Should I wait for the 2010 Prius or get one now?

[John Moss]

I have been reading about the increased mpg anticipated for the 2010 Prius as well as the lithium-ion battery will be a plug-in.

Do you guys think I should take the leap of faith now and get a Prius and hope that there will be somebody wanting to buy it later or take it in trade as I would presumably want to upgrade to the generation III Prius?

Also, can the battery cells really be replaced in sections as needed instead of the whole enchilada costing some $3,000 or so?

Finally, is the rear or right rear visibility that bad that I should hold off altogether in getting a Prius, or do you just get used to it and can still avoid accidents or close calls due to the blind spots?

Thanks,

[Godiva]

There's no guarantee the 2010 will have a plug-in option or LithiumIon.

2009 is the new model year.

[Austin50mpg]

After 1600 miles, I haven't seen a single blind spot in my 2008 Prius. (Knock on wood, I don't want to pull out and hit the neighbor's dog tomorrow) :0

If you don't have a car payment right now...then wait. If your upside down in your car right now...wait. Otherwise get one before gas gets $5.00/gallon and you have to wait 20 weeks for a Prius.

I don't know about the battery cells. Someone here on PC most likely will.


Hope this helps

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by John Moss

Do you guys think I should take the leap of faith now and get a Prius and hope that there will be somebody wanting to buy it later or take it in trade as I would presumably want to upgrade to the generation III Prius?

My crystal ball is too cloudy to give an exact retail price for your possible future vehicle in the year 2010. I can tell you that I really like my 2007 and intend to keep it well past 2010.

Originally Posted by John Moss

Also, can the battery cells really be replaced in sections as needed instead of the whole enchilada costing some $3,000 or so?

Some people have in fact bought salvage batteries on Ebay or other sources and used the individual cells to repair their batteries, mostly in early (2001 -03) Prius out of warranty. However, if you are only planning to keep it until the new models come out, you won't need to consider this because the battery warranty is 8 years/100,000 miles unless you live in a Calif emissions state where it is 10 years/150,000 miles.

Originally Posted by John Moss

Finally, is the rear or right rear visibility that bad that I should hold off altogether in getting a Prius, or do you just get used to it and can still avoid accidents or close calls due to the blind spots?

Thanks,

I actually don't think the rear visibility is that bad, because the small lower window in the hatch allows you to see close objects. Also, most of the cars (all except the Base models) include a rear camera which allows you to see a wide angle view behind and to the sides when in reverse. I would say that the rear side views take some getting used to, but I just added convex spot mirrors on both sides to help.

The best way to see if this is going to be a problem for you would be to rent a Prius for a couple of days and try it out.

[ryanj023]

i just bought one.

my rationale? i needed a car now, plus, the lithium-ion battery probably won't be ready in '10 model. plug-in is dead, won't happen for awhile. we don't have a lot of info, but we do know we will have a new body and better mileage coming out in may of '09. the body change would be reason enough for me to wait.

if you can wait, wait. i couldn't wait another year without putting money into my old car that i did not want to keep any longer. it needed new tires and the computer was acting up. 3+ grand into my car, i couldn't rock with that right now.

oh, and i don't know what your talking about with the visibility as the visibility IMO is GREAT.

[Tideland Prius]

I'd wait.. or if you can't, lease one for 2 years.

[928Quest]

Made the same choice already, even if the new model is a 2009 we probably won't see it until closer to 2010. I wolud not buy the first year or two anyway, even Toyota has a record of not doing their best job up front. So the question I asked myself is, do I buy now or wait til 2011 or 2012? I bought in March. I'll trade up in 3 years or so.

[usbseawolf2000]

I'd say go for it and start saving on gas.

Even if the Li-ion battery is ready, it is still more expensive than NiMH. That means you will only see in the Lexus hybrid. It may take a couple more years until it trickles down to Toyota. That's my guess.

Gen III should have 15% better MPG but the demand will be so high that you won't be getting discount. The dealers may jack up the price as seen in 04 Prius.

[DeadPhish]

Originally Posted by John Moss

I have been reading about the increased mpg anticipated for the 2010 Prius as well as the lithium-ion battery will be a plug-in.

Do you guys think I should take the leap of faith now and get a Prius and hope that there will be somebody wanting to buy it later or take it in trade as I would presumably want to upgrade to the generation III Prius?

Also, can the battery cells really be replaced in sections as needed instead of the whole enchilada costing some $3,000 or so?

Finally, is the rear or right rear visibility that bad that I should hold off altogether in getting a Prius, or do you just get used to it and can still avoid accidents or close calls due to the blind spots?

Thanks,

All the Prius' being traded in are generally snapped up within days by sharp used buyers. Finding one is the hard part. Trading or selling one that you own is a snap.

As noted previously the battery issue is actually a non-issue. Out side of the very long warranty Toyota's own benchtesting along with that of the Federal Govt have shown both Gens to have a 'hybrid life' of well above 150,000 mi. Toyota's own statement is that the batteries should last you the life of the vehicle. 200,000 mi? 300,000 mi?

There are no blind spots on the vehicle that I know of. It's got big windows and I can see everything very clearly because the seating is somewhat more upright.

2-1/2 yrs and 72,000 miles of 48 mpg driving.

[joe1347]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

I'd wait.. or if you can't, lease one for 2 years.

Assuming that it will be at least one year (from today) before the next Gen Prius is available - right? - and at least another year after that before a plug-in version is available. Why not buy now and plan on switching to a plug-in in about three years?

Possibly Toyotas plans to boost production next year will mitigate the shortages, long waits, and dealer gouging. But even so, won't the next gen sell for at least MSRP for the first year or two - while Gen II's are currently selling for invoice - which should balance out some of the lower trade-in value of the Gen II's once the Gen III's arrive.

Of course, if the Gen III is out later this year - then my argument is certainly not valid.