At what point would you stop recommending a Prius?

Gen 4 has no belts. I think older ones have a belt.

 

Asked and answered: Who should and should NOT buy a 2001-03 Prius | PriusChat

Bob Wilson

 

Get 3 Primi have no belts, older ones have a belt.

 

Since this is Priuschat, it's doubtful there are a lot of people on here that are unhappy with a Prius. I agree with you that the battery is hardly an issue given relatively low reports of battery failures.

Given that, I consider the Prius like any other car. Major costly issues start cropping up from around 200k miles, usually suspension related. That's why my limit is around 150k miles to give a few years of low maintenance ownership. I don't generally recommend $3000 budget for a Prius as the mileage is well beyond that.

There will be exceptions and that is me. My $3000 Prius is owned by a tinkerer. It's our second car. I have the funds to repair or replace the car if necessary. I also have a short commute. I wouldn't recommend this car for a college person that isn't mechanically inclined living alone far from family and friends. A newer Yaris can be had for the same money which will likely be more reliable.

 

As mmmodem said, it depends a lot on your personal tolerance for issues with the car. If your budget is $3k, I'm not sure you can afford a car at all, as even a moderate breakdown can cost over $1k to fix, and moderate failures are rather likely to happen to cars in this price range. Really only for those who have unusually high ability to do their own repairs, and are not dependent on it to get to work every day. Furthermore, repairs to the Prius are liable to be more expensive due to specialized parts, lack of aftermarket, etc. A starter on a regular car is a lot more likely to fail than MG1, but it's a cheap user-friendly repair. MG1 fails, it's going to cost ya.

At 6K, I'd still say no to a Prius, but more because of modem's last point that you can get something more reliable for the same money. At that budget range, avoiding repairs is still high priority, and that means getting a cheap but young car instead of expensive but older (for the same price).

9 or 12k, find a Gen3, be happy.

 

Thank you all for your help!! I do need it...

I own a Ford Fiesta 1.2 2006. I already pay every 4-5 years a 12V battery change, every year service of oil, etc for about $100, insurance per year covered and also $145 tax (but hybrids don't pay taxes). I have a 2 year old kid and Fiesta is a bit small car, so I need to buy a bigger car, not only for our daily transportation (200miles per week) but also for small trips.
In Greece gas is about $1.627 USD and from my car I can get $3.700 and I can afford to pay for the used Prius 2, but not for Prius 3. If I need to change hybrid battery costs about $3000 in Greece, so I'll have to find that money. If Prius is a reliable car, as my Ford is till now, I thought that I could win with paying less money on gas and taxes, so I can pay that battery. But is it a good choice?? I also found a used Prius 2008 with 58719 miles for $6.800

 

I have a 04 with 225,000 miles on it. I bought for 1,500. Paid 800 to have a remanufactured battery and another 350 for catalytic converter. Shocks are in need of replacement but tires where new when purchased. My first code came up after 4 months of ownership. Coolant control valve. I'll be doing this and lot of its work myself. Paying a shop to do repairs on cars these days is costly even when there not ripping you.
I'm enjoying the car and hope it holds out for a while on anything major. Certainly a gamble with this kind of mileage but was nice being bought and paid cheaply. Everything works and nothing leaks. Paying half the gas cost nice too of my old beater.

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I bought my 06 with 215,000 miles on it for $1500. I read a lot of these posts and get a chuckle, because I must be the only one who thinks $1500 these days is not a lot of money. I mean consider that most people have no problem going to the apple store and spending about half that on a new iPhone or iPad. A nice dinner date with a bottle of wine is around $200. After I handed the previous owner the check for the car, he told me he had just sold a used DSLR camera lens for the same amount earlier that week.

That's why I find it funny so many people tell me my perfectly working car was a bad decision because things may or may not go wrong with it. My deductible on my other vehicles is $500. My fuel bill in a year is $2000. If this car exploded tomorrow I could still sell it for parts/scrap for $1000 and I would just shrug my shoulders. So just how cheap do people expect to get a high mileage car that has no obvious issues and drives well? What is a good deal for a 200k Prius? $300? Should it cost the same as a bicycle? Pair of nikes? A weeks worth of groceries? I mean really, even a set of new tires these days costs around $500. So the rest of the vehicle should be thrown in for free?

There are plenty of us driving around on high mileage cars who are laughing at the rest of you because you think they are worthless and about to break down. Just this winter I bought a motorcycle off a guy for $400 because it had 40k miles on it. He was convinced that was too high for a bike and it would need a rebuild soon. That same bike with low mileage sells for $6000 on craigslist. I love depreciation and being able to get a $6000 motorcycle for the price of a mountain bike because someone has no clue what the real life expectancy of an engine and drivetrain is.

 

My tablet was $35, $30 dollars buys dinner for 2, and I last drank alcohol in 1983, trapped by a father in law.

I am unsure who your post is aimed at, I recommended a Gen 2 to any one who can afford to repair it. I drove 220 miles a day at work, so I may need more reliability than you. That does not make either one of us wrong. (in 2001 I retired my 1989 Toyota when I found my self driving 150 miles to Adel OR from the junction of US 95 and NV-140 'near' Orovada NV with out passing any habitation. (I passed buildings, but no one lived there) At that point a 21 year old car quit being reliable enough for me.

 

How successful whom is compared to VW?? VW is the biggest auto manufacturer on the planet..sold more than Toyota despite recalling all diesels in the US.

 

i would say it's neck and neck, and that's with toyota's bad stylists and advertising.

 

you hit the nail on the head. It is a difference in mentality. A lot of people go through life worrying about everything that could go wrong.

I used to be one of "those guys". When I bought my first new car, I changed the oil after 100 miles because I absolutely had to be positive that any material left over from the machining process had to be flushed out. Then I stuck with a rigid 5000 mile full synthetic schedule. Now I have a very casual attitude. I will deal with the problems when they arise, not before. I bought a honda with 200,000 miles and abused the crap out of it. I changed oil at 10,000 miles intervals with regular oil, and only changed oil filters every 20,000 miles. In the summer I start the engine and I'm driving off before the oil pressure even gets a chance to build. I don't wait for the coolant (let alone the oil) to come up to temperature before flooring it. In the winter I idle it for up to 30 minutes before setting off. Now that car is at 315,000 and still runs fine.

Modern cars are tough. 100,000 miles is nothing. I would not bat an eyelid at buying one. Which is why I scoop up these 200,000 mile cars for next to nothing, cause I know I can squeeze another 100k out of them, and they are finished depreciating. The idea that you should save $2500 for emergency repairs if you buy a $5000 car is ridiculous.

 

I would stop recommending a Prius if other reliability stoops to the level of PriusChat

 

I would "think of" stop recommending a Prius (or other hybrid) if someone asks it for a very low annual mileage.

 

I just took the plunge into the hybrid world. I bought a 2007 Prius with 144K miles.
I owned it for 10 days, then on Sunday morning it had the major battery failure.
I followed Priuschat advice and registered with Toyota Owners.
It turned out that the vehicle's 10 year warranty was expiring that Friday.
I got it into the dealer the next day and it was covered by warranty.($2900 BTW)

 

Congrats on getting a used car with a new traction battery.

 

Congrats, and if I were you, I'd have gone straight out and bought some lottery tickets!!!