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Old newbie: out with the old, in with the new

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by KENBUCK, Mar 3, 2016.

  1. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2016
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    Location:
    Portland or
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I haven't much followed any Prius forums since spending 6 months languishing on a dealerships list awaiting my turn to purchase my 2004 Prius. It was the most reliable and inexpensive vehicles I have ever owned.

    This year I was thinking of and saving up for a new vehicle, specifically a Chevy Volt when disaster struck. My girlfriend had taken the Prius to a remote hot springs with zero cell service for a week and while driving home all of the warning lights lit up, though the car continued to drive mostly normal so she slowly limped the 150 miles home. Hoping perhaps that the fix was easy and obvious, I popped open the hood and learned why my dog was so furiously sniffing around the nose of the car.

    I was greeted by a rather large and rather surprised rodent who had built a nest on top of the engine. I'm not 100% sure that type of rodent since in my shock, I dropped the hood, never to see the critter again. While trying to limp to a service center, the car finally relented and had to be towed in. Turns out he had done a fine job of trashing a few rather pricy wiring harnesses (parts alone quoted at $2,000) which would require ripping most of the car apart to replace (total estimate around $9,000).

    Considering I had not saved up nearly enough for the Volt, I decided to purchase a 2016 Prius seeing as how they had many sitting on the lot ready for immediate delivery.

    Initially I was not fond of the new design, but it has since grown on me. Then again I never particularly liked the design of my 04, but loved the car none the less. Though the 2016 Prius is vastly different, it still has a very familar feel with regard to the layout of the controls. Thankfully I find the handling, road noise and visibility much improved as is the mileage, particularly on short trips.

    Though the 16 has far more features than my 04, the out the door price was almost identical, the thanks to features that used to cost extra new being standard. So here's hoping for another 12 years of trouble free driving. I just need to build a dog house large enough to park the Prius in to keep it rodent free.

    [​IMG]
    Thanks for the memories

    [​IMG]
    And here's to many more to come.
     
    D11382001, ozmatt, bisco and 2 others like this.
  2. The Phoenix

    The Phoenix Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Fredonia WI
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    I too have recently rejoined the prius fold; and very much enjoyed reading your post. I drove several 2002 Gen 1s and than sadly found myself driving a non hybrid Ford escape. I just recently bought a 2008 Gen 2 with 188,000 MI and I'm a little concerned, but overall happy with my purchase. So my biggest concern is the main battery, am I to understand that you drove for 12 years on the originally battery. Please share any hints and stories about your old prius that might be fun and helpful
     
  3. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Portland or
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yes, I made 12 years and around 180,000 miles on the original battery. For the last few years I was not able to achieve the same mileage, but figured that a fully paid off vehicle that still got around +45 mpg was just fine with me. I do not know if the drop was related to battery age or just the vehicle age.

    I asked Toyota about the battery every time I had my oil changed (I sure took a advantage of the lifetime oil change they offered), but they stated if there was something wrong with battery that I would certainly know about it.

    The only issue I had for the last few years was that I had to keep an eye on my oil level, since I would have a quart or so disappear every few thousand miles.

    SAMSUNG-SM-T337A ?
     
  4. The Phoenix

    The Phoenix Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2016
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    Location:
    Fredonia WI
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    I'm getting about 40mpg after driving it a week and wondering if the health of the battery is in question I just took a loan out to buy the car not looking to replace the battery right away, but you give me hope I can rest a little easy
     
  5. Caniac

    Caniac Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2007
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    Location:
    Happy Valley
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    If you are in Wisconsin the temps are probably what's causing your low mpg. That's about what my '07 got after I moved up north.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Pretty frustrating, that a rodent can total a car. :mad:
     
  7. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
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    It does not take much to total a car of that age. I had a coworker who had a Honda SUV that was about a year old that was eventually totaled due to mice. The dealer kept tearing the vehicle apart, eventually ripping out the entire interior before the insurance company totaled it.

    SAMSUNG-SM-G890A ?
     
  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    We been talking in other threads about the under-stated damage rodents do to cars and other things. However, I am bit concerned we cannot ID the culprit in this story.
     
  9. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
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    I believe it was a rat from the brief glimpse I got of it. It was certainly much bigger than any of the mice I have seen in the Pacific Northwest and I do not think it was a squirrel. My girlfriend left it parked in the woods for 5 days and I think it might have been near the hot springs kitchen or compost pile.

    SAMSUNG-SM-G890A ?
     
    wjtracy likes this.
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats and welcome! all the best.(y)
     
  11. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yeah, I suspected after a few weeks of driving my last Prius back in '04 that it would ruin all other standard gasoline vehicles for the rest of my life. I often travel for work, driving many rentals and while many are nice cars, I still am shocked at how low the mileage is for those "economy" cars. It annoys me and I'm not even the one paying for all that extra gas.
     
  12. KENBUCK

    KENBUCK Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Last followup on the status of my poor 2004 Prius, I finally got my insurance company to settle the case. They agreed to total the car instead of paying for it to be repaired (not a shock to me).

    What was shocking is that they valued the car at $6,000, minus the $500 deductible. It might have been more helpful to have that check before I purchased my 2016, but I can always throw it at the loan I guess.

    Had they paid to have it fixed, I would have most likely sold it and I doubt I could have gotten that much for a car of that age and wear.

    SAMSUNG-SM-G890A ?
     
    wjtracy likes this.
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Plug-in Base
    agreed, that's a ridiculously high valuation, but good on you!(y)