Which year is the best year to buy? Former Prius owner

looks like the duke changed his mind.

 

I bought a 2010 as my entry into hybrids. This car has 180k miles, drives great, does not burn oil, and cannot beat the cheaper prices on them. You may customize the vehicle with aftermarket nav radio and maybe some 17"rims and still be under budget...

 

I love my 2007. 174k miles. Fixed odometer repair ebay and new muffler (catalytic). Other then that normal maintenance oil/ fluids/ spark/ air filters ..easy. Led interior lights. Led fog lights. Foam mattress folds out inside for naps. Just take headrests off and put to side if you want your feet hanging. Or sleep at an angle or stick feet through middle. Use back side cover in liftback for air. Rain tunnels down sides. Great view as a mobile lounge chair

Best car ever for camping. I live in mine 80%. Minimalist dream come true. Built then ditched the tiny house. This is way better for people that have a life. Excited for electric van that doesn’t exist yet. This will do for now. So many older Prius’s on the road. So reliable. Why everyone doesn’t drive one now I do not get. All houses should be able to move, be all electric, mini vans. This could be consolidated into only thing that exists in terms of housing/ transportation.. One color, black. We are all just camping here, might as well get to the point. We can express ourselves other ways now that living is taken care of. We are stewards of the earth. Own nothing. Just borrowing and visiting. #priuscamping

 

I totally agree with your statement here and I applaud you for putting it out there. I just wish that car-living wasn't so taboo and difficult to do legally (and/or without harassment from police or passers-by.) I am a member of a club that does some traveling but most of the people seem to want to stay in hotels everywhere that we go, making the cost prohibitive for a lot of members to join in the activities (even room-sharing can get expensive.) I suggested that we camp out during the next excursion and that I would just car-camp (since I love the size and comfort of my car and I am amazed that I never thought of the idea before reading about all of the prius-campers out there.) The reaction that I got was that of shock and mild revulsion ("Oh, you don't need to do THAT!" As though it was an unimaginable hardship to sleep in my car.) Personally, I hate paying half or more of my paycheck towards rent and utilities for a roof over my head but I also don't want the stress of worrying about being harassed by the police/other people or in finding a legal place to park my car each night. We need car and van-dwelling communities to give people cheap and free places to park that are legal and even friendly towards such travelers.

 

I slept in the back of a 1996 Subaru Legacy for almost 2 years (same exact setup as pictured above). The parking lot appeared to be a closed down Home Depot. I would get questioned by the police about once every 3 months. Usually the officer would tap on the window and I'd wake up. He would ask what I'm doing, and I would say that I was sleeping in my car on private property, and that the owners had not asked me to leave. The officers always said "good night" after that.

Working 13 hrs a day, I couldn't see spending hundreds per month just to occupy a space large enough for me to sleep. I'd order off the McDonalds $1 menu when I got off work at 1am, sleep in my car, and the next day drive to the gym to work out, shower, etc.

My expenses back in those days were gas and insurance, plus about $7/day for restaurant food and snacks. Cell phone was paid for by my work, and I was banking 85% of my paycheck.

Whoever says minimum wage isn't a living wage (as if it should be anyhow) is a fool.

 

Maybe it's because I like my space when I sleep, but I am always surprised when most Prius campers seem to fold the front passenger's seat back forward, rather than backwards as seen in your photo above. That gives over nine feet of space, front to back. I went to Home Depot and had a sheet of plywood cut in half, so its two feet by eight feet. Slid that in and then there's a perfectly level space for mattress with lots of extra headroom.

 

For 12k you can get a Prius with less than 60k.ml., look at Longo Toyota. Good luck

 

I bought my 2010 Prius 5 (91000miles) based off of my brother in-law buying a 2010 Prius brand new and driving it almost 7 days a week as he was a private contractor to deliver drugs across the state.. car hit 2 deer and total lost 2 times but it is still running at 350,000 with factory battery, it needs something right now as it blew some seal and about $1500 fix but as he said the car has hit two deer in it's lifetime and he thinks the blown seal is a result of that.

I my self have driven my Prius hard the last 7000 miles from 90 to 200 mile trips a day 5 or 7 days a week in traffic , car has 100,000 now and i burned a 1/4 of a qt for 7000 miles , it has the 10,000 oil but they all will use a little in 3000 miles and why Toyota has the 5000 mile check up just to top the the oil off as they already know it will burn some between oil changes , also these are deep cycle engines and they start and stop alot more than a normal gas engine and the oil works harder to protect from wear and tear.

I will drive mine anywhere without fear after what i have seen what my brother in-law has done with his 2010.

 

I am not with time to read thread but Habitents makes a tent for the rear hatch with Gen4 version due out soon.
As far as Gen3 there was a year when the weight went up due to fix for IILS crash test, so that is one target point.

 

OP: our 2012 has 72000 miles and runs flawlessly. We used it to camp to Alaska and back with an attached "Domes to Go" tent on the back. We find sleeping in the car to be quite comfortable, about like a full-sized bed.

But some of you think driving a Prius is BORING? Huh?
I've never worked so hard driving or flying in my life as when I'm driving the bloody thing, at least in traffic, and it took both of us about a year to learn how to drive this "video game on wheels" correctly. Even now, 5 years later, I'm still trying to perfect my traffic-prediction skills and mesh the vehicle's inherent acceleration and deceleration curves correctly to optimize overall system performance . Concentration is so intense I cannot use the radio except in freeway situations clear enough to enable the use of cruise-control, which is the only time I've come close to being bored.

 

2012 to 2015. If you plan to drive it into the ground then invest a bit more in package upgrades so it won't be "so boring" as some people say.

2016 and on looks like spaceships in the back and shark face at the front if you ask me.

 

Times are changing for sure. It's much easier to carcamp on the west coast because the weather is milder and everyone is openly camping here everywhere (not a police state like the east coast). Camper vans everywhere. I'm in Portland Oregon now. Rent is $1200 for a studio/ 1 bedroom, so no thanks and I need my space so no roommates.

I love how good mileage the prius gets and they're so reliable. I do lyft to make money. I actually just bought a gen 3 prius. I love having everything I need and nothing more. We should always have the best stuff or nothing. I believe simplifying / maximizing our lives with minimalism (falling in love with life) is the most responsible thing we can do on the earth at this time. Stationary Houses are expensive, unnecessary, and promote self destructive behaviors like hoarding and wage slavery. I love to put things in boxes and see if I ever need it again. Most of the time it's a no. We were born w everything. Also the world is so big, we all need to retire early and see it. It doesn't take savings or big money, just the right attitude of gratitude.

I have my windows at 20 percent all around. Have the rain guard things so I can crack the windows. I put a sun shade in the front window. I have a gym membership. I drive lyft whenever I feel like it (job). I keep my car super clean. Just a nice 0 degree down sleeping bag and dri fit everything Nike shorts / button up collared shirt/ Nike dry fit hoody/ marmot rain jacket/ smart wool socks (you can wear them for a week and just wash them w water/ dry in window fast). All black so it doesn't show dirt, also looks nice. Everything fits under the back (which isn't much). Simply, I don't express myself via clothes. Keep hair short w rechargeable clippers from amazon $30. Eat only good food mostly organic, but also I love fasting and meditation. Stay active and in good spirits, around nourishing people who also love their lives (very important!). I sleep early and rise before the sun, but more I sleep take naps whenever I feel like it (gold). I have the best stuff and only what I love and use regularly. I use lavender oil alone for deodorant, and in a spray bottle w water. I have one hanky for spills (car cloth from Walmart). I like skatebording, so buy shoes every month or so. Slip on Nike janoskis. I use a iPhone 7 plus and AirPods. Love them! About to get an iPhone x cause I don't use laptops or iPads anymore to make music http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVPArKkn_W8TXClCw1a5hyO6-1JjxmxZQ (YouTube "Abide Serene" ). Everything on the iPhone now w the $70 unlimited plan from T-Mobile no fees or taxes. I drive slow and enjoy it. I like seeing new sights. Kind of like a now age monk Jedi Why not?! Best life ever is real.

Excited about where toyota is going with their concept "i" cars and the ft4x. Until then or an all electric car I'm loving the prius. It's the best car on earth. So now I'm a happy 2014 gen 3 owner. Still have the 2007. (Oregon doesn't have sales tax) About to put the 2007 up for sale, even tho there is nothing wrong w it other then it's too old for lyft uber (10 years old but in most places it can be 13 years old). 180k miles.

I don't like traditional houses at all. Too smelly dusty expensive haunted and made terribly (slave labor). 30 year mortgage what?! No way. Bad neighborhoods? Just all around bad for your health imo. If anything, say kids or whatever, we can buy land and have a nice sprinter van or rv for way cheaper and more fun. Maybe build a greenhouse for chilling and bathroom / tub shower/ vegetables. I believe we all learn best, kids included, from life experiences hands on, and from happy people that do what they love (true intelligence).

People should be really proud and excited to have such an efficient house that's readily available, called the prius. Grounded spaceship. It's plenty big. Soon it'll be off ground prius. We're just practicing being grounded.

The most precious gift we have is our time. Best gift we can give is our presence, (not things). Spend your valueable time the way you would like, all the time, because we came here to be who we are and shine that. This helps the most others in the process of enriching our own lives. Also nobody can pay us enough, everyone is priceless here, and everything is actually a miracle. Cool thing also is this is the truth, we just forgot, being so busy doing nothing.

 

It looks like time up update your profile from a 2006 Prius in Richmond VA.

 

I've been living in my Prius full time now for about 5 months. It only gets better.

 

Thanks

 

how will you raise a family in there?

 

Interesting to hear from others who live in ways I can only imagine.

 

Nothing wrong with 2010 or 2011. It's all how well they were maintained and driven.

 

Not fun to drive? Not sporty? Nobody keeps up with me. To say not sporty is to not use your other car's potential. Put 185 tires and lower the ground clearance with the lower profile and width of the 185 tire. The lighter tires accelerate quicker and less sidewall give less body roll. I have two prii and prefer the one w smaller tires any day. Keep it in pwr mode for snappier engine responce.

 

I recently bought a 2010 Pack 4 with aftermarket 17” wheels. It had just 53,300 miles. Under $12,000. It runs great. The only issue is that the satellite radio antenna booster is dead, but I could care less. My iPhone gets Internet radio on an unlimited LTE connection.

One does not really buy a Prius for looks or “race car handling.” Nor does one buy a Bimmer for economy and reliability.

Cars are holes in the road we throw money into. My goal is to throw as little as possible into that hole. That’s why we are a four Prius family. They’re THE most reliable, cost-efficient cars we’ve owned.


— Bill Burkholder