Decided To Sell/Can't Bank ON Future Of 1st Gen

:car::car::car::car::car::car::car::car::car::car:

 

Good deal. If you don't mind, what price range?

Risk management is an individual choice and I'm not criticizing your decision. However, I do believe the risks may seem higher here because this is a triage or 'emergency room' for NHW11s with problems.

We had to choose which vehicle to sell when we bought our 2010:

• 2001 Echo - ~3,000 miles/yr (total 30,000 miles)
• 2003 Prius - ~14,000 miles/yr (total over 120,000 miles)

We let the 2001 Echo go because the 2003 Prius is my work, commuting vehicle. The 2010 Prius is the errands and cross-country car. The 2001 Echo was inadequate for either task.

I can handle my own Prius maintenance having studied it for the past five years. I'm aware of what works and how to minimize the risks. So I don't stress the 2003 Prius by driving over 65 mph on flat ground or more than 55 mph climbing high hills unless I'm conducting a study. I keep track of my lubricants and other maintenance. I have no illusion that our 2003 Prius will last forever, neither will the 2001 Echo we sold to buy a 2010 Prius, but I'd rather work on a Prius than a gas-vehicle any day.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

I totally disagree with the decision. The same risks exist with ANY vehicle you might own that is out of warranty. It just so happens that because the Prius has a website like this one for owners to lookup and find that naturally anytime somebody has a problem, they come here to talk about it. So it may look like the number of problems is high. Just like when I used to work for tech support for a computer company, all I heard about all day was various problems with the products so sometimes it seemed like the products were very poor design. But all of the information showed our products were more reliable than other companies. It is just a perception because of the fact that nobody bothers to call tech support to tell you their computer is working fine.

The prius, even the 1st gen, is actually a very reliable car. My best friend is a toyota mechanic and he works on these vehicles all the time, but over the many years he has only replaced about 10 batteries and only ONE time a transaxle and that transaxle was only broken because the customer put it into park by accident while driving down the road. So, based on that information alone would tend to suggest the transaxle issues are far and few between.

The only problems he sees in the shop with these vehicles that is of any consequence is with the battery, steering column, and the ABS Brake actuators. And when I say consequence I just mean they are expensive repairs, but again still very uncommon from the aspect of the average Prius driver.

 

Seriously, I don't think you can "bank" on the future of any automobile. Especially if we are talking about an 8 model year old vehicle. Automobiles are machines and subject to deteriation.

Ultimately the OP didn't feel comfortable with ownership. Quiet simply that's what leads most people to make changes.

However, I do agree that it might of been a mistake to sell the car based on "what might happen".

One thing I like about the idea of a used Prius is that they are a vehicle designed to be driven "easily" and lightly. There are exceptions with owners, but in general people don't buy a Prius for hard fast driving. Prius rewards slow easy acceleration and maintaining even speeds. Most owners priority when driving is fuel efficiency, thus I think a used Prius "might" be in better shape than a full ICE alternative.

Unless I had a lot of knowledge about the previous owner I'd be very nervous buying a used Honda Civic as IMO too many young kids like to drive them into the ground. Since a Prius isn't designed to win a drag race, I could buy a used one, reasonably sure it wasn't used in that manner.

Machines are machines though and ultimately you do the best you can with purchase, maintenance but you never know. A beautifully built and designed machine can be layed low for failure of a 5 cent clamp. It's the nature of machines.

 

That is a good point I've never considered. But now that I think about it. you are right, it is rare to see an older Mitsubishi Eclipse or Honda Civic that is in good shape and doesn't have mods all over it. And those cars have a high failure rate, but it could be because they are abused so much.

I also wonder if the entry-level price of the Prius may play a role too? Kids aren't likely to buy a Prius because of the high cost, where a Honda Civic is much cheaper.

 

I agree with your conclusion.

The Classic Prius, post-warranty, is not the right choice for an owner who must rely on Toyota dealer service due to the very high cost of parts and labor. In most parts of the country there is no reasonable alternative to dealer service.

The failure rate of the car is low, but that's no consolation if you happen to be unlucky. There's no advance warning for an inverter, traction battery, or transaxle failure. One day the car is great, the next the instrument panel is a Christmas tree and the car cannot be driven.

For Classic Prius owners already committed to the car, it makes sense to keep driving it until it suffers a big $ cost failure, then scrap the car. The car doesn't have much market value now so you're not risking much by continuing to drive it.

 

I'm not so anxious about NHW11 reliability as I'm comfortable with the technology. If I had to replace the 2003 Prius, I would have no problem with another. Having over 70,000 miles on top of the 50,000 miles it started with since 2005, I'm comfortable with the car and technology. Also, I have the confidence, tools and skills to keep it running.

Bob Wilson

 

These are entirely personal decisions, in some cases (like Joe's) driven my knowledge and in many others, mainly emotional. I would have no business second guessing this decision.

On the transaxle, all one can do is do fluid changes and perhaps learn something specific from getting it analyzed.

The engine noise under heavy load bothered me also. Much less so after adding sound deadening material under the hood and inside front doors. The audio system sounded better after some minor upgrades. Handling was adequate with 175 width tires, but pleasantly improved with 185 width. Each of these had a minor cost in fuel efficiency, but improved my overall experience.

At about 120k miles (maybe 130?) I moved to a place where car ownership made no sense for me. A friend now is driving that particular 2001 Prius and AFAIK never loses sleep about risks on long trips. Guess he believes all the nice things I said about the car

 

No problem, folks have different levels of risk management. So you've taken yourself out of the game without losing anything. It is time to find a forum devoted to your new ride.

Bob Wilson

 

Just got back from a 2500 mile trip with my "new 2003" Never doubted it for a minute. I got it cheap because the transmission had run dry due to an accident not a manufacturing flaw and I replaced it myself for $1000.

Repairs like a tranny failure are very rare compared to most other cars and I wouldn't put it past dealerships to repair things and replace parts that are not broken. In fact you see it all the time here.

I saw a ton of these cars in and around California on my trip. Go check out any forum on cars and you will be scared to own any of them. I have seen the reliability figures on these cars and they are still much much better than average, in fact they are among the most reliable cars on the road.

Too bad for you. Good for the new owner.

As Bob said this is triage.

 

Any prospects?

Bob Wilson

 

ill put my faith in any gen 1 over the gen 2 anytime. To me the gen 1 feels more different than the gen 2 in terms of driving dynamics, and the gen 1 has never given me problems other than the ones i caused ( battery, inverter pump )

in my experience the "transmission" has never given me issues, this is coming from two NHW11's. I ran one without transmission fluid by accident and no problems.

Honestly these cars are reliable, but there are many things that can go wrong, just like any other car.

 

I was thinking about it while driving around and you may want to head over to: Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community

• many there share your concerns about Prius maintenance
• think the TDI vehicles drive better than a Prius
• you have the sale money from the 2002 to buy a TDI

You had the NHW11 Prius from what, August 09 to January 10, 4-5 months and it turned out to not be your style of ride ... time to find a replacement. I suspect the TDI group will enjoy hearing from you.

Bob Wilson

 

Whew! Good deal.

I've often recommended folks who buy a used car have a backup vehicle. Sounds like you're set.

Bob Wilson