Author Topic: should i buy a prius? - got something else - see last post (Read 1475 times)

goodduck · « **on:** 27-Jun-2009, 19:10:59 »

im in charge of getting a new ride for the fam. my mom would be the primary user. I have been tempted by the 2nd gen prius. ive done a little research and they seem to have pretty good reliability. there are some outliers but they seem to be ok for the most part. We are looking to spend no more than 12K. which means i am looking for a prius with 40,000-60,000 miles. the one thing i really worry about is battery replacement. they are supposed to be guarenteed up to 100,000 miles but they cost some 5K to replace.

if you guys know anyone with one or have any firsthand experience i would greatly appreciate your advice. also any other cars in that range you might suggest?

thanks

Driy · « **Reply #1 on:** 27-Jun-2009, 20:27:59 »

no!

Saadie · « **Reply #2 on:** 27-Jun-2009, 20:54:27 »

it is a toyota .. it has to have good reliablity
everyone hates its guts .. but it does save you a few
go for it imo

.. good luck finding one if good condition

regele · « **Reply #3 on:** 27-Jun-2009, 21:40:04 »

You can find similar MPG gas cars within that range, but if it's for your mom I guess it doesn't matter that much.

ARMAN · « **Reply #4 on:** 27-Jun-2009, 22:07:43 »

Quote from: Driy on 27-Jun-2009, 20:27:59

no!

^^what he said!

Thamar · « **Reply #5 on:** 27-Jun-2009, 23:05:09 »

They cause global laming...

Look for that southpark episode

sameerrao · « **Reply #6 on:** 28-Jun-2009, 00:36:24 »

Don't know of anyone who has one - its rare here in Texas for obvious reasons - cheap gas and Texans give a hoot about energy conservation

But I did rent a Prius for a weekend when I went to California. Overall I was a bit impressed with the car. I thought it would be a complete turd but in the end it turned about just a normal turd like a Corolla or Civic or any of the compact economobiles that you see clogging the roads in California.

If you want a sporty car - fuggetabboddit. Get something else quick.

But if you are interested in a Civic or a Corolla, then it is a worthwhile alternative.

Impressions:
+ Great gas mileage - I averaged 47mpg on my trip even after a lot of San Francisco up and down driving and a bit of lead foot on occasion
+ Lots of room inside - it has the space of a Camry in the body of a Civic
+ Its not slow - no pocket rocket but it maintains a reasonable pace.
+ A couple of hours of fun playing with different throttle positions and viewing the impact on the electric motor and electric generation and consumption. Nifty graphics
+/- Okay trunk space but the trunk is oddly shaped
- Odd driving position - I couldnt get really comfortable
- Was presented a few middle fingers by some irate minivan/SUV drivers - guess the car is a lighting rod for anti-hybrid community just as the Hummer S2 is for the green brigade. May not want this to happen to your mom.
- It is too quiet when running in electric at slow speeds - people don't hear you coming. This can be dangerous.

Overall I wouldn't recommend it for a car guy but would certainly do so for a mom.

Overall, I thought it did a good job of masking its hybrid nature

goodduck · « **Reply #7 on:** 28-Jun-2009, 18:27:48 »

hey thanks for the input. i test drove one a few weeks ago and i noticed that the transition from electric to gas when you accelerate was choppier than i would have expected.

we are considering other cars and sort of leaning away from the prius now. i would love to hear if you guys think of things that are comparable to these:

nissan sentra
honda accord
toyota corolla

Saadie · « **Reply #8 on:** 28-Jun-2009, 20:08:44 »

honda > toyota

danidmas · « **Reply #9 on:** 29-Jun-2009, 00:06:11 »

I say why not

If it's a car for your mum... what about the Smart ForTwo? I love them (not that I'm gonna buy one anytime soon)... and although it the States it seems that they're utterly unreliable... my city is flooded with them, so I don't think they're that bad

Big problem with the Smart? There's only room for 2 people... with no luggage

goodduck · « **Reply #10 on:** 01-Jul-2009, 23:01:22 »

still searching and probably leaning furhter from the prius since the low mileage ones are pretty pricey.

how about a VW passat? is the maintenance really much higher than japanese/ korean?

and any thoughts on the hyundai sonata?

Saadie · « **Reply #11 on:** 01-Jul-2009, 23:28:34 »

sonata is nice .. but the new accord is just 2 steps ahead

mrmojo77 · « **Reply #12 on:** 03-Jul-2009, 18:55:22 »

I like the idea of Prius but wouildn't consider buying one. Some small diesel or VAG TSI engine is most likely much more economical.

evoWALO · « **Reply #13 on:** 04-Jul-2009, 13:20:37 »

They just offered the 2nd gen a few days ago at full tariff.

No problem with hybrids but must they be so fucking ugly? I've driven one, not bad but Christ what's wrong with Toyota? Why must it shout... i'm a smug! I'm a smug!

Guyon · « **Reply #14 on:** 14-Jul-2009, 05:51:02 »

Can't go wrong with a 4-banger Camry!

spanky · « **Reply #15 on:** 14-Jul-2009, 07:55:03 »

LMAO with the smug comment. isnt that from south park... that was a great episode...

I agree a 4 banger camry just never dies.. no matter how much you try.. hehehehehe

yeckmohr · « **Reply #16 on:** 14-Jul-2009, 10:17:47 »

i would prefer a volkswagen instead of the prius, but why not a prius, good to see someone from a cheap gas country trying to save the enviroment, i saw it when i was driving with schwalbe on the autobahn ( sorry my friend ), a europaen guy tries to save fuel on the autobahn and driving most of the time in 6th gear, he was changing the gears all the time, also at high speed, so that is not the way to save fuel, but if you ask him, most people in overseas driving like this, but as he saw our prices for gas, he was trying to save something ( the rental A4 was a diesel, so we had much more distance with one filled gas ).

schwalbe also told me, that his AC in the appartment is working the whole day and night, so can you imagine we have to pay in germany so much tax and so on for saving the eneviroment and you guys in overseas don't care about it ( only a few of them ), that is not the right way, we have hear with norway and france the highest gas prices, it's 1,40 € for a litre, that is over 1 € only tax.

goodduck · « **Reply #17 on:** 25-Aug-2009, 04:19:46 »

update:

after a lot of searching and trips to dealers and independent sellers from ebaymotors and elsewhere i found this guy which i hadnt considered. i had a feeling it was 'the one' when i first saw it.

2008 Nissan Sentra
40,000 miles (a lot for an '08)

got what i consider to be a good deal on it and i still have 20,000 miles on the factory warranty.

heres a pic i snapped when i first saw it.

and heres a pic of the car it replaced on its last day of use. it overheated after 100+ miles of car shopping on a really hot day a few weeks ago. sad end for a car that had been so good to us.

haggling with car salesmen is so stressful and annoying but i felt that i got a good deal on this car after spending about 5 hours playing games with the people there.. let me talk to my manager etc etc etc. i had never bought a car before so it was a good experience for me. i was charged with doing this by my fam and did all the legwork and paperwork myself. im pretty happy with how it all turned out. the car is perect, absolutely no flaws that i can see and runs very smoothly and quietly. i expect it to be bulletproof like out infiniti and it damn well better be.

the infiniti G20 is 100% nissan sentra underneath so i thought it was a good choice seeing how good the G20 was for us. its a 140 hp 4 cylinder (obviously) with a continuously variable transmission which is perfect for my mom. the G20 was stick.

so what do you guys think??

yeckmohr · « **Reply #18 on:** 25-Aug-2009, 09:00:08 »

congrats for the new used car goodduck, hope we will see some more pics in the parking lot.

spanky · « **Reply #19 on:** 25-Aug-2009, 09:55:14 »

i hate dealing with car salesman. they are nearly as bad as real estate agents. hehehehe

nice to see you got a car dude.... we definitely need some good detailed pictures of the interior etc!!!