Hesitant to buy a 2001 Prius for $3000...
 

I never thought I would say "yes" to a hybrid. But after driving a Toyota Echo back to back with a 2001 Prius for the same price I was sold.

2001 Prius 245k
New batts 188k
New inverter/transaxle (don't remember what the thingy was called, but it was an expensive thingy) 89k
Toyota dealer maintained at all intervals with multiple pages of records.
Interior looks like it has 10k miles on it. Feels brand new driving and looking.

What's the worst that could happen at 245k on a Prius as this with batteries that should last another 100k+?

Owner says it's due for service in 2k. Should I be worried? I read hybrids are 5% more expensive to maintain than conventional cars. NBD IMO.

Thanks for any advice! See you in the slow lane!

-Kyle

And what's the best mpg highway? Here and fuelly records show 55 tops. Seems like it takes all the fun out of hypermiling? I think hybrids are cool for people who accelerate towards a red light, but for us in the know it seems like a waste of energy. Like a professional chef having one of those food machines on the Jetsons.

Agree to disagree! I have never had so much fun hypermiling than I have had in the Turtle!
EPA sets the Gen-1 Insight average mpg at 53 mpg, but if you go to the team competition in the garage, you'll see they're the #1 car, right behind motorcycles.
Hypermiling a hybrid is definitely possible, and definitely fun! Don't really know what you could do in a Prius, but for the record, I got my Insight for the same three grand you're getting ready to drop on that one.

*Expect to hear from Balto on this too, lol!

LOL I literally went to reply when I saw my name. Anyway, I have driven a Prius, they are not for hypermilers. There isn't much you can do besides airing up tires full of air, grill block, wheel covers and wheel skirts. You can't EOC, you can't really do much of anything. The car is extremely boring to drive tbh. For 3k, I would definitely get an insight or heck, even an echo would be better.

I spent 2k on my insight, so far I have spent.
124$ on a new radiator.
44$ on 3qt of Honda MTF and Honda coolant.
18$ on a new thermostat.
29$ on a EGR from a 1999 Honda Accord.
68$ on a used wideband o2 sensor and sun visor clip (not here yet).

Gonna need to spend.
45$ on new spark plugs.
17$ for gasket to fix exhaust leak.
340$ for a grid charger. (you will need one of these for your Prius anyway).

So for 2700$ I got a good condition insight. Right now with a bad o2 sensor which is slaughtering my mpg, knockoff tires, exhaust leak, and wrong spark plugs, I'm beating what the best people are getting out of the Prius. I don't think there is much more to say, unless you need the 5 seats that the Prius allows.

[Edit]: I would like to add 2 things.
1. Cost would have been about 170$ less but I misdiagnosed my overheating problem.
2. The insight is an absolute BLAST to drive. I installed a Calpod switch (enables me to disable regen/assist at will) the day after I got it or close to that. I have never had so much fun driving a car. I had a civic before this, and it wasn't even nearly as fun to drive. There are so many things to consider while driving this car. Then again, on a few occasions I have said screw it, I'm just gonna drive. I STILL managed to get 48mpg, and that's pure city driving with 3.5-4k RPM shifts! That beats the Prius hands down!

This one is oprobably out of your price range but, it's really nice and is worth your time to read.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4684520093.html

I have not driven a Prius and I do not know as much as I would like about them, but when I found my Civic HX, I spent several months looking for it, and also watching for Insights and Prii. The only Prii that I saw had two of the following: Bad traction batteries, bad transmissions, and\or salvage titles, so I would not say that the worst thing would be the transmission wearing out soon, but they do seem vulnerable.

We have kind of been discussing this in: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...a-i-30103.html

I will not claim that the Prius is the same class as a Corolla or Civic, let alone a Yaris, Echo, or Paseo, but if you are looking for a car to save you money, the Prius would not be at the top of that list.

I own both, Insight and Prius. the Prius being much harder to hypermile. both great cars tho. My wife needs the 5 seats of the prius so thats why we have that. Like you said earlier about hybrids being for people who accelerate to red lights, that is almost true for the prius(its better for city) but it doesnt respond as much as the insight to hypermiling. good luck!

why cant you EOC in a prius?

It's a CVT.

I thought you could balance the pedal application to coast in a Prius?

regards
mech

He never said he wanted the best car to try to hypermile to beyond the stated mpg rating. He just wants a great deal on a really fuel efficient car.
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Go for it.