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Huntsville forum asks about Prius

Thanks to our local troll and his soon to disappearing posting, I found this Huntsville web site full of FUD to post asking about buying a used Prius:

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  • * * Like most things: good, fast, cheap ... pick two of three. We have two, a 2003 Prius (NHW11) bought used in 2005 with 49,000 miles (cheap, good) and a 2010 Prius (ZVW30) bought new in 2009 (fast, good.) You haven't mentioned budget but let's go over the models and characteristics:

NHW11 (2001-03) - 1.5L sedan styled like a Ford Focus

With just under 90,000 miles added, we are getting a life-time average of 52 MPG:

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However, as the first Prius in North America, there were a lot of lessons learned. Still there are good buys available IF you are willing to turn a wrench and it so happens, I live in Huntsville and do 'house calls' with scanners, maintenance manuals, and spare parts. Recently, I helped Stephen B. get his 2002 Prius bought for $4,000 at auction back on the road again. He had two problems, inverter and transaxle problems, but for only for $800 and some 'sweat equity,' he is on the road and happens to have a spare, working traction battery.

NHW20 (2004-09) - 1.5L, hatchback

The 2004-05 had a latent weakness in some solder joints but there are fixes available. The 2006-09 have no know weaknesses but I don't follow them closely.

ZVW30 (2010-current) - larger, 1.8L Prius hatchback

Larger than the NHW20 with a more powerful transaxle, this is depending upon how you count them, at least the 3d or 4th generation Prius. It has a substantial number of improvements. I also used an accelerometer to map the brake-pause problem and confirm it is fixed.

Used Prius Market

There is an NHW11 Prius in Birmingham with ~160,000 miles and a problem that sounds like "safe home mode" for sale for $1,500 including a free tow to Huntsville. It is on Craig's list and if you decide to investigate, contact me and I can loan you a scanner to check out the codes. Once we know what is broke, we can fix it. Stephen had tested the car and did not detect the failed transaxle problem.

Another friend is going back to school and selling his Prius. So back in April, I mapped the completed sale prices of different Prius:

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If you'd like more information, I'd recommend: YahooGroup - "Prius_Technical_Stuff" that started in November 2000, 30 days after the first Prius in the USA. Check out the photos and files areas. YahooGroup - "Prius_Owners" a little less technical and more user oriented.
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- my niche in the net.http://www.myhybridcar.com/forums/ - great place for a mileagedatabase and a place I help moderate ... very anti-SPAM
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- for those who have a wider viewof fuel efficiency and 'do the experiment.' One of the places Ihappily donate to support ... donations are optional and access iffree.
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- another source, a place to search and/or askquestions. USENET alt.autos.toyota.prius - unmoderated so some SPAM and trolls.

  • * *

Also, nonsense about battery replacement:

  • * *
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"Hybrid-Related Component Coverage: Hybrid-related components, including the HV battery, battery control module, hybrid control module and inverter with converter, are covered for 8 years/100,000 miles. The HV battery may have longer coverage under emissions warranty. Refer to applicable Owner's Warranty Information booklet for details."

  • * *

Bob Wilson

Reply to
bwilson4web
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Thanks to our local troll, someone in a Huntsville forum was asking about buying a Prius. So I posted this answer: = = = = = = = Like most things: good, fast, cheap ... pick two of three. We have two, a 2003 Prius (NHW11) bought used in 2005 with 49,000 miles and a 2010 Prius (ZVW30) bought new in 2009. You haven't mentioned budget but let's go over the models and characteristics:

NHW11 (2001-03) - 1.5L sedan styled like a Ford Focus

With just under 90,000 miles added, we are getting a life-time average of 52 MPG:

formatting link
However, as the first Prius in North America, there were a lot of lessons learned. Still there are good buys available IF you are willing to turn a wrench and it so happens, I live in Huntsville and do 'house calls' with scanners, maintenance manuals, and spare parts. Recently, I helped Stephen B. get his 2002 Prius bought for $4,000 at auction back on the road again. He had two problems, inverter and transaxle problems, but for only for $800 and some 'sweat equity,' he is on the road and happens to have a spare, working traction battery.

NHW20 (2004-09) - 1.5L, hatchback

The 2004-05 had a latent weakness in some solder joints but there are fixes available. The 2006-09 have no know weaknesses but I don't follow them closely.

ZVW30 (2010-current) - larger, 1.8L Prius hatchback

Larger than the NHW20 with a more powerful transaxle, this is depending upon how you count them, at least the 3d or 4th generation Prius. It has a substantial number of improvements. I also used an accelerometer to map the brake-pause problem and confirm it is fixed.

Used Prius Market

There is an NHW11 Prius in Birmingham with ~160,000 miles and a problem that sounds like "safe home mode" for sale for $1,500 including a free tow to Huntsville. It is on Craig's list and if you decide to investigate, contact me and I can loan you a scanner to check out the codes. Once we know what is broke, we can fix it. Stephen had tested the car and did not detect the failed transaxle problem.

Another friend is going back to school and selling his Prius. So back in April, I mapped the completed sale prices of different Prius:

formatting link
If you'd like more information, I'd recommend: YahooGroup - "Prius_Technical_Stuff" that started in November 2000, 30 days after the first Prius in the USA. Check out the photos and files areas. YahooGroup - "Prius_Owners" a little less technical and more user oriented.
formatting link
- my niche in the net.http://www.myhybridcar.com/forums/ - great place for a mileage database and a place I help moderate ... very anti-SPAM
formatting link
- for those who have a wider view of fuel efficiency and 'do the experiment.' One of the places I happily donate to support ... donations are optional and access if free.http://priuschat.com/ - another source, a place to search and/or ask questions.USENET alt.autos.toyota.prius - unmoderated so some SPAM and trolls. = = = = = = =

Bob Wilson

Reply to
bwilson4web

Thanks to our local troll, someone in a Huntsville forum was asking about buying a Prius. So I posted this answer: = = = = = = Like most things: good, fast, cheap ... pick two of three. We have two, a 2003 Prius (NHW11) bought used in 2005 with 49,000 miles and a

2010 Prius (ZVW30) bought new in 2009. You haven't mentioned budget but let's go over the models and characteristics:

NHW11 (2001-03) - 1.5L sedan styled like a Ford Focus

With just under 90,000 miles added, we are getting a life-time average of 52 MPG:

formatting link
However, as the first Prius in North America, there were a lot of lessons learned. Still there are good buys available IF you are willing to turn a wrench and it so happens, I live in Huntsville and do 'house calls' with scanners, maintenance manuals, and spare parts. Recently, I helped Stephen B. get his 2002 Prius bought for $4,000 at auction back on the road again. He had two problems, inverter and transaxle problems, but for only for $800 and some 'sweat equity,' he is on the road and happens to have a spare, working traction battery.

NHW20 (2004-09) - 1.5L, hatchback

The 2004-05 had a latent weakness in some solder joints but there are fixes available. The 2006-09 have no know weaknesses but I don't follow them closely.

ZVW30 (2010-current) - larger, 1.8L Prius hatchback

Larger than the NHW20 with a more powerful transaxle, this is depending upon how you count them, at least the 3d or 4th generation Prius. It has a substantial number of improvements. I also used an accelerometer to map the brake-pause problem and confirm it is fixed.

Used Prius Market

There is an NHW11 Prius in Birmingham with ~160,000 miles and a problem that sounds like "safe home mode" for sale for $1,500 including a free tow to Huntsville. It is on Craig's list and if you decide to investigate, contact me and I can loan you a scanner to check out the codes. Once we know what is broke, we can fix it. Stephen had tested the car and did not detect the failed transaxle problem.

Another friend is going back to school and selling his Prius. So back in April, I mapped the completed sale prices of different Prius:

formatting link
If you'd like more information, I'd recommend: YahooGroup - "Prius_Technical_Stuff" that started in November 2000, 30 days after the first Prius in the USA. Check out the photos and files areas. YahooGroup - "Prius_Owners" a little less technical and more user oriented.
formatting link
- my niche in the net.http://www.myhybridcar.com/forums/ - great place for a mileagedatabase and a place I help moderate ... very anti-SPAM
formatting link
- for those who have a wider viewof fuel efficiency and 'do the experiment.' One of the places Ihappily donate to support ... donations are optional and access iffree.
formatting link
- another source, a place to search and/or askquestions. USENET alt.autos.toyota.prius - unmoderated so some SPAM and trolls.

= = = = = = Bob Wilson

Reply to
bwilson4web

"bwilson4web" wrote (4x) in message news: snipped-for-privacy@q15g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...

Why the quadruple post Bob?

Reply to
Daniel who wants to know

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