2009 Toyota Prius

[Deleted member 5551]

Congrats on the car.

I'm starting to research possible vehicles. The overriding factor for me is cost. I'm looking into a vehicle that is around 10 years old or so, and can hold my gear. If i had the $24k or whatever, to spend on a Prius-I would love to check them out. Instead i'm looking into older SUVs [2 door Blazer or Rav4-that smallish SUV market].

However, the car will be driven to upright gigs in the suburbs or electric gigs that aren't as public transit accessible. Not looking for a daily driver, or anything. Maybe 4 days a week tops.

 

[Dan Mee]

Oh yeah, I forget to say it's a diesel. It probably does an average of about 55mpg, but I've had it above 60 on long motorway journeys(which I do quite a lot these days). Newer ones definately do better as well. It's a 1999 1.9 TDI, and I think it's done roughly 160,00 miles, ish. SO it has seen better days, but it's better than wasting money on a new car. I always think it's really funny when people say all this stuff about the new super-econimic car, but most of the time they don't realise that it would have been more economic to by a used car that does well, for instance like that passat. If you're worried about how much energy it uses, carbon it produces etc, does anybody think about the energy/carbon/resources that have been used to make the new car. Surely it is better to not have used all that in the process of making the new car, and just buy a second hand one that still works fine.

I dunno, it's an interesting pov to throw in there.

 

[john turner]

yeah, i think the carbon footprint of the output from a car is miniscule in the grand scheme of things, compared to big trucks and other polluters.

do you guys in the uk have mandatory emissions testing? over here you need to have that done to get and to renew the licence plate in many states.

 

[biohazed]

1) What happens in 10 years when that huge battery pack dies and you want to drive the car another 50,000 miles? It's going to cost you more than the car is worth to replace that battery.

Actually the Current Price for the Hybrid Power Cell for a Prius install is approximatly $5000.

2) What's it going to cost to recycle that battery when it dies? Those are BIG batteries, and they're full of heavy metal. If we really get into producing those things we're going to have a huge disposal problem.

Disposal of the Battery is the least of your issues. The Power Cell is actually hidden under the Back seat and involves alot of dismantlement of the interior of the vehicle to access the power cell ... The Thing to remember is with these Hybrids the electrial system is extremely complex ... I Work for a Toyota Dealership and out of all the Technicians there only 3 are allowed to do anything with the batteries of the Hybrids. The System is very easy to screw up .. we got one in the shop now getting a new power cell because someone decided to hook a truck battery up to it and fried the power cell ....

 

[mike_v_s]

Actually the Current Price for the Hybrid Power Cell for a Prius install is approximatly $5000.

I think his point, although difficult to prove, is that a 10 year old Prius with a dead battery won't be worth the $5000 on the open market.

Mike

EDIT: OK, I thought another few minutes on this and now kind of agree with the guy. How much is a 10 year old Camry or Corolla in need of an engine replacement worth?

Mike

 

[fdeck]

EDIT: OK, I thought another few minutes on this and now kind of agree with the guy. How much is a 10 year old Camry or Corolla in need of an engine replacement worth?

Anything so rare is worth a lot.

 

[mike_v_s]

Anything so rare is worth a lot.

I'm a huge fan of the brand, don't get me wrong. My point is that virtually any vehicle in need of powertrain replacement isn't worth much.

Mike

 

[MJ5150]

smart locks (just walk up to the car with the remote in your pocket).

Our Lancer does the same thing. I really like that feature. It's fun to trick your friends who don't know about it.

-Mike

 

[Marlat]

Our Lancer does the same thing. I really like that feature. It's fun to trick your friends who don't know about it.

-Mike

What stops someone from waiting until you just locked your car and, as you are walking away (but in range), opening the door?

 

[MJ5150]

What stops someone from waiting until you just locked your car and, as you are walking away (but in range), opening the door?

For our Lancer, you have to be standing within three feet or so of the car for it to work. If someone I do not know is standing that close to my car, I am going to notice.

-Mike

 

[Marlat]

For our Lancer, you have to be standing within three feet or so of the car for it to work. If someone I do not know is standing that close to my car, I am going to notice.

-Mike

What if Vern Troyer is waiting by the passenger door?

 

[MJ5150]

What if Vern Troyer is waiting by the passenger door?

Hehe, thanks for the early morning laugh Mark.

-Mike

 

[anniemcu]

LOL! I guess you can ignore the top safety ratings, top fuel efficiency ratings, top customer satisfaction ratings, top (passed by only 1) in the 'lowest customer cost in the first five years', and all that.

Personally, I really like those things. The only reason it isn't tops on my list is that we live down a dirt road and the 4.5" clearance is just not gonna do it.

 

[Kenbuntu]

I think it was in Top gear season 10? They raced (slash put around the track) a Prius and a bmw. The BMW won, and it used less gas in doing so. I know the prius isn't put out to race but c'mon losing to a BMW in race to use less fuel...

Also the metal used for its battery comes from China(or some place) and just extracting this metal causes harm to the environment.

 

[mike_v_s]

LOL! I guess you can ignore the top safety ratings, top fuel efficiency ratings, top customer satisfaction ratings, top (passed by only 1) in the 'lowest customer cost in the first five years', and all that.

Source(s), please. I like the cars, but your ratings need to be qualified. The "lowest customer cost in the first five years"? Judged how? Surely that doesn't include the price of the vehicle. Toyota makes other cars, cheaper, that return high enough mileage that the difference could not be made up in 5 years. I can provide math to back that up, if necessary.

Customer satisfaction is another rating I don't hold in high regard. For a while, it was the only car that did what it does (decent hybrid family transportation). Customer bases in niche markets are generally satisfied with their purchase. The Chevrolet Corvette enjoys immense customer satisfaction, too; that doesn't make it a good car.

Again, i'm not trying to rip on the Prius. I like them. But it's a car. There will be fans and detrators and taking it personally seems silly.

Mike

 

[anniemcu]

Source(s), please. I like the cars, but your ratings need to be qualified. The "lowest customer cost in the first five years"? Judged how? Surely that doesn't include the price of the vehicle. Toyota makes other cars, cheaper, that return high enough mileage that the difference could not be made up in 5 years. I can provide math to back that up, if necessary.

Customer satisfaction is another rating I don't hold in high regard. For a while, it was the only car that did what it does (decent hybrid family transportation). Customer bases in niche markets are generally satisfied with their purchase. The Chevrolet Corvette enjoys immense customer satisfaction, too; that doesn't make it a good car.

Again, i'm not trying to rip on the Prius. I like them. But it's a car. There will be fans and detrators and taking it personally seems silly.

Mike

A Consumer Reports online membership is worth the price.
http://www.consumerreports.org/

We've been deeply researching vehicles as we near the moment of truth and have to pick one to take on as a member of the family. If it weren't for that low clearance, it's the clear winner, though we'd have to settle for a used one, due to pricing.

 

[mvw356]

yeah, i think the carbon footprint of the output from a car is miniscule in the grand scheme of things, compared to big trucks and other polluters.

do you guys in the uk have mandatory emissions testing? over here you need to have that done to get and to renew the licence plate in many states.

donno about the uk, but all other eu countries require annual emissions testing. california has the strictest laws worldwide on emissions me thinks. back in the day manufacturers would make different injection systems for colaifornia only, so you'd end up with a jaguar e type with 200 hp while anywhere else it would have had 300 imho the way emissions are tested anywhere these days are useless. a porsche cayenne turbo s is considered cleaner than my beetle, which imo is load of bs. the cayenne does 5 mpg while my beetle will do 40. which one is better for the environment?

 

[mike_v_s]

A Consumer Reports online membership is worth the price.
http://www.consumerreports.org/

I had one while I was shopping for a new car. Their rating system is far from flawless. The Corvette example I gave earlier is from Consumer Reports.

We've been deeply researching vehicles as we near the moment of truth and have to pick one to take on as a member of the family. If it weren't for that low clearance, it's the clear winner, though we'd have to settle for a used one, due to pricing.

I can understand how the vehicle might fit your needs (well, most of them), but that plus Consumer Reports doesn't make it the best.

Mike

 

[mike_v_s]

donno about the uk, but all other eu countries require annual emissions testing. california has the strictest laws worldwide on emissions me thinks. back in the day manufacturers would make different injection systems for colaifornia only, so you'd end up with a jaguar e type with 200 hp while anywhere else it would have had 300 imho the way emissions are tested anywhere these days are useless. a porsche cayenne turbo s is considered cleaner than my beetle, which imo is load of bs. the cayenne does 5 mpg while my beetle will do 40. which one is better for the environment?

Emissions testing and mpg are two separate things.

Mike

 

[jojobean39]

One thing people also need to consider when talking about MPG in America Vs. Europe is that the octane levels are often very different. I believe the lowest octane available in Ireland (that I could find) was 93. Here in the US, the highest I can get is 93. I suspect that would make a drastic difference in MPG.

Also, there is a problem with the way that Americans show gas mileage. Showing mpg is a lot less telling than showing gpm (better yet, gallons per 100 miles). For instance, let's say you (scenario A) bought a car new car and gone from 16 mpg to 20 mpg. Then, let's say someone else (scenario B) bought a car that went from 40 mpg to 45 mpg. Even though the second person has increased their mpg by 5 mpgs instead of 4, the first person has done far more for their fuel economy. Let's say each drove 100 miles.

The first person in scenario A above only spent 5 gallons of gas in their new vehicle, as opposed to 6.25 gallons that the old car would have used. Scenario B would have gone from 2.5 gallons to 2.2 gallons. Scenario A saved 1.25 gallons and scenario B saved only .3 gallons.

So, the hybrid thing is very deceiving at times. Yes, it does offer some better gas mileage. But people who get rid of their Honda Accords to buy a Prius are making a bad financial decision.

With all of that said, I do think that the Prius is a pretty nice car. I don't care about the environmental impact really, because I don't think hybrids are any better for the environment than a car of similar price and size. I would own one though. Used of course. And after I knew how much the batteries cost to replace or when they NEEDED to be replaced.