neither my wife nor I have noticed any problem with road noise.

 

Smart move.

 

The road noise (tires) did bother me right at first. The Outback I traded had Michelin's that were so noisy they drove me crazy. It only took me a couple of trips and I completely forgot about the noise--I loved so many things about the car it didn't matter!

Another concern--the original poster said something about using car seat covers. My IV manual says that is a no-no because of the side air bags. I would think this would be the same whether the seats are leather or cloth.

I miss power seats. My husband drops the seat fully, moves them all the way back, brings the seatback up, and raises the steering wheel fully. I do just the opposite--takes 20 some cranks to get the darn seat back up.

 

I have no remorse, I love my V blizzard pearl, named "Anya." However, I would have chosen a more base model if I did it over again. The advanced technology package is not being utilized.

 

I had some remorse after placing my order, before delivery. I was breaking two earlier goals: keeping the '86 Honda 'until the wheels fall off'; and getting rid of two cars -- it and DW's '89 Acura -- before buying one new one. Neither old one was close to mechanical or economic failure, and DW refused to retire her '89.

And was it a good idea to buy a car while unemployed?

All remorse vanished upon delivery.

 

i think i have already posted to this thread a few times already, but to touch on a few points brought up here.

anytime you are spending this amount of money, you will always have 2nd thoughts which frequently can be mistaken for "buyers remorse". sure i think of what i could do had i not spent nearly $30,000 on a car. (paying cash makes me think it even more!!).

but then again, i am set for years if need be without the payment headaches. add to that recent news reports stating gas maybe nearing $4 a gallon again this year. i also add to the fact that i live in an area, have the driving needs, etc. that allow me to do pretty well on mileage without going whole hog on hypermiling (i found early on, i dont have the discipline to make it work for more than occasional bursts of motivation)

all of that is good. also, the winter mileage discussion has gone beyond credibility for the most part. outlandish claims of how little the weather affected "my old trusty so and so" are simply not based on anything but faded memories mixed with hopes applicable to the discussion

we had a Corolla that i used to post my mileage figures on here (i used to post Cents per miles figures for the Prius and Corolla against the Zenn) in the summer, it did between 30-32 mpg... in the winter, it did 25-27 mpg which is a 10-15% decline. now we can get into this argument about how your car did not lose that kind of mileage and some probably did not lose as much during winter, but only because they did so piss-poor all summer.

but i am not going by memory, i am going by straight data collection covering more than 2 years.

either way, i think everyone should revisit this thread every 6 months for the next few years. there is no way anyone should make the decision that they made a poor purchase choice of this magnitude in so short a period of time.

 

Remorse? None what so ever! It's a beautiful, comfortable, quiet car that fits me and my needs and expectations in every way! Could it be even better? Sure! The Gen 4 will be better, as will the Gen 5 and I look forward to them and the other hybrids and EV's I hope will someday fill our streets.:rockon:

 

No remorse here. In fact just the opposite. The more time passes the more I feel it was a great choice.

 

I loved my Prius but prior of getting my Prius I was thinking of getting an 2006 BMW M5 used (500HP) but after thinking about it I drive 45 miles to and from work each day. I don't want to be a gas slave on M5, so I got my Prius. What a big change from 500HP to 98HP lol.

 

I don't think so, traded in an extra f150 that I had when I started a new job that is 130 mile a day commute. Lets see 130 miles a day with maybe 14mpg to 47mpg? 1/3 the fule costs have made up for the difference in payments. Although the payment period is longer I enjoy driving this cool gadget on 4 wheels. And everytime I pull into the gas station and pay less than $30 for a tank of gas I get the giggles.....

 

Remorse? Nope. Even with the mpg hit from Maine's winter, I still get better milage than I ever did before.
And I think that driving her has made me a better driver. At least I pay attention to the speed limit now.