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Off Topic: Should I Buy A Toyota Prius?

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player

New Member
I am looking for a used vehicle. I like Toyota. I have found them to be pretty reliable and almost free of any breakdowns so far...

I was looking at getting some sort of a hatch back that the seats can go down and give me room to haul some stuff. Not 4' x 8' signs, but
stuff... I brought a 55" flat screen home in my Toyota Celica for example.

So I was thinking about the Matrix, maybe a 2005 to 2010 used. But then I started reading how great the gas mileage is on the Prius, and how it
was just OK on the Matrix.

Does anyone own or have experience with the Prius?

Let me know what you know

thanks
 
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Andy D

Active Member
1st, you can't go wrong with a Toyota.
My wife has the Prius, and loves it.
It is surprising roomy and comfortable to drive, it has more leg room
than my Rav 4 and the seats are awesome.

But, unless you're a contortionist, the back seats are joke, they should have just made it a two seater
with more storage area.
 
P

player

New Member
Andy D said:
1st, you can't go wrong with a Toyota.
My wife has the Prius, and loves it.
It is surprising roomy and comfortable to drive, it has more leg room
than my Rav 4 and the seats are awesome.

But, unless you're a contortionist, the back seats are joke, they should have just made it a two seater
with more storage area.
Click to expand...

Strange the reviews say it is the one car with back seat toe room- that you can actually sit in the back comfortably. I am looking at a 2008 hatchback. What year is your wife's? Is it the older sedan?
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
Go European - get something durable

am9zmx9_460s.jpg


wayne k
guam usa
 
ams

ams

New Member
I don't know much about the car it's self but you will be at the center of all the jokes and laughed at.
I'd rather buy the new 2016 Camaro.
 
Kottwitz-Graphics

Kottwitz-Graphics

New Member
Gino said:
Jeff Dunham has a blue one and really likes it.
Click to expand...

And baby blue one....

I have a friend who had a Kia Soul, two of them, actually, back to back... he began to speculate on fuel prices, and got a prius. He likes it, and when we go anywhere, he drives, so I'm talking like a passenger. The seats are comfortable, and it does have a nice ride... he keeps the rear seats folded down, and he can fit a 6 foot ladder...
 
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Andy D

Active Member
player said:
Strange the reviews say it is the one car with back seat toe room- that you can actually sit in the back comfortably. I am looking at a 2008 hatchback. What year is your wife's? Is it the older sedan?
Click to expand...

I just asked her..it's a 2012 C hatchback...she thinks.
We drive roughly the same amount of miles a day, and she spends about 1/3 to 1/2 as much on gas as I do, I drive a 6 cylinder Rav4.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
Have you looked at Kias?

I drive a 2014 Rio and that thing is amazing. Surprising amount of room, amazing gas mileage (I've hit 44+ on road trips, around 25 city driving), and they have great warranties.

I also made sure to get a model with no bells and whistles, so there's nothing to break. Haha!
 
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CanuckSigns

Active Member
nldixon said:
Have you looked at Kias?

I drive a 2014 Rio and that thing is amazing. Surprising amount of room, amazing gas mileage (I've hit 44+ on road trips, around 25 city driving), and they have great warranties.

I also made sure to get a model with no bells and whistles, so there's nothing to break. Haha!
Click to expand...

I had almost the exact opposite experience with my 2009 Kia Rio! for a small car the gas mileage was horrible, I get about the same now in my Toyota Tacoma. The problem with the Rio is that it was geared so close together, that when you were at highway speeds, it was doing 4500 rpm, around town it was ok, but still worse than my previous car which was a 2000 Acura Integra. I also had issues with the warranty, took it to them with some transmission issues and they used every trick in the book to get out of fixing it.

My current vehicle is a 2015 Toyota Tacoma, while i've only had it for a few months, I absolutely love it, it's big enough to handle 4x8 sheets and pretty much anything I put in it, but it's still small enough to be able to park anywhere. it's only the 4 cyl, so it's not a fast truck, but it's quick enough for me and will haul pretty much anything you put in it.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
watsons signs said:
I had almost the exact opposite experience with my 2009 Kia Rio! for a small car the gas mileage was horrible, I get about the same now in my Toyota Tacoma. The problem with the Rio is that it was geared so close together, that when you were at highway speeds, it was doing 4500 rpm, around town it was ok, but still worse than my previous car which was a 2000 Acura Integra. I also had issues with the warranty, took it to them with some transmission issues and they used every trick in the book to get out of fixing it.

My current vehicle is a 2015 Toyota Tacoma, while i've only had it for a few months, I absolutely love it, it's big enough to handle 4x8 sheets and pretty much anything I put in it, but it's still small enough to be able to park anywhere. it's only the 4 cyl, so it's not a fast truck, but it's quick enough for me and will haul pretty much anything you put in it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Kias have definitely had a vast improvement in quality over the last couple of years. I'm not sure exactly WHEN they started to get better, maybe somewhere after 2010-2011? We have a friend with a 2005 Rio that hates theirs, but loves ours.
 
rjssigns

rjssigns

Active Member
I don't own one, but I've learned a couple things since I thought about getting one.

Prius = Battery Pack. If the battery pack develops a fault the car will not run. All hybrids are like this. It's a huge bill to get a new battery pack done at the dealer. Somewhere north of 3 grand.

However there is a whole cottage industry being built around replacement packs. I've seen them as cheap as $900 for a reman with a warranty. There are vids showing how to repair/replace your own if you're so inclined.

I'd say do your due diligence just like you would do for shop equipment. Get on the forums, do Google searches, etc...
 
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klmiller611

New Member
I have a 2005 RAV4, 4 cylinder, the gas mileage is a joke, it does not do any better than my 1999 Tacoma. However, right after I bought the RAV in January 2005, I drove a 500 mile round trip, and discovered my right knee did not like something about it and never has.

I then was considering a Prius, I liked the gas mileage, this was about 2009, we rented one to take a longer trip. I was truly impressed, it was much more comfortable than the RAV, the folks who rode in the back (just around town) found the back very comfortable, and the ride was good, the ability to carry stuff was also good.

I did not end up buying one simply because I did not feel like putting out the big bucks for the highest end model. Another friend has one, about the same vintage and she loves it, easily comfortable and very happy overall. Don't know about the battery pack, she has not had any problem so far. But we've talked about it and what she is going to do.

If cost were no object right now, I'd be getting a new Prius. The RAV is up for sale, the older I get the less my knee likes me driving it.

Good luck
Ken
 
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rossmosh

New Member
Prius compares to a mid-high teir sedan. So basically it compares to a loaded Accord or something like that. It should not be compared to a Matrix. A Matrix is significantly cheaper. While the Matrix probably only gets about 28-30mpg vs the Prius at 50mpg, gas happens to be cheap at the moment. Right now the national average is less than $2/gal. Assuming gas averages $2.50 over the life of the vehicle, how many miles it would it take to break even? That's ignoring the maintenance on the Prius, which I'm just guessing, is more expensive than a Matrix.

Personally, I'd be hard pressed to buy a Prius because I don't think it makes sense at it's price range.
 
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player

New Member
Using an online calculator the price of gas in Canada in USD is $3.48 per US gallon. The exchange rate is a pathetic $1.45.
 
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