maintenance cost and DIY friendliness

A 2008 is the NHW20 model, 1.5L Prius. We two Prius, a 2003 NHW11,

When I bought our first Prius, a used NHW11, 2003 model year, I also bought the two maintenance manuals and schematics. So far, I've done all of the work: 4-wheel alignment, oil changes, transaxle oil changes, filters, spark plugs and coolant changes. They are fairly reliable and I find easy to work on. FYI, I did swap my traction battery, I bought the battery from Re-Involt and hired a local, independent shop to swap it out. It really is a two-man job. There was nothing wrong with the original battery but I wanted to upgrade the modules.

There is a lot of good info available at different sites and a 3d party, maintenance manual (not Chiltons!) Spark plugs and filters are easy to reach and oil changes are a snap. Once per year, the throttle body throat and butterfly valve should be cleaned but mostly, no drama. You can probably will your brake pads and shoes to your grandchildren thanks to regenerative braking.

Actually Ebay is another excellent source but if you want a traction battery, I recommend Re-Involt, Taylor Automotive in Summit, NC.

No problem and here a few credible places to seek information:

o MyHybridCar.com - good mileage database although the chit-chat traffic is a bit light ... very anti-SPAM (I'm a moderator!) o YahooGroup "Prius_Technical_Stuff" - dating from November 2000, their message archives are awesome, first post moderated o YahooGroup "Prius_Owners" - an slightly less technical group with good and helpful folks o Ecomodder.com - a place for those who want to 'green-rod' their rides

o PriusChat.com - a reasonable mix, I used to be active in the NHW11 (Gen I) group o GreenHybrid.com - now more of a commercial web site, certainly worth a peek o CleanMPG.com - some folks like it a lot

Bob Wilson

Just fine, and no big deal. Oil changes are the only thing you need to worry about, really, and they're easy. It doesn't use up brakes anything like a non-Prius, or at least it SHOULDN'T (if it does, you're doing it wrong).

And any modern car has enough electronics in it that EVERYONE ends up using the dealer for at least some things.

dude...she's not talking about the traction battery....simmer down...

The 2008 Prius (2nd Gen) is inexpensive to maintain. Consumer Reports indicates that it has an above average reliabilty. However, the car's ergonomics and controls are slightly different from a conventional vehicle - which have led to a few driver-error accidents and allegation of the going amok. The 2008 Prius is built more like a conventional car than the 2010 Prius (3rd gen) so things like changing the oil and oil filter is very much like a regular car. Unlike the 2010 Prius - there are DIY repair manual for the 2008 Prius. The quality of a replacement part is guaranteed to be up to spec when one purchases a Toyota OEM part. The quality of third party parts will vary so one should be cautious when using them. Most cars only have a few standardized subsystems where part can be easily outsourced. There are non-dealers selling parts for the 2008 Prius but I am not sure whether there is any advantage to this unless U r doing your own repairs. There are price variations among dealership if you shop via Ebay, e.g. OEM floormats for te Prius can range from

HTH

Walter Lee a hypermiler on training wheels in DC/MD/VA Metro area

Thank you all for the information and advice.

Please let us know if you went with the deal.

Thanks, Bob Wilson

Thank you, Bob. I will definitely visit this group regularly if I buy it.

One more question: how does it feel like driving Prius in general? Is it sluggish in accelerating? Any pros and cons on 2008?

THANKS!

It's not the GREATEST in acceleration, but I wouldn't use the term "sluggish".

Do expect to plan ahead a bit entering freeways.

I don't have direct experience with the NHW20 models, 2004-09, but will share what I've found with our NHW11, 2001-03, and ZVW30, 2010- current:

o 0-30 is impressive - MG2 has a lot of electric torque so it gets off the line quickly but on to 60 takes about 10 seconds with the NHW20 and 13 seconds with my NHW11. The ZVW30 is just a hair under 10 second faster than the NHW20.

o stiffening plate mod for NHW20 - Prius owners who are into precise handling have been pleased with an after-market, stiffening plate that improves handling.

o love fast curves - the low center of gravity with good tires can be a lot of fun. I had been driving my 03 Prius for several years but had to take my wife's Echo one day. On the first turn I was in a delicate balance between rolling and hitting the curb. It takes getting used to but with good tires it is a lot of fun . . . don't pull it on unsuspecting passengers you like.

What I'd suggest is checking with your local car rental places and seeing if you can rent one for a 'sleep over' or weekend. Not everyone likes Prius handling and renting one for a day or so will 'take the newness off.' This is what my wife and I did in 2001 with a dealer Prius but we went with a 2001 Echo for her. In May 2009, we sold her

Bob Wilson

Late thought, I'm driving more with the Prius than with the old Camry in part because I don't have to worry about fuel costs. Also, I love to drive a quiet car. So when my wife wants something from the store, I'll go a little further to enjoy the ride.

After 14 years of service, our 1991 Camry had over 183,000 miles when it was lost. Coming up on 6 years, our 2003 Prius has just under

Bob Wilson

Thanks for all the info!