Prius Owners: How good is your car?

[Taverner]

I'm at wits end with my $%#@!!! Saturn. The thing has been in the shop way to much and I'm sick of it!

So...I'm HEAVILY considering getting a Prius. Sounds great - 50 MPG. The problem is the dealers know the demand, so if you don't want to be on a 6-8 month waiting list expect to pay over $30K for the souped up, all options version.

However, there are 2003 used ones available. Should I get one? Do you like your car? What are the pros, cons?

[kevinhnc]

1. From what I hear, you will wish you bought the 2005

Place your order now, you might get a 2005 by the end of the year.

I hear the 2003 is nothing like the 2004+. I own a 2004 and love it!

[Taverner]

2. I'm in no position to wait 12 months

or even 6 months....

Besides, if its a decent used car I'm happy. The only thing that would sell a 2005 better in my eyes would be 70+ MPG

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Another happy Saturn owner...

seems like it's either love 'em or hate 'em.

Mine's a 2000 LS1 that hasn't given me a bit of trouble at 46,000 miles. Bought it with 32,000. Gives me 35mpg on the highway, but maybe 20-25 around town. It's a lot of car for that Saab 4 to haul around.

Anyway, the money doesn't figure to get even 50mpg while spending well over 20 grand for a car, unless you plan on spending well over 20 grand for a car anyway. And you can't wait a year to get a 20 grand Prius.

Aside from philosphical concerns over using gas, the best bet is to get a small car with a stick. I got well over 30 mpg overall on my old Corolla wagon-- over 40 highway, and there are lots of similar cars, even new, for well under 15 grand. Used, they're $3-5,000 around here.

The money you save buying a cheap conventional car that gives at least 30mpg is probably more than you'll save in gas buying a Prius. And, don't forget about that battery replacement cost on the Prius, or the need to go to the dealer for many of the repairs. Toyotas are cheap to buy, but not at all cheap to repair. Only Honda and the Europeans cost more for repairs.

[Taverner]

4. Hmmmm didn't figure in the battery cost

But honestly you can't get a relatively new car for under 20 grand - even MY saturn was almost 20 grand new (1999 SL2)

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Depends on what you want..

or need.

The SLs are pretty big cars compared to the Ion, which starts at around 12 grand. But, you're probably not going to get another Saturn after that experience.

Corolla, Civic, Elantra, Focus... All well under 20 grand if you don't get silly with options, and there's a lot more out there from Mazda, Nissan, GM... I think even Subaru has a cheap one. Most are reasonably reliable and all around decent cars. You're just not gonna get BMW handling and Lexus luxury at that price.

Forget the V6. The fours now are a good balance between power and mileage.

Me, I'd blow a few grand on a decent used econobox that might trade in for close to what I paid and get on the Prius waiting list if a Prius was in my future.

[Deja Q]

7. Another reason why we need a cheap fuel source, cost/benefit ratio...

Of course, our society has to outgrow its immaturity with greed and reliance on money and start acting civilized and using resources responsibly. That would be better than selling $30k hybrid cars whose long term savings in gas isn't as beneficial on paper as it is in theory.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Aside from not buying 10mpg trucks...

it would be nice if more of us took the bus.

[RoadRunner]

6. I like my Prius.

I have a 2001, one of the first ones available in the U.S. It gets about 55 mpg in the city and about 45 mpg at highway speeds, 75 mph in NM. Most of my driving is around town, so I average well over 50 mpg. It's a lot of fun to drive and is very quite. I have gone a long as 5 weeks between fillups.

When I bought it the wait was 4 months, now it's much longer. My brother ordered a 2004 in November and is still waiting. I have seen some used ones on eBay, you might try your luck there.