Used Gen 2 vs 3 vs Honda Fit

Welcome to PriusChat!!

How many miles per year will you driving, and are you mechanically inclined with a DIY attitude?

 

What COULD go wrong with a Gen2? Possibly high voltage battery, brake actuator, catalytic converter theft, combination meter (speedometer), high engine oil consumption, multifunction display, anything with the fuel tank (bladder type tank- is a sealed assembly), and the HID's. Plus anything when you are dealing with 12 to 17 year old cars.

The Gen3 has engine head gasket, clogged EGR system, oil consumption, HV battery, brake actuator, and some other things.

IF you can fix things and can afford the time and or expense of potential problems then a Prius might be a good idea. You might get a "good" car that is reliable, but a hybrid has more stuff in it which means there is more that CAN go wrong. Many of these problems were common enough that Toyota had some kind of extended service warranty.

That said I have a 2006 Prius that I got with a bad hv battery- repaired that and made it my daily driver. I prefer it to my 06 Corolla, but I have a spare car if I need it as I wouldn't be shocked if my DIY battery repair goes bad or some other fault crops up. Already had to repair the speedo/CM.

IF you want a car that is more likely to "just works" (your time/money budget is fixed, or you are "risk averse") then I would look at a conventional car like a Fit, Yaris, Corolla, or Civic. In general these cars are less complicated and are less likely to have pricey failures.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The Prius would be slightly better than the Honda Fit. It’s a bigger car, has better reliability, better fuel economy and less maintenance. Actually, the maintenance that Honda vehicles require per factory manual is way more than most other manufacturers including Toyota. For example transmission fluid changes every 30k miles when Prius is lifetime. Some people change the Prius fluid every 60k or 100k but with the same thinking Honda owner change transmission fluid with every other oil change.

 

Plus if you buy a Prius in California the catalytic converter will get stolen in about 20 mins in fact be extremely aware if you buy a used Prius seen a few posters in here getting screwed in that there G2 cat was stolen they put a cheapo after market on and sold the car.
New buyer could not pass emissions they inspect it to see if it’s a real OEM cat.

real OEM cat is around $2200 and since the thieves now know where you live they come back and steal it again. Very common on this site. It’s a nightmare.

go on YouTube and search

Prius stolen

for Ca cat info.

in short you do not want to own a G2 in Ca. Smart of you to go on the car forum of the car your interested very smart.......

 

If you can DIY an oil change and brake pads... You'll be able to handle taking care of your hybrid system because PriusChat has endless info on how to fix everything. A Honda Fit doesn't have that level of online community.

 

Enough said right there. Buy the Honda Fit.