Hello fellow Prii owners... My mom is a commuter, and her current car is drinking way too much gas, we were thinking about getting her a 2002 / 2003 Prius, something she can just use for a commuter or switch off and on, doesn't need to be anything spectacular.... Has anyone heard or know of any problems or such? We've seen them anywhere from $3k - $5k some in really good condition... Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, look out for's would be greatly appreciated.... PS Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area.
I just recently bought a '99 Volvo V70 for $250 locally. The negative battery cable was disconnected and it kept cutting out on the previous owner. I didn't need the car and flipped it but it gets 30 MPG highway. Honestly unless you are driving a lot around the city the Prius doesn't make sense from a cost standpoint IMO. The extra $5000-$8000 or so you'd spend for a decent one buys a lot of gas. If she is doing a lot of highway driving look for a small commuter car like the Pontiac Vibe (same as Toyota Matrix without the name markup) or something similar without the potential $3k charge for a new battery pack (a very real possibility on an older higher mileage Prius).
Thank you all for your feedback.... She drives 150 miles per day... has a V6 and its not the best on fuel.... We will see how things will work out in the upcoming month. A buddy of mine and I changed out spark plugs (sadly the rears you have to take off the exhaust manifold, damn British cars) MAS cleaned, and a bunch of other stuff cleaned... Seems to be running much better and we will see if the fuel economy goes up. But thank you all for your comments and suggestions
