Prius dinosaur?

I am generally an early adopter but I refuse to buy a 1st year of a model change. For some people who are trapped by high fuel usage, choosing to buy now is not a bad idea. I bought my Prius in 2005 (45mpg) when the technology was still fairly new and since then I've saved an est. $16,976 in fuel vs. driving my 2000 GMC truck (14mpg) for the last 115,000 miles*.

GMC (115,000 / 14mpg = 8,214ga * $3/ga = $24,642)

Prius (115,000 / 45mpg = 2,555ga * $3/ga = $7,666)

*The truck already had 89k on the clock so it is very likely the total savings would be even higher as most GM trucks don't go 200k plus without expensive repairs.

 

Correct. In our case:

• 2003 Prius (last model year), used - bought in 2005, it remains my primary commuting car. It was within $800 of the alternative, a Scion xB but by the first year, we came within $50 of break even.
• 2010 Prius (first model year, 4th generation) - bought in 2009, it is my wife's car but we bought it:
  1. Cooled EGR, exhaust heating coolant, 1.8L belt-less engine, muffler by-pass valve, larger internal volume, improved traction battery electronics, ~80% engineering refined design.
  2. Knowing there would be first model year issues - no 'check engine' light on fuel exhaustion, brake pause, mapping transaxle oil service life, e.t.c.

You 'pays your money and takes your chances' and for a first car of a radically different technology, the last model year, say a used 2009 Prius, would be a great way to start. You have the advantage of all 'lessons learned' from the existing owners. In contrast, the first model year means you need to expect early problems and working them out. Worse, many of the things that later buyer's get 'free' were not available to the new model pioneers ... that is how it is.

Bob Wilson