Not there yet

As I mentioned to someone else, I'd recommend that you go for a 2nd gen instead (04 to 09 model year). See http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-...2003-prius-seeking-some-tips.html#post1292679.

 

Use this link to Toyota Parts/Service for a maintenance guide for 2001 Prius: Toyota Parts and Service

You can select various mileage/months intervals to get a sense of maintenace requirements. If you're able to find a 2001 Prius, I'd suggest taking the car to a Toyota dealer for an inspection prior to buying.

Good luck searching for your car.

 

With an 01 at that age and mileage, you could probably get a newer Yaris with similar fuel economy.

 

Keep in mind that the 45 mpg highway I believe was the old EPA method fuel economy. After adjustment (presumably by formula) to the model 08+ method, it's 41 highway per Side-by-Side Comparison. Unfortunately, fueleconomy.gov is having big problems (hitting error pages looking up many cars) and I've sent them an email.

That said, this is what CR got in their tests of an 02 Prius: Toyota Prius: Consumer Reports.

ConsumerReports.org - Most fuel-efficient cars is the oldest capture I have (shows 2nd gen Prius results and a Yaris). If you're looking for a Yaris, I can lookup CR results for you if you give me a model year.

Since you mention 45+ mpg, you might find http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...uth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.html about the EPA estimates insightful. The last page of http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf discusses CR's tests and the pre-08 model year EPA tests.

 

I should've mentioned that Patrick Wong is one of our resident repair experts. Although you might be able to get a 1st gen Prius for cheaper, if you're unlucky to have a stuff fail that happens to be expensive, you'll have blown some (or much to all) of your savings.

 

FWIW, there are maintenance histories Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles but they didn't keep the cars for that long time, but did take at least 2 of them to 160K miles.

Here are some examples of potentially expensive repairs. I'm not saying these will happen or that they're common, but if you have them... If you buy a Prius of that vintage, the 8 year/100K mile HV battery warranty will be over or nearly over and the rest is out of warranty anyway.

Luscious Garage | Blog | Rebuilt HV Battery Packs - Toyota Prius Hybrid et al.
Luscious Garage | Blog | Toyota Prius code P3030 “High Voltage Line Snapped†- cheaper than replacing the whole pack
Luscious Garage | Blog | Gen 1 Prius Steering Rack Failure, Code C1513 Torque Sensor Malfunction
Luscious Garage | Blog | Gen 1 Prius Transmission Repair, P3009, P3120, P3125

(On 04-09 Priuses in CARB emission states, the HV battery is warranted for 10 years/150K miles (8 years/100K miles on non-CARB states). But, NH is not one of those so it won't help you. However, if you believe being able to offer such a long warranty on 2nd gens represents better engineering on the 2nd gen or Toyota's increased confidence...)

If you need a new HV battery pack cheaper than what Toyota charges for a new one, usually the cheapest route is a salvage pack and the next price up would be a reman from places like FAQ.

 

The other factor to consider is that a Prius getting 52mpg will save you $3,300 per year over your 24mpg car assuming gasoline is $4 per gallon. That is $275 a month. Still convinced you cannot afford a later model Prius?

 

While you are looking for a better solution, at least learn how to improve the MPG of what you already have. Go over to CleanMPG.com, read the stickies about beating the EPA ratings, and select a few of the milder hypermiling methods that would be comfortable for you.

Most of what you learn in this exercise will still work when you eventually get a Prius. Fueleconomy.gov is unstable right now, but I'm guessing that you should be able to push a 4 cylinder Camry above 30 mpg, which at today's prices should save you more than $5 per day.

 

One more comment, now that I can extract some figures from fueleconomy.gov: a 2001 Prius is not likely to double your MPG. A 4cyl Camry appears to be rated 28-29 mpg highway, where a 2001 Prius is rated 41, much less than double. (These are on the 2008 EPA scale, no their original figures.) If you are driving mostly highway, and not getting the EPA highway rating on the Camry, you probably won't do it on the Prius either. So start learning how to boost what you already have, even while shopping for a replacement.

If your driving is mostly city or combined -- unlikely at your daily distance -- then you have a better chance of doubling MPG by trading.

 

The OP's car is 14 years old so you could believe it might be getting less than EPA estimates. A Gen III Prius could easily double the mpg if the OP is currently getting 24 mpg.

Much work on the OPs part will be needed in driving the Camry using hypermiling techniques to get back that extra 5-6mpg. My Prius will pull 50+ on the highway just using the cruise control.

 

If OP cannot afford a Gen2, he certainly isn't in the market for a Gen3.

None of my household's Japanese-brand cars displayed noticeable mpg loss at age 14, all were running above their pre-2008 EPA stickers. In fact the Subaru is now in its prime mpg condition at exactly age 14, it just happens to be nearly obsolete. So unless OP's Camry is a 6 cylinder automatic driving in non-highway conditions, I don't believe he can double his fuel economy by moving to any Prius, whether in his budget or not.

 

You could go for the 1st gen Honda Insight, they existed from model years 2000-2006 and were the gas mileage king. An 06 w/manual gets higher EPA combined mileage (after adjustment) than even the 3rd gen Prius. But, they are rare (not many were ever sold) and only 3-cylinder 2 seater cars.

Only problem is, I'd have some concerns about the longevity of their batteries and reliability of their cats and transmissions (at least if it's a CVT). Look at the Honda hybrids at Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles and you'll see what I mean.

If you want to search by EPA ratings, go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/advancedSearch.htm. I really don't think you have many choices if on such a tight budget. You've got the Prius, Honda hybrids and some VW TDIs but I sure wouldn't buy a VW unless I wanted a money pit for repairs.

 

The Echo's engine is supposedly related to the Prius. It should be relatively inexpensive to get one of those, and some people get over 40 MPG in it (a lot of highway driving, presumably).