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Proper Introduction - 2017 Prius Three

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Valiant V, Apr 30, 2021.

  1. Valiant V

    Valiant V Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2021
    239
    161
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    Location:
    Winnsboro, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Hi all,

    I don't know if people will find this interesting or good insomnia material, but in the spirit of introducing myself and how I came to be here - here goes.

    We bought our first Prius on April 26th. A used 2017 "Three" with about 66,000 on it. Black on black, one-owner, great CarFax record (good maint at dealers, one minor accident). I'd call it "very clean".

    Never owned a Toyota previously - was driving a 2000 Ranger with 344,000 miles on it. Except for a Datsun 240Z - never owned a foreign car before. Nothing against them, but being a former Buick mechanic, I was always in the "Buy American" mindset. (Owning a couple of Fords broke me of that.) That Honda, Toyota, and Nissan regularly get better reliability and quality ratings may also have been a factor.

    Anyway - about me - "Plymouth Troubleshooter" in 1977, former mechanic (Buick Dealership) then went white collar and just worked on my own vehicles since then. Though I don't do heavy engine or transmission work, I pretty much do everything myself - including replacing the entire front suspension on the above-mentioned Ford Ranger. Doing brakes "to the backing plates" and even replacing lines is no big deal. Since I "Retired" from the corporate life about 12 years ago, I've become an organic farmer (no, there's no money in it) including raising heritage pork and old-breed chickens and turkeys. So I guess there is a little "tree hugger" in me.

    I never really thought twice about buying a Prius. All my vehicles have been "ICE" for 40+ years. What sent me down this path was seeing a new 2020 Ford Fusion Hybrid at a local dealer. It looked affordable and I was intrigued by the Hybrid aspect. I was REALLY trying to buy local - buy the local dealer's actual price was about $6,000 HIGHER than the price their web site showed. (They say it was a mistake - but I see two weeks later they haven't corrected it - so I thing "Misleading" or even "deceptive" might be a legitimate assumption.) They couldn't get anywhere near the price I needed, so I had to travel 30 miles to a bigger town with more dealers.

    I found the Prius online for what looked like a good price - though any decent used car is dang expensive these days. The prospect of getting mileage that blows pretty much every conventional vehicle out of the water is great as well.

    So - after a couple of hundred miles at better than 50MpG - mixed rural "highway" & city - we're very happy with the vehicle. I do worry about not having a warranty and having a car payment for the first time in - like ever - so I'm hoping that by learning as much as possible about our "new" car - I can keep the thing on the road for a good long time.

    I have searched the forums here and found a lot of good info. I wish the TIS costs weren't so high ($20 for two day's access?!) and/or I could find really good manuals someplace for less than a car payment - but we'll see.

    If anybody can point me to a good technical description of the car's systems - I'd love to see it. I like to know what's going on under the hood - and under the trunk in this case.
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,767
    4,369
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Just keep reading and learning on here every day and also make a long list of all the minor things to fix in your car and kepe an eye on local wrecking yard so you can get replacement parts. I often preach that if you fix all the little things then when something big needs to be fixed you won't give up on the car because too many things are wrong with it. It will just be one thing that's wrong with it.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats and welcome!
    you do have an 8 year/100k warranty on the hybrid battery.

    as these cars get older, sometimes the service manual shows up in certain libraries. the good thing is that you are unlikely to need it for a long time.

    all the best!(y)