Newbie, bought 2002, are horror story's true?

[joeman]

Just recently bought a 2002 Prius with 70k miles in really good shape. I had a pre purchase inspection done at local Toyota Dealer. Things checked out good.

Just wondering, how I stack up to having major expenses in the future with this 1st gen Prius. I plan to only put 10k or less each year on car, so in 5 years it would have 120k. I guess the Cat Converter and the other connecting parts scare me the most for being replaced. If anyone can give me some good news about this purchase, please enlighten me. Or tell me some good search words to look up on this site.

Thanks

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by joeman

Just recently bought a 2002 Prius with 70k miles in rally good shape. I had a pre purchase inspection done at local Toyota Dealer. Things checked out good.

Just wondering, how I stack up to having major expenses in the future with this 1st gen Prius. I plan to only put 10k or less each year on car, so in 5 years it would have 120k. I guess the Cat Converter and the other connecting parts scare me the most for being replaced. If anyone can give me some good news about this purchase, please enlighten me. Or tell me some good search words to look up on this site.

Thanks

No news is good news. I have no news.

[joeman]

I am the original poster. After reading on here some of the expenses like the cat converter and possible transmission failure in the Gen 1 cars, I ready to sell car. Even tho I'm have only owned it a few days. It only has 70k and is very clean. I thought i had done enough research on Gen 1 cars, but apparently not. I mean i could deal with the battery pack replacement, i knew about that. But other two thing mentioned above is unreal and does not make me feel good about the car i just bought. I guess I will put it up for sale and hold my breath. Unless someone can tell me otherwise a reason to keep it, i will put it up for sale soon.

[joeman]

repeat, sorry

[qbee42]

If you are worried about repairs, why did you buy it in the first place? Stop vacillating or you will drive yourself crazy.

Tom

[spinkao]

Originally Posted by joeman

Just bought a 2002 with 70k miles, very clean and runs well. Paid 7500.I'm thinking of putting it up for sale because of expenses down the road like cat converter and transaxle/transmission repair. Don't really want to spend more than i have in car for major repairs. In my research before i bought it, I read about the battery pack replacement, could live with that. But the other things mentioned can be super expensive to replace. Any input would be welcomed

Thanks

The likelihood that you will really have to do those repairs is very small. The Prius I is statistically still a very reliable car, above average. Yours does not have that many miles under its belt. Don't worry about problems that could happen; Worry yourself only about problems you really have. If you bought another car, would you worry that much about potential expensive gearbox or engine repair ?

I think you could never buy any car if you really think about it in this way .

[Sandy]

really keep it LOL a full brake job on my BMW was 1500.00 I have 60K on mine and my need a 12V battery, but would not sell it because of that... prius have gone ove 150K miles before needing brakes,my BMW just 60K

[patsparks]

just drive it and change the fluid in the transmission with the WS fluid from Toyota.
Other cars have Cat problems too.

[donee]

Hi Joe...,

All used cars are crap-shoots. Cross your fingers, and maintain a healthy bank balance. If your lucky, you will get the 120K miles with no problems and you will have saved all sorts of money over buying a new car. Some Gen 1 cars have gone 250K miles without battery or transmission repair. If your not lucky, you will need some work on it, but probably will still save money over a new car. There is probably no way your not going to do worse than breaking-even. This is NO different than any other kinda car. Remeber, you do not have an alternator or starter or brakes (to about 100 K miles) to worry about in this car.

If you want to help prolong the transmission, have the Transmission Fluid changed now, upgrade it to Toyota type WS, and have it changed every 30 to 40 K miles hence.

[efusco]

Originally Posted by joeman

I am the original poster. After reading on here some of the expenses like the cat converter and possible transmission failure in the Gen 1 cars, I ready to sell car. Even tho I'm have only owned it a few days. It only has 70k and is very clean. I thought i had done enough research on Gen 1 cars, but apparently not. I mean i could deal with the battery pack replacement, i knew about that. But other two thing mentioned above is unreal and does not make me feel good about the car i just bought. I guess I will put it up for sale and hold my breath. Unless someone can tell me otherwise a reason to keep it, i will put it up for sale soon.

I think you're having buyer's remorse. I have no idea what you've been reading or where you've been reading it so it's difficult to "tell you otherwise" without an specifics to refute.

But leave it to say that you'll be very hard pressed to find a car as reliable and fuel efficient as the Prius. At 70k miles there's no reason to think you'll encounter any major expenses for a very long time. And as mentioned by others, all cars have catalytic converters and if they go bad they are all expensive to replace. How do you know that that Corolla you buy instead of the Prius won't need a $2000 transmission or a $3000 ICE replacement? You don't.

Take a deep breath, don't panic, drive the car for a while and see how it works out for you. There's no rush to sell that I can see. Remember that you'll find all sorts of negative reports for any car, but you have to keep those in perspective to the number of cars sold.

Check the consumer reliability ratings compared to other vehicles. I think you'll find even the 1G Prius performs quite well.