Should We Get Ourselfes A Gen 2 Prius For 4-5K?

[msadza]

Hi,

I am looking to replace my old Avensis I had for last four years, 2001 1.8 petrol,

served me well so far done overall 118k. I did 40k and still get around 40-44mpg as I try

to drive green to use less petrol.

I would be keen to get a Prius because I think is cheap to run and green?

But I have concerns about costs if something will go wrong?

Reading this forum I found few posts saying fixing problems with Prius might costs over 2k GBP!?

Today post about LCD display and few other posts about the accident damage repair costs are

bit worrying? Is it really that bad?

Our budget is max 6k GBP including what we would get for Avensis.

But wouldn't like to spend more then usual service on the

car for next few years.

I am usually doing only 20 miles a day for commute to work + few miles shopping a week

and longer weekend trips to Wales, Europe (few hundred miles or more once a quoter or 2xper year)

in total around 12-14k miles a year.

We are looking for a small family oriented cars (Focus ,Mondeo or Honda Civic, Accord,Mazda 6)

could be also consider but my preference would be a Prius, we had a drive in 2007 T4 Prius that

was on sale for 6000GBP and done about 60k but I was concern about the lcd displaying average of

only 18mpg? And no warranty and last service done not by Toyota and general state of the car,

so we still looking at other cars.

Do you have any advice what to check in used 2004-2008 T4 or T spirit

Prius cars as i think only those had cruise control we like?

Apart from obvious things like service history

with Toyota dealers, MOT certificates etc.

check air con, tyres what else you had problems

with? Is a used Prius gen 2 the right car for us?

A small young family planning to have children

in 1-2 years?

Many thanks for advice.

Best.

M

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Hmmm quite a long post of yours and I'm quite lazy.

Personally at your budget and lack of knowledge on the Prius I'd be very wary of buying from anyone other than Toyota. A Prius doesn't like to be stood for a long time (months) without being driven. You can jump start them but it must be done correctly or you'll fry the computers. However, the Prius is actually a very reliable car and I think it came number 6 for reliability in the UK tests. There are some things to look out for on an older Prius and they're not things I'm sure the AA or RAC would pick up. I'm not disrespecting them, but because I think Toyota would be the people to check it. Also, if you buy from them you'll get some form of warranty.

I'd go for newer with as low mileage as you can get for your budget. The HV batteries shouldn't give any problems unless the car has been in a heavy rear end accident, but Toyota would check this if they were selling the car. There are reports of Prius taxis in the US and Canada being run upto 300k miles on the original Battery. Apparantly you are more likely to have 12v Battery problems after about 4-5 years. The 12v isn't as big as a normal cars Battery as it doesn't power a starter motor - its just there to boot up the computers. If there is a problem with the 12v it can cause spurious and weird faults, though replacement usually cures them. The best way is to check the voltage of the 12v when it's not connected. The average on the car you were looking at at 18 mpg is very low, but if its just been started up once in a while and not moved, this might account for it. It could also be a sign of a failing 12v battery (about £100 from Toyota).

You might be best lurking on here for a little while and also www.priuschat.com and you'll pick up a fair bit of knowledge about the Prius. I will say that the fuel economy you'll get will be much better than you get now. If you're getting 40 mpg out of a petrol Avensis, then you should be getting late 50's to mid 60's mpg with ease! Probably sounds amazing to you now, but should be achievable. I get about 48-52 mpg around town in my job! On a run I get late 50's and early 60's mpg and I have a lead foot. The best I got for a journey was Harrogate to York and back where I got 72 mpg.

Check out the local Toyota dealer, go for a test drive and lurk on here for a while. The car is a smooth, comfortable ride and super economical. And if you have any questions, ask away.

[Chris Dance]

I do not think you can go wrong getting a Prius. I have a Gen 2 57 plate T Spirit and so does my son. At the present time I am getting 59 MPG on Tesco fuel on motorway runs. Road tax £15 per year and London congestion charge £10 a year. My last car was an Avensis but I prefer the Prius. In fact it is the best car I have ever owned.

I would recommend buying second hand Prius from a Toyota dealer, at least you should get a decent warranty. Servicing costs are less than the Avensis. It is ideal as a family car. I do not know what scaremongering articles you have been reading but the main batteries on my car they are warranted 8 years. I think the first generation Prius had LCD problems but I have not heard of any on the Generation 2 models. Surely any major accident damage is covered by insurance. Any make of car is expensive to repair after an accident these days. The T spirit has cruise control and lots of other good things even self parking which I have not used as it takes time to set up. If you buy a Prius ensure it has full service history and has only been serviced by a Toyota dealer. Never take a Prius to anywhere but a Toyota dealer for service or repair. Let us know how you get on with your purchase.

PS. My son uses his car here and in France for business etc. He found the Prius useless in Winter in the French Alps but after fitting snow tyres the problem was solved. He covers lots of miles and has had no problems at all.

Regards Chris.

[cootuk]

There were problems with dry solder joints on the 2004/2005 mfd - there was also a facelift for 56 models and a software update for better power transmission in snow.

We bought a 56 T3 for those reasons.

For Toyota approved you'll be looking about 8000GBP.

Somewhere ex fleet like Autoquake do an 07 TSpirit for 7500.

eBay dealer will get you an 07 TSpirit for around 6000, and maybe 70k miles. It's a case of finding one with history.

City driving now gives us just over 50mpg in our GenII, though winter short runs were low 40s. We're probably worst case as we have a short school run.

Re the 18mpg, probably just been started up in car lot to move short distances. You could zero the mfd economy before you go on a test drive.

You could also have a word with your local dealer to see what they do with their px Prius.

[Jan&tone]

My gen 2 replaced a t-spirit avensis 2 years ago and def the best toyota i've owned out of the 10 that I've had over the years.

I have Toyota service plan for mine 14 quid a month and renewed road tax last month 10 pounds - down from 15 last year and the insurance was cheaper too!!

Good luck with your search

[msadza]

Hi ,

Many thanks for all advice. We will keep looking or wait another

half year till they will be a bit cheaper and we get a bit more money.

Best.

M

[cootuk]

I would keep an eye on carsite.co.uk and autoquake.com as they get ex fleet cars.

These generally would be 06-07 models for your budget, 60k+ miles.

If you're financing it then maybe have a word with your local dealer as they can give very generous trade ins and beat bank loan quotes.