Would you buy another Prius?

We already have 3 in our family. When replacement time comes the Prius will be on the top of the list - though I'll search to see if anything more innovative and efficient is available.

 

I read that report.

Maybe not surprisingly those figures don't seem to jive with the attitude in Prius Chat.

Does anyone know what the percentages of repeat buyers are for "all cars"?

Because that's the only comparison you can make, as to whether Prius is garnering more loyalty or less.

With regular ICE vehicles, I think most people change when buying a new one, simply because I think people usually like a change.

So even though a 25% repeat buyer number might sound low? Since with Prius, we are dealing with a vehicle that's 2nd Generation- forward barely has a decade of history, that percentage actually might be indicative of a good loyalty base.

I might be generalizing and personalizing a bit, just because with every vehicle I've owned, even if I really liked it, I've bought something different when the time for change came.

 

I'm often accused of "reading too much into things" ... but for me, the specific phrasing of the OP's post and, potentially, of the articles / reports that have been alluded to - which I have not yet read or reviewed - is "misleading". Would I purchase a SECOND Prius ... meaning ... would I have TWO at the same time? Probably not. However, would I "replace" the one I currently own with another? MOST LIKELY! In fact, I'm currently hoping to "replace" the '08 I now have with a PiP no later than February of 2014. Still, as others have stated, it WILL depend on whatever else is available at the time / when the time comes.

 

MY 2010 gets over 60 mpg in the summer , 56 lifetime at 36Kmi. Sure I would get another, What can beat that for a fully equipped full size car. Only my old 2000 Honda Insight did, but that was a 2 seater with no room.

 

Was that based on:

"Only 35 Percent of Hybrid Owners Buying Hybrids Again, says Polk"

https://www.polk.com/company/news/only_35_percent_of_hybrid_owners_buying_hybrids_again_says_polk

?

The devil is in the detail (and lack of detail):
- Honda hybrid re-purchase is much lower than Toyota's: given the reduction in Honda hybrid sales, the future re-purchase rate would increase.
- The average trends closer to 40%, but the quoted average includes the 2011 Q2 and Q3 hybrid supply constraints.
- It's based on sales where a hybrid was traded-in to buy another vehicle. Given that the average age of a vehicle is 10 years and hybrid sales jumped in the mid-2000s it would seem to me that: we don't even have a full ownership cycle to judge; it ignores multi-car household where the hybrid is handed down and another purchased; it ignores satisfied multi-car households replacing a 2nd non-hybrid with a hybrid.
- There's no comparison to other vehicles to say how the repurchase rate compares
- There's no detail on what they traded to, other than whether they remained with the make so we don't know why they didn't buy another hybrid.

Yes, I'd buy another Prius, but they don't make a PiP-40 or Prius BEV.

My wife wouldn't like another Prius because of the poor rear visibility.

 

I'm on my 4th Prius! I love them and would never buy anything else

 

I still have a Saturn I'd like to replace should I win the lottery/get a better job/the Saturn dies/whatever.

I'd gladly get one of these to go with my 2005 Prius

2007-2009 Prius
Prius c
Plug in Prius
Nissan Leaf

I'm more likely to buy on the cheaper end so I'm looking more seriously at the Gen II Prius still. I don't know when a prius c would become cheap enough as a used car to overtake the cheapness of a used Gen II or Gen III.

 

Personally I wouldn't buy another. Too expensive now over here for what it is and there are many diesel alternatives that almost get the same economy, without the specialist and expensive servicing and repair costs.

The second hand values over here in the UK don't hold up as well as they appear in the USA. My 2009 gen3 with 65,000 miles is worth £7,300 or USD$11,700 and remember, the original purchase price in the UK is 30% more than the USA.

So despite $9 a US gallon, I would think twice about getting another Prius! Sorry

 

My experience was the exact opposite. Of all the cars I've owned, my Prius by far has the lowest servicing and maintenance cost of any of them. And thankfully I haven't needed any repairs due to accidents (which are expensive for ANY car). My '07 has 50K miles on it so far and all the servicing my car needed thus far are 10 oil changes and 1 transaxle fluid drain-and-fill.

Can you elaborate? What sort of servicing did you need for your Prius and at what miles? Thanks.

 

Absolutely!

 

I'll quickly add I'm in the UK. Our Prius servicing is every 10,000 miles, compared to between 12,000 and 15,000 on a diesel and between 15,000 miles and 20,000 miles on a petrol car. So the Prius needs servicing more often than the competitors.

The servicing costs are about £180/$290 minor service and £250/$400 major, which is about right for a main dealer but a little high for an independent garage who would charge about £100 and £150 respectively. Not a big difference as such, but I feel I am tied to the main dealer with the Prius because hybrids are rare and most independent garags haven't touched one before. I do 30k miles pa.

My main issues are that it hasn't been the most reliable car I've had. Sure, it hasn't broken down of left me stranded but I am on my third steering system! Yes you read that right - third! These last about 30,000 miles each and have been replaced under the 60,000 mile warranty. Trouble is, I know from experience the next one will be due for replacement at about 90,000 miles and the cost coming out of my pocket then would be £1300 + fitting at £100 per hour at Toyota + 20% sales tax, so we're talking about £2,000/US$3,200 fitted. That's expensive and destroys most of the fuel cost savings I will have made in that same period = 30,000 miles is 12 months driving. Remember this was a taxi used in tight European streets where I have many many tight turns a day. I am aware of how to look after a power steering system by not holding it on lock etc and never had many issues with other cars.

In fact of all the previous cars I've run NONE have needed a replacement steering rack until well into the 100,000's miles. That's my main, expense gripe.

Then there's the reduced warranty we got here in the UK of 60,000 miles for the hybrid system of the first year of gen3 Prius (since increased to 100,000 miles from June 2010 but not for any gen3 Prii sold before that date). This has destroyed second hand values as generally people still don't trust the hybrid system. It's ok saying the car was designed for the 150,000 mile California warranty, but if your transaxle goes pop at 80,000 miles that doesn't help any. Once a gen3 gets to 60,000 miles nobody will touch them - I almost can't give my car away (ok exageration but the value of gen3's over 60k miles has collapsed compared to the gen2 or other comparable popular diesels).

I think Toyota knew the gen2 was over engineered and knew that on the gen3 by making the motors and HV battery smaller and lighter but more powerful that they would take a slightly bigger hit on warranty claims, but the cost of these few extra claims would be more than rewarded by cost savings on every single vehicle sold.

Unfortunately Toyota UK wanted their cake and eat it, so knowing more warranty claims would come in decided to reduce the hybrid warranty. Great move! The high mileage warranty for hybrids that gave peace of mind to owners and importantly prospective purchasers has been reduced here and now collapsed prices for cars over that mileage.

So yes the Prius gets great mileage compared to even manual transmission diesels of the same size BUT it costs more to buy by about £4,000/$6,500 than the diesels, needs more expensive servicing more often and needs expensive parts (such as the steering racks) more often too. I save some on tax, I save some on fuel but I pay out in other ways - it just isn't worth the hassle any more, despite $9 US gallon.

I still like my car and it's still running ok, but I will be handing it back under the finance agreement at the first sign of trouble - when the steering rack starts to go again. (if you purchase the car on a hire purchase agreement rather than a contract or lease plan, then you can hand it back no questions asked once you have made more than half the payment term; over 2 years in a 4 your plan).

You did ask!

 

Thanks for elaborating. I'm a bit surprised that the maintenance requirements are so different between what was recommend in the UK (for gen-3 if that's what you own?) vs. the maintenance requirements here in the U.S. for my Gen-II.

The scheduled maintenance booklet for my Gen-II (2007) recommends a dealer inspection (the "servicing" is only the oil and filter change) every 15,000 miles, and steering problems haven't been common with the Gen-II aside from a steering wheel lock recall early on.

Frankly, paying a dealer $300US a pop for the 15,000-mile-interval inspections is almost a waste of money, considering that it consists of just checking all fluid levels, CV boots, filters, brake pad thickness and tighten the bolts-- All of which I do myself (and most motorists can also do themselves).

On the oil changes and one transaxle fluid drain-and-fill, my total cost on maintenance so far is a mere $400US. Not bad for 5 years of ownership. The next big-ticket item I will need are new tires (not bad that I got 50,000 miles out of my original set).

Personally, I'm keeping my 2007 Gen-II until at least 2017. By then the Prius should be well into its 4th-generation, and I hope the one I get will be just as reliable and low-maintenance as my Gen-II.

 

Probably not, unless the 4th gen has significant improvements in build quality. The interior quality is a major factor for me and the fit/finish on the 3rd gen has been quite poor compared to other cars in the price range. On both the 2nd and 3rd gen, it seems that the quality of the interior lags behind similarly priced cars. If this trend continues with the 4th gen, then I cannot see myself getting another.

For the amount of money that mine cost (and esp what some people paid for the higher trims), there are better cars that one can buy. The gas is really a moot point to me since the savings over a conventional car is minimal in the grand scheme of things.

 

Have you considered doing the "servicing" less frequently?

What does it entail other than an oil / filter change?

I go in every 7500 miles for a oil change but that costs me 1/10th what you talking about. Meaning here in the US at least the maintenance is in favor of the Prius, no other car sold in the US has such low maintenance costs. Though it remains to be seen if the Nissan Leaf can match or beat it long term (no gas/petrol engine so less moving/breakable parts).

 

It's not the service costs that are the big worry to me. I have to get it serviced through a dealer or a registered independent garage to keep the warranty going. But if I go else where I save £300 a year - ok not a big deal. It's the cost of things like the steering rack that is of concern to me. I'm sure I've read that the t3 (same as the III in the US) has a lower quality system - is this correct?

Also, when I bought the Prius it was £1,500 more than the competition whereas now it is £4,000 more due to greed from Toyota UK. Saving £2,500 a year in fuel on average I was already saving money in the first 12 months previously, whereas now it would be nearly at 2 years before payback - or 60,000 miles. So even counting nothing else, the sums are starting to get harder to add up. Add the more expensive parts when something does go wrong (steering?) and it's looking like an expensive option.

That's why I wouldn't consider another Prius. It's nice, it's economical, but it's over priced now and thus the sums don't really add up any more.

Toyota UK have got greedy and think that free access to the 3 square miles in the London Congestion Charge Zone is a great reason to buy a Prius and if you live in London you must be rich. Sure, for the 20,000 people who live and work there they'll save £10 a day having a Prius. For the other 70 million people in the UK that free entry counts for nothing - just try telling Toyota UK that!

And, if I dare say so, new sales of the Prius are dropping;

Combined stats (11 models) PRIUS - How Many Left?

Notice a slight drop before the gen3 was released here. Maybe it's because of the recession but other cars are selling more, such as the economical diesel BMW 318 or Skoda Octavia (popular taxi);

Combined stats (151 models) BMW 318 - How Many Left?

Combined stats (125 models) OCTAVIA - How Many Left?

 

Once you're outside warranty you should be able to take it to a trustworthy independent, especially for the non-hybrid stuff like replacing tyres. If there's one you can trust to do a good job they should be willing to do a bit of work to learn about the car, just as they would do for any other new car. It'd be especially true if you're willing to pay them somewhere between the dealer and standard costs.

It's a Catch 22. Everybody takes them to the dealer so independents don't get experience so everybody takes them to the dealer. And it's harder for you because of the smaller numbers. Maybe Yaris Hybrid sales will help expand your options.

It does make me wonder whether the Prius' excellent turning radius comes at the expense of stressing the steering rack and it might explain why there's so many turns to reach maximum lock. (Fortunately I have nice wide roads and get to make 1-point turns. )

There's the same effect in the USA, but the numbers of them proving themselves means that it's nowhere near as great. You just have to play catch-up and the cheaper Yaris Hybrid might help increase the numbers and reputation.

 

Man o man I couldn't love my Prius any more (well, except for those darn rattles I hear in the cold winter time). I'd buy another in a minute, and my daughter can't wait to own one (she's 14 and a Greenie like me). I LOVED driving it on Earth Day, by the way.

 

My parents bought a Gen 1 2003 Prius when they first came out, I pretty much was the primary driver. It came with me when I moved up to MA to go to school. 6 weeks ago it got totaled (my car was parked on a street and someone slammed into a car driving on the road I was parked on...who ran into me going like 30 mph). I ONLY looked at Prius's to replace it. I was originally looking at used 2010 Priuses, but the c caught my eye. I went on a two week hunt to find the exact car I wanted and finally found it (after dealers told me I would have to put in an order for it and wait 60-90 days for it to be built because it was that hard to find). As happy as I was with my Golden Pearl 2003 Prius, I LOVE my Summer Rain Metallic 2012 Prius C Two.

 

The more stop lights I sit at, the more drive throughs I use, the more gas stations I pass, the more I would never go back to a non hybrid.