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Opinions on the 2001-03 Toyota Prius?
Topic Started: Jan 16 2011, 02:38 PM (1,684 Views)
Jim-Bob
Junkyard Engineer

As most of you are aware, I won't be able to use a 89-94 Metro as a pizza delivery car due to insurance issues that have been discussed in detail elsewhere on the forum. However, I still want something with excellent fuel economy as we head towards $5 a gallon gas. I am going to ask my agent about a few cars when I go to cancel the policy on the blue Metro this week and one of them is an early Toyota Prius (the others are a 95-00 3/5 Metro, 99-05 Honda Insight and a 2001 Civic Hybrid. I hope the Metro is cheap enough to be viable. I REALLY love these little cars!). I am concerned with buying such a technically complex vehicle that is 10 years old though and am wondering if anyone here knows anything about their reliability. I know they have a modder and enthusiast community out there that I could tap in to but I would rather not spend $4k on a car that will then need a similar amount of money spent repairing it's complex drivetrain. Then again, I could turn it into a plug in hybrid with solar panels on the roof (and likely electrocute myself in the process...). At any rate, what are your thoughts on these older hybrid cars? Will they go the distance and are they worth the risk?
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Spock
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Live Long and Prosper.

As you probably already know, the Insight's battery pack last for about 5years or 100k miles or so. After that, it's about 5000 bucks to replace the battery. I'd say if you could get one with a dead battery for about 1000 bucks, you'd be in good shape. I don't know much about the prius other than it doesn't get anywhere near the mileage that is claimed. My buddy had one and he said that he averaged about 40mpg. He also complained that it rode like a jackhammer.

My opinion is stay away from hybrids. The cost doesn't justify the savings. An old Corolla or Camry can be had for about the same as a metro and both get pretty good mileage. Not great mind you, but pretty good. For the cost, and the reliability, those cars are worth it.

Civics are a nightmare. Every pimple farming tapout model in your area has already beat you to every nice civic and destroyed it with speakers, clear tail light lenses and big ass mufflers, etc. ALSO, the insurance on a Civic is just about as bad as Metro thanks to the same pimple farmers for street racing.
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Turbo Dan-O
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Obsessive Car Detailer

Yea, stay away from anything hybrid. They don't get that good of gas mileage and if anything needs to be fixed I am sure it will be crazy expensive.

Dan-O
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Potter
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Col. Potter

My suggestion.... 96-2000 3cyl 5 speed hatch back Metro... some used car dealers will go to auctions and buy a bunch of used cars cheep then resale... you can either A go to these auctions or B tell the used car dealer that your looking for a Metro, give him you number then have him hunt one down in an auction... but you gotta watch it and really know and trust your used car salesmen or you'll get screwed

i refuse to buy a gas/electric hybrid and i refuse to tell anyone its ok to buy one... personal preference. same reason i wont buy new cars... cuz autos are for sissys :D and the DBW gas pedals suck... the throttle response it too damn slow for me.
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superduty5.9
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Metro Defender

Turbo Dan-O
Jan 16 2011, 04:54 PM
Yea, stay away from anything hybrid. They don't get that good of gas mileage and if anything needs to be fixed I am sure it will be crazy expensive.

Dan-O
X2
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yiffzer
Forgot His Manpurse

Well, you should know better than to ask Geo Metro owners on their opinions on hybrid cars. :D

You should go ask people at an official Prius forum. ;)
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work car
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obsessed!!

i agree!! look for a 95-00 3/5 hatchback, these have dual airbags, side impact door beams, crumple zones, and...the bazooka bar behind the dash!!

this is a solid little car, and i wouldn't trade it for a 89-94 ever. yes it is 200 lbs heavier, but all the driving you will be doing will be 95% in town delivering pizza's, and those car's have 4.39 gears...perfect for in town.

insurance is high on the older ones???

i was getting raped by american family to the tune of $509 every 6 mo!!!

so i swiched to progressive...$108 for 6 mo...full coverage!!!
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Jim-Bob
Junkyard Engineer

I agree about the stick thing which is why I was thinking of the Hondas too ( they have 5 speed manuals as standard and a CVT is optional). The batteries are by far the scariest thing about the Hybrids. Otherwise, they seem like a practical choice as they tend to be owned by eco-drivers and not boy racers. Thus the insurance is lower than for a normal Civic and they tend to be in good overall condition.

The insurance issue was covered elsewhere, ( look at my pricing thread in this forum!) but basically they wanted $2500 a year for delivery insurance vs the $1050 a year I spend to drive my Frontier. I am hoping the later cars are more reasonable as it seems the price difference is all on the personal injury side of the equation. Right now I am in the research phase of this whole thing and won't have a concrete answer for at least a few weeks. I WILL be keeping my white 92 Metro for a while though as I really like it and plan to build it for max mpg. It will go on non-delivery insurance when it is done so I can see just how many MPG I can coax out of it. So don't worry, I'm sticking around for a while! :)
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Geo fan
New Member
[ *  * ]
I own a Prius as well as my Geo. I do get 53 mpg from the Prius but would not recommend it for pizza delivery although I did deliver in a 65 New Yorker for a while.
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Turbo Dan-O
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Obsessive Car Detailer

Potter
Jan 16 2011, 05:10 PM
but you gotta watch it and really know and trust your used car salesmen or you'll get screwed

I did just that when I was looking for my metro. I let everyone know I was looking for one. I got a call one day from a car lot that said they just got on in and "thought about me first". $1500+tax was my special price because they had $1300 in it(yea right). I looked under it and it was rusted so bad I could not beleive it would even drive. I showed that to them and they sad they did not know that it was like that. I left that one alone. They put it out on the lot and it was gone within two weeks. So some poor bastard is driving that death machine around right now and probably has no clue! I have yet to find a used car salesman that would not lie to his own mother to make a dollar....

Dan-O
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mjspiess
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The 2000 Honda Insight was the best of all the Insights rated at 61/70/65. There are people who figured out how to make their own battery packs for ~$500. You can read up on it at www.insightcentral.net. I would assume the Prius community has done the same, but I could be wrong. The '04-'05 Prius was the best of all the Priuses rated at 60/51/55. If you're gonna pay the money for either of these cars, you might as well get the best option. I was highly considering an Insight before the Metro, but didn't want to pay 2-3x more than what I could get a Metro for and after researching the Metro, I knew I would be able to achieve really good mpgs. Last summer my best tank was 62.4 mpg. A bone stock 2000 Honda Insight averages 65 mpg, although it wouldn't have been bone stock after I got my hands on one! If you're gonna stay in the pizza business, I'd get a quote on a '95+ Metro and go from there. Check out these websites too: http://www.autohopper.com/fuel_economy_cars/results_gas_mileage.asp & http://www.mpgomatic.com/2008/07/21/fuel-efficient-cars/ That's where I began my search in saving money. Good luck!
Edited by mjspiess, Jan 17 2011, 09:56 AM.
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

The mini cooper review on the 2nd link was pretty good :thumb Problem there of course is finding one you would trust to not blow up on you while you own it at a price that made sense :lol
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metroschultz
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Please just call me; "Schultz"

Turbo Dan-O
Jan 17 2011, 09:12 AM
I have yet to find a used car salesman that would not lie to his own mother to make a dollar....
Dan-O
I worked at a used car lot once where the salesman sold his mother a car with a blown engine. Then charged her for installing the new engine.
So, Yeah, I second that statement.
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Turbo Dan-O
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Obsessive Car Detailer

Nice
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Jezza
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Boost Junkie

Do not buy a Prius! Its a lame-o chick car, and parts are super hard/expensive to replace
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