I have never done a front brake job. I did a rear brake job back at 130,000. No valve adjustments and car runs like new. Also easily hits epa ratings or better.

 

Hi Jessie,

Is your car in the database?

Bob Wilson

 

I realize the attraction of driving a hybrid to make a statement, but what about a new Honda Civic or a Fit or the like? You're still going to get excellent mileage while having a brand new car. Also, the Civic and Fit are both more powerful and is (arguably) more fun to drive than the Prius.

 

Then by all means, get and drive one. There are 14 different hybrid models in the current database and some of them have 2W/4W drive variants. There are lots of choices so go get the car that matches your style. In the used hybrid world, a 2001 Prius is a fine choice as is either of the Honda hybrids. Regardless, you'll enjoy any of them.

Bob Wilson

 

Sorry, I meant why not buy a regular ICE Civic or Fit. The hybrid Fit isn't even out yet. My point is that for less money, you can buy a brand new Honda/Scion/Toyota/whatever that will get great mileage while offering better performance than the '01 Prius. Hell, you could get a Mini if you wanted. I personally don't think it's worth it to buy a Prius 1 with 50k miles for $17k, environmental statement or not.

 

You can't come close to even Prius I fuel efficiency with any of the gasoline ICE-only vehicles on the market today. Great mileage, perhaps compared to all the other chunks of metal driving around these days, but they are all significantly lower than what a good hybrid offers. As gas prices rise fuel economy is going to be more important, so anyone planning for the mid-term future aught to have that as a priority, I know we do, and my Colt has got to go.

 

Because you haven't priced the alternatives with the same standards of the Prius I. After adding in the automatic, electric doors and the rest of the options, you'll be surprised at how close the cars actually are.

It turns out there was an $824 difference between the price of my used, 2003 Prius and a simularly equipped Scion xB:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/payback.html

Do a head-to-head comparision, not just a Prius to 'stripped' comparison. For example, the Prius are all automatic, not a single manual transmission in the lot. They all come with AC. They all have rear spoilers. They all have anti-theft built in and electric everything. Their audio systems are usually loaded and don't forget the navigation unit if the used Prius has one. In short, add just about every option to the alternate and then compare the prices.

Bob Wilson

 

The pricing you are talking about for a used Prius sounds high to me. I bought mine last June - it had 7,200 miles on it and is a 2002 and I only paid $16,200 for it. Have just under 20,000 miles on it now.

 

Great buy! I picked up my 03 at 49,300 miles for $17,300 last October but it was due to losing my primary commuting car in an accident. Good, fast, cheap, I picked "Good" and "Fast".

Still, one of the members 'Doug'?, has been tracking the prices and came up with a formula that predicts used prices Prius prices based upon completed EBay sales.

Bob Wilson

 

Hey I'm Doug, and I ghost-write on behalf of Tochatihu the 2001 Prius. Ya want ebay prices? How about a graph: The inner lines capture about 50% of the population, and the outer ones, um, more. Or, you could look at the current graph with 298 dots on it. *Nobody wants* 298 dots.

DAS