Good morning all. My names Seth, im active duty military with a wife and 3 kids. I am currently looking at used a few used prius. i currently have a 100 mile commute all highway i currently drive a 2000 chevy impala that i got from my brother almost 4 years ago that is becoming a major money pit. i have been looking at 05-09 with anywhere from 100,00-150000. i am a diesel mechanic by trade and have looked at VW TDI but i have a friend that bought a 98 and is now in a major money pit from the dealers and the fact that things break easier from what i have seen on VW. i have driven a prius before a friends mom owns on and i loved the fact that it greats such good mileage and is an easy to use car. any advice and ideas are appreciated i live in eastern nc. Seth
First, here is my "who should not own a Prius" post considering a Prius | PriusChat No car is for everyone, these can be showstoppers for some. The back seat is full with two car seats, how many of the children are still in car seats? As a mechanic, you will be able to do 90% of the maintenance yourself. (Bleeding the brakes takes a $1500 piece of software to defeat the regen braking) You can enter that maintenance on Toyota's website as proof you are doing so. Service History Online - Toyota Owners
I currently have on child in a car seat the other two are in booster seats. i mostly would use the vehicle for me to drive back and fourth from work 5 days a week. i read your forum last night about who should not own a prius and i appreciated the work you and the others here put in to informing us on these vehicles before we make a decision.
I drive to 11 sites, they vary between 45 and 92 miles away, mostly signed at 55 MPH, so my commute is similar. I am a large person and I carry quite a quantity of cargo (<-- See Avatar) In my 2009, I got about 46 MPG, in the larger v, I get about 40 MPG.
that's exactly what my drive is and i also have 2-3 full size adults everyday in this car and currently gas being put in my impala is about $90 dollars a week and i average 23 mpg. i do not necessarily have to buy a prius buy for some reason hybrid technology has intrigued me for a while.
I have been reading this site very carefully over the last 3 weeks. i have decided especially after the wife convinced me that as cool and funas having a TDI may be diesels belong in trucks having something that requires less work and is more reliable is our best option. so now i am waiting on my tax return to come in so i can purchase a prius.
Hey Seth, If you're considering a new Prius or even a Pre-Owned one As you have kids and plan on using the car for more than yourself and commuting, I would suggest the Prius V. For the added space and cargo room, otherwise a Gen3 would work… if you are only commuting and will keep your Impala for the family vehicle look at a Prius C. We have a Gen3 and Prius C as the C is the daily commuter (82 miles per day) not a lot of cargo room, but it does what it needs to do. But as one of the other members mentioned, no one car is good for everyone. But I would drive all three.. I will tell you if you go with a C, make sure its a C2 or higher.. it will come with Cruise Control lol you'll want that… we have a C1 and no cruise control it sucks when you're a commuter IMO. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask…. Keep us posted.
