Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

Vexorg the Unruly — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:56:39 GMT

Shhhh, don't tell the lefties, Rico! They may cry!

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

rico — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:45:05 GMT

It appears that the carbon footprint of the Prius is larger in its manufacturing process than combustion engines.

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

Long Duc Dong — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:12:19 GMT

How does someone own EIGHT hybrids since 2000? You turn around and sell them in a year? What do you do when the fad is over, and it will be?

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

almost there — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:41:16 GMT

@ Skaning , glad you like your car, but with proper care an auto transmission won't need rebuilding. I have over 230K on my honda and the transmission is fine. The car started out as a FL rental so I can imagine it was not pampered.

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

James — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:21:28 GMT

I have been in the new car business selling cars for twenty five years. I have never found a car that pleases the customers more than the Prius. The supposed car crtics like Wang are dead wrong when it comes to buying a hybrid or not.I would agree that the bigger SUV's and trucks are a poor choice. However people buy them for more than fuel savings. I just saw a 2008 used Prius sell for $22,900. Yes, the customer knew they could order a 2010 for a similar price but she totaled out her car and couldn't wait.When the crticis put their calculator to their formula they do not figure this in. Yes, a corolla or civic would be cheaper but you do not have the PZEV sticker on it( partial zero emmission vehicle). Skaning who just wrote in is correct the failure rate on a Prius is .003 % One battery in every 40,000 cars . Take your car critics advice with a grain of salt. they are the same guys who voted Renault encore car of the year.

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

Skaning — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:00:02 GMT

You are correct, the gas mileage wont pay for the difference in cost. US Consumers have been blindsided by the fuel mileage issue. The car was developed originally to meet Japanese Pollution requirements. And oh gee, it met the toughest of the California requirements when it came out. Note that the big three here in the US said it couldn't be done without Hydrogen or pure electric. You can and Toyota did but it does require a premium in initial cost.

I have had a gen 2 since 2004 mainly because I needed an urban runner and I saw it as a more reliable way to meet emmissions requirements. Most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. For all the criticism I got when I bought it from those who "knew better" in 2004, I looked like a flaming genius in the summer of 2008. 95,000 miles and still running well. Just took it cross country and back.

As far as the "expensive battery replacement goes, consider this. Toyota basically took an automatic transmission (several gallons of oil, many many parts, clutches, valves, switches and so forth, and replaced it with a Planetary gear system, two electric motors, a big battery, half a dozen or so processors and some software. If you design the charging protocol properly, Ni Cad batteries last a very long time (Ask the folks at NASA).

The expectation is a life of about 150,000 mi and there are example of Taxi's with well over 200,000 on the original batteries. Have you priced the rebuild of an automatic transmission for a conventional car lately. It's only slightly south of the replacing the battery pack on a Prius.

Simply put, it has served my needs very well

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

Zornorph — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:42:20 GMT

The purpose of buying a hybrid? So you can be smug and get away with it.

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

Buddy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:23:00 GMT

J Hagenbrock, does that $1200-1800 per year include the sales tax you have to pay each time you buy a new car?

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

J Hagenbrock — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:34:59 GMT

Dear Mr "litttle Wang" It is quite obvious how much you know about hybrids.My wife and I have owned eight since 2000. The reason I have owned so many has been the cost of ownership. I buy my for close to invoice put 8-15,000 miles on it wait for the local dealer to be out (usually during a rise in gas prices or at model yr end), and then sell it. It has cost me between $1200-1800 per year to drive one. Twice I got almost all of my Money back (when gas was at it's peak). Futhermore the Prius burns at 75% cleaner than the average american new car.Oh, by the way what car had the highest customer satisfaction rate in North America? The car they car the ugly Prius.I will laugh all the way to the bank. If you think this car is hot., wait till the plug in comes out and the first fifty or so miles you burn no gas then the hybrid kicks in. My advice to you readers don't buy all the options. forget the solar moonroof and tech pkg get the series 2 0r 3 you will lose the least amount of dough.

re: Buying a Prius is an emotional decision

EV — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:02:34 GMT

Why compare the midsize 5 passenger Prius to the sub-sub compact 2 seat Smart? It's not even apples / oranges. Try comparing the Prius to other midsize cars around $23000, more features, 20 MPG higher, & you'll know why it sells so well. Nothing else touches it for Value.