1st gen Prius

[baseball8819]

Hi there
I'm looking at a CPO '02 with about 30k on it for my first car (if my dad will let me get it) I read all the professional reviews I could find, but I am curious as to what you guys think about it. I like the interior, the exterior looks a little echo-like, but it has grown on me, so I like that. I'm cool with the less aggresive numbers because it's good for the environment, since the government isn't doing much to help, I figure I'll do something good. I'm really in love with the stealth ability. Then I plan to get an electric horn (like air horn) that plays music (macarena, charge!, circus, rocky, and some other Midi-types). The tax break might help me persuade my dad, as well as the MPG. So I'm looking for your opinions and experience in dealing with the 1st gen. Prius. Thanks for any insight you can provide.




Yes, I said insight...no not the car!

[Wolfman]

I have an '03, with ~33k on the odometer. It's a great car. At 30K miles, look at the tires, and see if they have been replaced. If not, they may be close. Also take the vin to Toyota to see if all recalls have been done. There are a couple out there on the classics. Also run a carfax on the vin, just to get an idea on the car's history.

Most importantly, you will NOT be eligeable for the tax credit as this is a used car. The credit applies to new car purchases only. I wouldn't worry about the "lower" fuel economy figures. I've seen a high tank of 57.9 mpg out of mine, keeping my speeds down to a max of 55 mph. With my commute, I typically keep my car in the low 50's by the computer.

I cannot really think of much of anything to fault the car over. I've taken mine up to Haliburton Ontario Canada from the DFW area, as well as to Denver, CO numerous times. The car has never missed a beat, and has never left me wanting for more power.

I'd like to know what the acronym "CPO" is supposed to mean.

[baseball8819]

oh, sorry...
CPO= certified pre-owned

toyota has a 160 pt(i think this is the correct number) program, and it said the carfax was clean. The pictures show a very nice car.

[Ed]

I've got a 2001 that my wife drives now. In the ~3 years of ownership, I had 1 computer problem, that toyota couldn't figure out. They just replaced the computer. I haven't had any other problems with it.

For a small car, it has more interior room than you would expect. The turn radius is REALLY tight as well. Very easy to park. The trunk space is a little small though.

Overall, I'm very happy with it.

I'll be selling mine probably next June. If you don't mind me asking, what is Toyota asking for the car?

Ed

[BobA]

Baseball.... on cars.com there are 11 Classics listed in a 500 mile radius of Dallas.. 10 have pictures.. all are at dealers.. and 1 is showing CPO... I just ran the search didn't look at any of the cars.. Good luck in your search and most of all convincing DAD....

Bob Andersen

[baseball8819]

ya, i found the one i wanted on cars.com. it's got about 30k miles is in Irving (only like a 30 minute drive away from home) and CPO, they're asking $16+ttl

I checked KBB and it seems like a great deal. The car looks fantastic, i don't think it has nav or side airbags, but they're hard enough to find. Any idea how insurance are on these? I know it'll be pretty high on me since I'm just 16, but the sedan and slowish accel and lowish top speed might help me out somewhat. Thanks for all your info!

[Frank Hudon]

if you get it tell the insurnace agent that it has an alarm and an imoblizer as standard equipement. Make sure any recalls on the steering rack have been done. Have a look at this forum for a note about Prius Taxi and read what all is said in the posts on it and then look at the service records for his 2k1 and read what he has to say about his 2k3. The Classic is a great little car and get's good mileage and is a pleasure to drive. Has unique looks as well. Some had Nav and some came with side curtain airbags also.

[john1701a]

I had a blast with my 2001 Classic (actually 2nd generation, 1st was the 1997-2000 model).

There's a ton of detail documenting the 59,827 miles I drove with it for 3 years before upgrading to a fully-loaded HSD (2004). So reading through the collection log-entries on my website may be helpful. This summary of the maintenance during that time may be helpful too.

The only thing to watch out for with the 2002 is the steering-rack. The electric design was less forgiving than the traditional fluid design. So you'd end up with some play (which felt like soft lumps) that took time to wear down. Then when they did, all would be fine. But they were instances where it didn't, which resulted in a nasty vibration. Fortunately, Toyota replaced (special warranty) the racks that exhibited that and even some that didn't. And by 2003, Toyota had the fine-tuning figured out.

Every now and then, I still get to jump behind the wheel of a Classic. It's like an old friend. The shorter nose and that steering give it an edge over the HSD. Being able to manuever like that was great! It feels a little smoother at times too, most likely due to the RPM being 500 lower. I would have definitely enjoyed keeping that Prius. But upgrading to one with all the bells & whistles in the shape of a hatchback (since I transport a bike a lot in the summer) that got even better MPG was too tempting to resist...

[baseball8819]

thank you guys very much for the posts. Where on these cars is the CD player located? There is a button on the controls that says disc, but it doesn't show a CD slot near the cassette deck. Other than that the car I'm looking at is absolutely what I want. I just noticed a week ago my neighborhood has a couple Prii. There is this one house that has 2 new style ones and an older (body type I'm looking at) down the next road. Hats off to you guys for helping make the world a better place and for driving an awesomely neat car I hope to have the pleasure of driving soon also.

[Wolfman]

It is behind a door below the climate control knobs. You push in on the top of the door lightly to unlatch it, and it'll fall open.