Prius Longevity - - or is a prius for me

[font=Comic Sans MS:06566dbc0a]Hi Sms92.

The Prius has only been out about as long as you're interested in keepin a car, and the HSD version only a couple of years, so there's no real history with this model. But if you look at Toyota reliability in general (Consumer Reports is a good reference) they seem to make good cars that last a long time with few problems.

The current model HSD Prius looks like it's holding up well with adverse driving (look for threads on here about Prius taxicabs) putting 10 years of your driving on in a single year, without major repairs. It's hard to tell how the high voltage battery will hold up at 10 years, since time may have a separate effect than charge-discharge cycles found on the taxis. Looking at the mechanics of the car, there aren't as many friction parts (clutches, transmission gearing, brakes) used as hard as in conventional cars.

Among the environmental considerations, remember you'll be using less gasoline while your Prius produces fewer emissions, so potentially, less drilling, less refining, less indirect environmental impact.

There are lots of discussions on here about whether a Prius makes economic sense. On purchase price alone, the Prius is not strong. I think the hardest part of weighing the economics of buying a Prius is comprehending all of the savings, including all those indirect ones. As the price of gasoline escalates, the obvious savings become more pronounced, but clean air and reduction of pollution should be counted too.

Then there's the potential flag waving, "I'm responsible, I drive a Prius."

Most people who own a Prius love them and would buy another or similar car. Your milage may vary...[/font:06566dbc0a]

 

Not only do I love this car enough to to buy another, but I did just that. Four months after buying our 2005, we bought another one, then sold our Cadillac Catera.

Of course, part of the rationale for the 2nd Prius was the color.

Wife: "I didn't know they came in that color (Salsa Red).... I like that! I want one! I'm going to get it!"

Me: "Right, and then we'll have two of them... what about our Catera?"

Wife: "You can drive the Catera, and I'll drive the Prius."

Me: "Hmmm... don't like that a lot..."

Wife: "That's what I thought. I'm gonna order my Salsa Red as soon as we get back to the hotel."

Me: "What about the Catera?"

Wife: "We'll sell it."

BTW, we found her Salsa Red through a posting on priuschat.com, from a very happy new owner, recommending a particular salesman. We called him, got the same deal described in the posting, and picked up the car as soon as we got home.

 

My car ownership closely mirrors yours.

I buy a new car about once every ten years.

My last car had less than 50,000 miles on it when I sold it.

I'm very happy with my Prius. I really don't care about "making back" on the cost by having to keep it X years and drive X miles.

I do care that it has only 10% of the emissions of a regular car. I do care that my current tank is 54 mpg. I like the really smooth transmission. I like the spacious interior. It's my first car with four doors. And I LOVE my hatchback.

Take a test drive.

I bought a package #1 because I don't need all the bells and whistles. The $21,000 I spent I would have paid for another car. That was the price range I was looking at. I think I already got great bang for my buck. I'll have less maintenance. And I expect when I sell the car in 10 years it will still have plenty of life in it and will have been pretty much maintenance free for the time I had it.

In California the hybrid system is guaranteed for 10 years or 150,000 miles. For that reason alone I expect the car to far outlast my ownership. At the kind of mileage you and I put on a car, I expect the Prius to last 20-25 years. Of course it's too soon to tell. But remember, this isn't the first year Toyota has sold a hybrid. They've been selling them for five years. It works. Now they'll just make it better. And I may just trade this in early (like after 5-7 years) if they come out with something massively better. As long as it still has a hatchback.

Did I mention I love my hatchback?

I did buy a 7yr/ 75,000 mile warranty with $0 deductible. I bought it through Priuschat.

Do your research first so you can be an informed buyer. (And avoid buying etching and lojack, et al.)

 

So, the CVT needs no type of transmission fluid? That's cool.
Could you, or someone, explain that?

And, will the coolant need to be added to prior to the 100K change?
Thanks!

 

If you are looking at the environmental side of things it is a great car for you to get. If you are looking at it financially, based on your low mileage it is a very stupid choice. You pay a premium for a hybrid and you have to put miles on it to make that money back. I just bought a used '02 that was puchased by a person that put even less miles on that you. The car had 7,200 miles on it six weeks ago and was in mint condition. I only paid $16k for it and this morning it went over the 10,000 mile mark. You need to do some math before you make up your mind.

 

I am also a low mileage driver that keeps their car for 10 years or more. I've owned two Toyota's before the Prius and based on my experience I believe in the long term viability of their cars. As for it being a stupid financial choice, I don't buy that. It all depends on what you want in a car. So sure do some math, but not solely for the savings on gas.

 

to the OP, your in the same boat my mother is in, she has a 2003 towncar..not exactly eco friendly, but it's a nice ride. She will maybe put 9k a year on it. A honda civic or corrola would be a fine choice imo, or a prius! Civic get's good mpg though, so dont just shrug it off. You could look into to a jetta TDI also, but at that point might aswell get a prius, the jetta is more of performance..and also 34+mpg REAL- in the end though the jetta wil cost more with repairs

 

What's with there really old posts being resurrected? The original poster was asking for advice in 2005.

 

Unless they procrastinate like I do I suspect they have their Prius now.

 

I have a 2005 Salsa Red package #9 with 140,000 miles on it. The only repair was a new front wheel bearing (about $150 and do it myself). There was a problem with the O2 sensor about sixmonths after I got the car but that was fixed under warranty.

So if over tenyears your only going to drive it les than 100,000 miles, I would say longevity is not an issue.

 

Jesse in MA had a Prius I nearly reach 350,000 miles...some careless 17yr old t-boned him.

 

My mileage tends to be on the low side. In addition to that, I'm single and yet have three vehicles (I know, I know!) plus a motorcycle, and mix my driving up among them, probably doing a cumulative total of roughly 14,000 to 18,000 per annum, but with no one vehicle getting a huge part of that. I did just get the Prius in December, however, and have been tending to drive it for the most part since that time, use the truck (or motorcycle) for weekends and jaunts into the back-country, and the Pruis for mostly highway travel. I have already put 4,000 on the Prius in just three months, however, and anticipate two additional 3,000 mile round-trips in addition to misc. local driving in the next six or seven months. So, perhaps I'll put on more miles than the original poster annually, but I tend to keep it moderate, so there's no way I'm going to have 100,000+ miles on my car in five or probably even seven years unless my life-style undergoes some massive transformation.

I believe that the question being posed here is whether anyone has any idea as to the life of the car if it is not driven a great deal. At the rate the OP drives his, it'll be 10 years old and may only have 50,000 miles on the odo. Good question. Probably the biggest question-mark has to be the battery. The other components ought to last a very long time, and battery life seems to be pretty good so far, but the model hasn't been around long enough to really answer those questions yet.