Should I buy a Prius ?

Maybe it's my hearing, but so far my car is acceptable as far as squeeks and rattles. Certainly not bad enough to keep me away. I have not had any issues with grabby brakes either. I do keep my Prius in a garage. While I am not in love with my Prius, I am in like of it. It is only one of three cars I would consider owning right now as a daily driver. Nothing in 7500 miles has made me regret the purchase. As a new driver (hopefully your parents have not spoiled you) you may not be quite as picky on the interior as some of us. My car before the hybrids was an Infiniti FX45. I knew upfront I was stepping down and perhaps that's why my expectations were lower, thus I have not been let down. I can't see you being disappointed if it is a car that interests you

 

I have had one creak from the rear hatch which was addressed by me shutting it completely.

Brakes, etc., have not been an issue for me.

The car has been outstanding and I don't regret buying it one bit.

 

The reality is with most web/blog sites - you mainly hear from those people that have a problem, and rarely from the 10,000's who don't.

But I always go into every new car purchase with the assumption that no car is perfect. At some point, you will have an issue with any car you buy. The questions to ask are: (1) Are the problems a statistical anomoly, or is there real and fundamental design/engineering flaws. Case in point - My wife and i also own a Honda Odyssey. We are now on our 3rd transmission. Honda covered the cost for the first two, but the 3rd was recently on us. While we love the car, had i done some homework, I would have discovered that Honda has, and has had, serious problems with transmissions on several of their models., (2) How critical/important are the problems to YOU? Personally, I don't rate a squeek/rattle or grabby breaks on the same level as a faulty transmission. (3) Finally, what is the track record/history of the car company you are buying from. As in my previous example, Honda stood by our 2 faulty trannies. Would Ford, GM or Crysler have done the same (the 2nd was out of warrenty period)?? I think not. Toyota has a very good reliability record, and from what I hear, stands behind their product.

 

I have some complaints but I would have some complaints with ANY car out there. Personally, I wanted a high MPG car with the right amount of interior room. I love technology so that was a factor as well in addition to concerns about such a heavy reliance on foreign oil. There are other reasons to buy this car and they can be found in the threads here on PC. For me, I have no regrets in buying it but it's a personal choice and you have to decide what you want and need in a car. Spend a dozen hours reading through PC and whatever you decide as far as a Prius will be an educated decision.

 

No problems of any sort with my '10 Prius 3.

 

Common misperceptions about the 2010 Prius that I hear from those that don't own a Prius:

(1) It drives like a slug. Can't get out of it's own way. Wrong.
(2) You'll need to replace the hybrid battery 3-4 years out. Wrong.
(3) No room inside/too small. Wrong.
(4) You'll never get the EPA value of 50 MPG. We all know that's a made up number. Wrong, again.

 

Do you commute a long distance each trip? (say 15 minutes) Do you drive a long distance each year? (say, over 15,000 miles) Is much of this mileage already driven by you under 75 MPH? You will not see as much mileage gain over normal cars if you drive short trips, you will not see much payback if you don't drive much. If you drive over 75, you will see less improvement over other cars than if you normally drive slower.

 

No problems with my 2010 Prius III with Nav. I love the car and would recommend it to anyone. All of the advice above is very good in that no car is perfect.

 

Best advice anyone can give you, You can go to any car forum on the net and everyone that has a problem will be complaining. So get what ever car you want, but don't use some complants on this forum for a reason not to buy the Prius. Every car has alot of people that are not happy.

 

I would add that you need to drive the car and see if it is right FOR YOU. You can go to any car forum and from reading the forum you will think that particular model is either perfect or horrible depending on the forum. But only you can decide if the car is right for you. I really believe this as a car is a personal item.

 

From the other end of the spectrum, My 2010 Prius is my third Prius, and my 79th car! I have enjoyed the Prius experience, and unlike many cars, it still provides driving enjoyment because you have some driving choices. Good Luck!

 

My 2005 Prius was the best car of the 20+ cars I have owned. I've owned Toyotas, Fords, Mazda's and Subaru's. I drove my 2005 for 115,000 miles. My 2010 IV with sunroof and Nav is a significantly better car than the 2005 was.

 

Part of my decision to buy a Prius was based on the reliability of the design. I had this idea, initially, that hybrid=more complexity=more potential for problems. This is not the case. Leaving aside the superior gas mileage (at least superior to the rest of what is currently available) this has proven to be a very reliable design with the number of moving parts kept to a minimum and an excellent repair record. Also, I live at the top of a small mountain so having regenerative braking saves my friction brakes, which had needed servicing every 30-40k miles with other cars.
One thing you should consider is perception if this is important to you. I don't much care about this but others do. The Prius makes an almost political statemet in a very polarized world. People will sometimes tailgate you and cut you off. The same sort of reaction occurs with other cars to - if you accidentally cut someone off in an old Chevy they're not nearly as furious as if you do it in a BMW. Just something to be aware of. My decision was based purely on my needs, the reliability of the design, and the total estimated cost of ownership over 150,000 miles which is how long I typically drive a car

 

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best advice....



go test drive a lot of cars before you decide

 

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I agree. I have calculated over 58 MPG and 63 MPG on 75 mile and 120 mile rental drives so far. The fuel economy is off the hook far as I can tell!

My 2009 almost always beats the EPA, except in very cold weather and/or lots of short trips.