Thinking of buying a prius

[AussieMike]

Hi all, Im new to this forum and am thinking of purchasing a 2007 - 2008 prius for my wife.

I have a few questions which im hoping some of you can answer.

1. Is the prius any good?

2. Is it any good as a family car as my wife will be using this car along with our 6month old baby girl.

3. Is servicing expensive?

4. One of the cars i've been looking at on carsales.com.au stats that it has manufacturers warranty until 2013. Would this cover the battery?

5. How much would it cost to replace the battery?

6. What kind of regular maintinence if any does the battery/car need? topping up oil? water? coolent? etc.

7. Can you put custom rims on the car? ;-)

8. How does it handle highway/freeway driving?

9. Should i avoid 2007 -2008 model prius for any particular reason?

10. Finally what should i be looking out for when purchasing a second hand prius

Thanks in advance.

[dutchie101]

Prius is a good car, can reasonably quick and spacious too. I believe that toyota has even extended the battery warranty, if i remember correctly. It would be a good idea to drop into your local toyota dealer and chat to the sales manager and ask him your questions, then pop over to service and rack their brains a bit. My partner hired one a few months back and loved it!

[dolce_vita]

1. YES! It's a great car! I think to like the prius you need to have an open mind, it's NOT a sporty car, although It's a comfortable, easy to drive car for commuting, and it serves it's purpose superbly. It's got great rear legroom, huge amounts of storage all through the cabin and it's reaaaaly smooth

2. Again, yes, it's got two glove boxes, a huuuuuge centre console storage area, and various more storage compartments around th cabin. It has great rear legroom and a decent boot.

3. I usually pay $140

4. Yep, it's got an 8 year warranty

5. About $4000, but that should come down as they become cheaper to produce, although toyotas only replaced 2 batteries on Australian Prius' (both were taxies with around 400,000kms, and were precautionry measures, the battery didn't totally fail)

6. I haven't dine anything other than was the car and service it

7. Yes, but I don't think over 17", and make sure they aren't to heavy as it may ruin the Hybrid Transaxle, although any wheels other than the standard ones will make it use more fuel

8. Fine,like any other car it's size

9. I have a 11/08 model, of the Gen2 generation, the 2007-2009 models are probably the best

10. There's really not much, other than the usual stuff associated with buying a car

nb: don't be thrown off by dealer cars having unusually high fuel economy, dealer cars are frequently moved around the lot of taken on a test drive. When a prius starts from cold, it turns on the petrol motor to intensively warm itself up, doing this frequently causes high a economy figure, but under regular use it will produce 4.4-4.8l/100km with ease.

[jacques66]

It is a verry nice car confortable and relyable althow be carefull with the mileage if you go for a second hand one has one of the most expensive part is the battery and there is an article about 2007 Toyota Prius and batteries life on this link. http://help2save.webs.com/

[Braddles]

1. Is the Prius any good?

• Very good. While the price reflects the cost of the hybrid gubbins, there's plenty of other technology that you won't find on any car that side of $50,000. (The argument that you won't save enough money from petrol savings to make up the difference is silly. You won't save money driving a Lexus, so just buy a Chery instead.)
  
• It is a "fun" car. not as in "sideways", "loud" or "sporty" but as in "video game".
  
• It has good interior space and will take a surprising amount of luggage.
  

2. Is it any good as a family car as my wife will be using this car along with our 6-month old baby girl.

• I've had 2 children on boosters and an adult in the back with adequate space
  
• As long as the Hybrid battery vent on the left rear is not blocked by a bum or a blanket, there's enough room.
  

3. Is servicing expensive?

• I have a Toyota extended warranty that includes some deal on service costs.
  
• Major service at 80,000km was $650
  
• 90,000km service was $185
  
• ​Much cheaper than my previous 2 European cars
  

4. One of the cars i've been looking at on carsales.com.au stats that it has manufacturers warranty until 2013. Would this cover the battery

• Yes. Toyota extended battery warranty on all cars (not just new) to 8 years/150,000km.
  

5. How much would it cost to replace the battery?

• The 12 volt battery is about $220. It is a special design and there's not many substitutes from the GS Yuasa original in Australia.
  
• The hybrid battery is about $2700.
  

6. What kind of regular maintenance if any does the battery/car need? topping up oil? water? coolant? etc.

• There's an extra radiator for the inverter coolant.
  
• Otherwise, the same as any other car.
  

7. Can you put custom rims on the car? ;-)

• In the Gen III (May 2009 to present) the PCD is 5 x 100 with 43 inset for the 15" and 50 inset for 17"
  
• However, going wide will reduce fuel economy
  
• The original wheels and wheel covers are aerodynamic. There is a surprising amount of lift and drag if you choose the wrong wheels.
  
• The biggest I've seen is 20" with 225/30/ tyres on Japanese customs. Bonkers. There are 20" with 215 tyres, which is the same width as OEM 17" tyres
  
• I reckon that 16" with 205/55 tyres is a good compromise size for a small car.
  
• A spiffy set of BBS "eco car" wheels could save 4-5kg per corner.
  

8. How does it handle highway/freeway driving

• The Gen II with the 1.5l engine works fairly hard at 110km/h. It's highway fuel consumption can be greater than city
  
• The Gen III with the 1.8l engine is more fuel efficient than the Gen II because it has a much wider "sweet spot" and can rev less to do the same work.
  
• And because of regenerative braking, cruise control will maintain your speed going down a steep hills while charging the battery.
  

9. Should i avoid 2007 -2008 model Prius for any particular reason?

• They are still very good.
  
• The Gen III is better.
  

10. Finally what should i be looking out for when purchasing a second hand prius

• As with any car, full service history. Look for regular intervals by date or distance.
  
• Get verification that all service advisories have been applied. As with any car, there have been recall notices and any Toyota dealer will be able to verify.