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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Calling all Prius owners past & present
So it looks like I'll be purchasing a new car before the month is over.
I have my heart set on the prius because I'm a crunchy treehugger
My DH has concerns that the prius won't live up to my long term expectations.
I like to drive my car FOREVER. I'm currently driving a car that we bought new in 2000 for $16,000. Its got a 156,000 & still going strong. We are actually planning on keeping it for DH to drive instead of his gas-guzzling pig of a work truck.
One of the huge perks of the prius for me is the clean-pass/go in the HOV by yourself feature. I drive just under 100 miles a day & saving 10 minutes each way is super-valuable to me.
I also can't stand big oil companies, our lying government & our country's addiction to oil products.
So I want to hear from those of you that have/had one-
How many miles does it have on it?
Have you had any major repair/service issues?
Does it meet your expection for fuel economy?
If there are any negatives that you did expect, what are they?
I've heard it doesn't do well in snow because its so low, is there any truth to this?
What features do you love & what is not needed/used?
Thanks for you help!
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Posted 1/7/08 7:47 AM  |
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neenie
Member since 5/05 22351 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
i didnt know about being able to drive in the HOV lane alone- that's AWESOME!
(i dont have a Prius, but have been thinking about it for my next car). 
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| Posted 1/7/08 8:54 AM |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by neenie
i didnt know about being able to drive in the HOV lane alone- that's AWESOME!
(i dont have a Prius, but have been thinking about it for my next car).
As of right now only the prius & honda civic HYBRID are allowed!
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| Posted 1/7/08 8:55 AM |
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Lisa
I'm a PANK!!!
Member since 5/05 22334 total posts
Name:
Professional Aunts No Kids
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
I want one of those cars so bad!!
We have really been looking into one of those types of cars.
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| Posted 1/7/08 8:56 AM |
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bird382
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Member since 7/07 1712 total posts
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Have you test-driven the Prius? Although I think it's a beautiful car, it has some weird angles that take getting used to. DH can't fit in the driver's seat because his legs are too long.
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| Posted 1/7/08 8:59 AM |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by bird382
Have you test-driven the Prius? Although I think it's a beautiful car, it has some weird angles that take getting used to. DH can't fit in the driver's seat because his legs are too long.
Yes, I did. I drive a very small economy car now so the drivers seat felt good to me. Getting used to it being silent when the gas motor isn't on is strange!
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:07 AM |
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bird382
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Member since 7/07 1712 total posts
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by KellyFG] Getting used to it being silent when the gas motor isn't on is strange!
Yeah, that's so weird!
As long as there are no fit problems, I think it would be a great choice. We have the Camry Hybrid only b/c DH can fit in it vs. the Prius. But the Prius is always ranked highest quality hybrid by Consumer Reports. And I think it gets the best mileage of all except the Civic hybrid.
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:12 AM |
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Blazesyth
*yawn*
Member since 5/05 8129 total posts
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by KellyFG
Posted by neenie
i didnt know about being able to drive in the HOV lane alone- that's AWESOME!
(i dont have a Prius, but have been thinking about it for my next car).
As of right now only the prius & honda civic HYBRID are allowed!
I thought I remember reading that this right was going away - and also the tax break if you buy a hybrid car. I think it was a limited program, only X amount of stickers were to be given out, and from what I remember it was close to the limit. I wish I could remember where I read that. 
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:22 AM |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by Blazesyth
Posted by KellyFG
Posted by neenie
i didnt know about being able to drive in the HOV lane alone- that's AWESOME!
(i dont have a Prius, but have been thinking about it for my next car).
As of right now only the prius & honda civic HYBRID are allowed!
I thought I remember reading that this right was going away - and also the tax break if you buy a hybrid car. I think it was a limited program, only X amount of stickers were to be given out, and from what I remember it was close to the limit. I wish I could remember where I read that.
The tax break is going away or being adjusted, the toyota dealer was very wishy-washy on the details of that but its not a huge selling piont for me.
The clean pass is though, here's the latest from the DOT site
clean pass info
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:27 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Have they found a way of disposing of the highly toxic batteries yet? I know when hybrids first came out, there was no way of recycling the old batteries, so some of the "green" cars wound up being much worse for the environment in the long run. I heard that some companies were looking into recycling the batteries, but I haven't heard anything lately. The batteries are supposed to last up to 10 years, so a lot of the first hybrids are due for new batteries ($$$$  ).
That will also affect resale value. People aren't going to want to buy a hybrid car if they know they need to dump a lot of money into new batteries in a year or so.
I really hope someone is addressing these problems, or if they have, I wish they would make it more public. These are factors that are keeping me from seriously looking at hybrid cars. Once they have the battery issue addressed, a hybrid engine will be high on my list of features to have in my next car.
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:44 AM |
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bird382
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Member since 7/07 1712 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by GoldenRod
Have they found a way of disposing of the highly toxic batteries yet? I know when hybrids first came out, there was no way of recycling the old batteries, so some of the "green" cars wound up being much worse for the environment in the long run. I heard that some companies were looking into recycling the batteries, but I haven't heard anything lately. The batteries are supposed to last up to 10 years, so a lot of the first hybrids are due for new batteries ($$$$ ).
Toyota recycles batteries.
In any case, the battery should last for the lifetime of the car. In the last test results I saw, the batteries lasted through 150,000 miles.
Of course, recycling batteries uses energy and thus creates pollution. And making the batteries necessitates mining nickel, which is not a particularly Earth-friendly process...
Thank goodness for public transportation! 
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| Posted 1/7/08 10:00 AM |
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nicrae
He's here!
Member since 12/06 9289 total posts
Name:
Mommy
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
We don't have a Prius but my DH has the civic hybrid. All I can say is that it is a life saver!!! He commutes from Centereach to Valley Stream everyday and the amount of money we save on gas is amazing. Also the fact that he can use the HOV lane and gets 45mpg helps too. He is a big guy and it is a little car but he can deal with it for the amount of $$ we save. The only problem with the car is the tires and this is for all hybrids. They are very bad in the snow and rain because they are low friction tires.
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| Posted 1/7/08 10:25 AM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
The way technology is going in cars, the Prius may not be the most environmentally friendly in a few years. See if the new models have the option where you can turn on the electric engine when you want it.
If you are looking for a car thats going to last 5 years or so thats probably a good car to get, but if you are thinking 10+ years, I'd get one of the cars that have the duel-fuel engines. There aren't any stations right now for ethanol, but I am sure there will be more and more popping up in the years to come.
I also saw that southern CA is going to start testing fuel-cell cars next year, so that may become an option in the next decade or so.
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| Posted 1/7/08 10:47 AM |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
Posted by SweetTooth
The way technology is going in cars, the Prius may not be the most environmentally friendly in a few years. See if the new models have the option where you can turn on the electric engine when you want it.
If you are looking for a car thats going to last 5 years or so thats probably a good car to get, but if you are thinking 10+ years, I'd get one of the cars that have the duel-fuel engines. There aren't any stations right now for ethanol, but I am sure there will be more and more popping up in the years to come.
I also saw that southern CA is going to start testing fuel-cell cars next year, so that may become an option in the next decade or so.
the first bio-fuel & ethanol gas station on LI is opening in Copaige this summer.
I spoke to the guy that is setting it up, its going to be totally off grid & have charge stations for electric/hybrid cars that plug in. I don't need to keep my car for 10 years, i just get a kick out of it. DH is really busting my hump to get myself into a new car before I start school in a few weeks or I'd wait to see what 09 brings.
thanks for all the replies! I'm going to test drive the honda
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:35 PM |
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fabrichick
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 2479 total posts
Name:
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Re: Calling all Prius owners past & present
We had a Prius as a rental car for our get away weekend - rented from Avis.
We went away w/ my SIL and her boyfriend. We were amazed at how little gas we used - not even 1/4 tank for 3 days away w/ some highway driving thrown in. It was great and we were all saying that this is car for us!
I didn't drive, but the guys did say there were some weird angles while going in reverse, but we found it roomy and comfy.
It's a great car - a hybrid could be our next. We only drive on the weekends, so we would never have to get gas!
Message edited 1/7/2008 9:41:44 PM.
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| Posted 1/7/08 9:40 PM |
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