Too, they may be projecting that more people are leaning toward the hybrid market within the next few years because of media research and market trends. They might indicate more people are willing to take that "giant" leap because of all the hybrid cars being introduced, the government tax credits, etc. More people feel safe about the unknown now and that may lead to a large resale market as well. Especially for a lot of first timers who might want the gas savings but not at the extra expense they cost new.

 

Kluken: What was the term of the lease that you got the residual for??

Thanks!

 

I have a dealer vehicle inquiry report with figures for lease and residual.


This is on a base TCH fabric, non-nav with only moonroof, floormats, bumper guard and heated mirrors:

MSRP of $28057 and invoice of $23,708 (not inclusive of Dest/TDA)


24 36 48 60 month durations

STD 18221 16149 13200 9833

LOW 16667 13718 10351



Hope that helps.


**edit...**** newfangled computers !! I SWEAR I had them properly formatted into columns and rows. note: the low residual is non-existent on the 24 month duration, so 16667 should be under the 36 month column and all other 'low' values moved to the right under proper terms.

 

There may be people who want to replace their battery with the intent of continuing to drive the car for a few more years. I think the current rate for a replacement battery is somewhere under $2000 and that is at todays prices. Not a bad investment for few more years of driving.

I myself decided to replace the engine in my 92 Toyota Pickup with a remanufactured one when at 297,000 miles it was discovered that water had been seeping into the engine thru a hole in the timing cover. The truck was in great condition. A small investment for a few more years of driving. That was two and a half years ago and at 372,000 miles I still drive it on my 100 mile commute to work every third day (when my wife won't let me drive the TCH )

 

I don;t recall, with that residual I am assuming porbably a 3 year lease? I really wasn't concerned with the duration just getting an indication of what the banks thought the value woudl be, they are not going to loose money on a lease.

 

Also keep in mind that there is no automatic transmission and I think the one in the TCH is less prone to wear because there are no gears...someone add to this...

Also, the battery is pretty much warranted for the life of the car, where I am 10years or 150,000 miles. Even if I keep that car 5 years/80k, whoever buys it from me will have plenty of warranty left. The hybrid components are covered for 15 years/150k! Yikes. That's over half of my current age life, I won't have this car that long.

 

The hybrid components are covered for 15 years/150k! Yikes. That's over half of my life,

That puts a whole different perspective on warranty terms.

 

I had to clairfy my comment, I dont want to imply I'll only be alive less than 15 more years, I'm just 28.

 

When does your TCH owners manual say to refresh the Atomatic Transmission fluid? We've (a small group of engineering oriented Prius owners) done testing on the Prius that shows it is wise to change the type WS fluid (I believe thats what is in the TCH) every 60,000 (15,000 in the 2001-2003, Type T4 Fluid) miles even though Toyota doesn't suggest it (except in severe use - 30,000 miles). Just a suggestion to avoid a costly repair (probably more than replacing the battery) in the future.

JeffD

 

I could not find a reference to the HSD/CVT oil change interval in the TCH manual. I asked the dealer's hybrid techs about this. They said the TCH HSD fluid is a lifetime fluid and should never need changing I mentioned the Prius requiring a change every 60K miles and some folks running an oil analysis that the fluid should be changed more often than 60K... They said the TCH was a redesign.

I'm not convinced... I did notice the TCH has two coolant reservoirs and what appears to be seperate electric pump for the HSD coolant. The dealer techs said the radiator is a split system, with part cooling the ICE and part cooling the HSD. Is the Prius this way? I'd love to see a more detailed diagram of how this works. I can't tell if the HSD coolant is independent of the ICE temperature.

Traditional automatic tranny cooling is a simple loop that runs inside of a the radiator tank, transfering heat from the ATF into the ICE radiator coolant. The TCH appears to be different as the HSD circulates coolant not ATF in the radiator.