Suanne
Well-known member
I got my '04 Prius in Nov. '03, one of the first of the 2nd Generation off the line. My commute to work was 70+miles one-way at the time; so, a high-MPG vehicle only made sense. Still, even in progressive Western Washington, my funny-shaped car drew stares as I passed by. And in the small town where I lived, it was a true oddity. But, before I bought it, I joined an online group discussing this latest generation of Prius. Before it arrived in the US, it already had a cult-like following. These were really smart people in the Prius group. What they said made sense to me and jived with my independent research. So, I became an early adopter.
Now, 14 years later, the Prius has become a proven platform world wide. And my '04, with almost 232K miles, has far exceeded my expectations in every way.
When I retired in '08, I had already put over 100K (highway) miles on it. When I knew I wanted to do extended road trips, I finally settled on using the Prius to do so. If you want to read more about that decision, it's documented here on my blog.
I've maintained the Prius very well, doing all scheduled oil changes and tune ups, and kept all receipts. I've also driven it very hard and taken it on back roads that no Prius was ever intended to go. I've got lots of desert pin stripping, rock dings, ripped-off plastic trim pieces, and a few small crunches from hitting unmovable objects
I've always used regular street tires, and have never blew a tire. On rough roads, I go slow and pick my way carefully. Outside of regular maintenance, I've spent less than $1K on repairs. In January, a fellow Prius dweller ran some diagnostics on my high-voltage batteries and they all are healthy.
But, in the last few months, non-essential stuff has started to break-- a couple of door locks don't work electronically, security system no longer works, the computer screen is blank 95% of the time, the dash goes blank, a few buttons on the steering wheel don't work, one HID headlight is going out, etc. I didn't want to be outside the US, in the backcountry when something major breaks. So, it's time to get a replacement.
Regarding my 2004's issues and future -- Currently most all of the functions on the computer screen can be accessed in more than one way; so, it's still safe to drive. Also, these are all known points of breakage for the 2nd Gen Prii and have fixes. So, someone who is good with assembling and fixing computers will likely have the necessary skills. My son-in-law has those skills and needs a high MPG car for running about his small town; so, he's inheriting my '04. It does my heart good to keep it in the family. Who knows, maybe my 14yo grandson will learn to drive in it.
When I was originally thinking of replacing my '04 Prius, I strongly considered a larger vehicle. If you are interested in that discussion, you can read this thread. As I considered my options and did more research, I decided I would focus on replacing my '04 with one of these possibilities -- another Prius, a Prius V (small station wagon), or a RAV4 hybrid.
In the thread cited above, I said I would start a new thread to share what I found out about those 3 replacement options when I went to the dealership -- features, dimensions, test drives, etc. So, that's the purpose of this thread. I wanted to start out with some background first in this OP. My next post will be the text of the email I sent to the salesman regarding both my required and desired features of my replacement vehicle.
Now, 14 years later, the Prius has become a proven platform world wide. And my '04, with almost 232K miles, has far exceeded my expectations in every way.
When I retired in '08, I had already put over 100K (highway) miles on it. When I knew I wanted to do extended road trips, I finally settled on using the Prius to do so. If you want to read more about that decision, it's documented here on my blog.
I've maintained the Prius very well, doing all scheduled oil changes and tune ups, and kept all receipts. I've also driven it very hard and taken it on back roads that no Prius was ever intended to go. I've got lots of desert pin stripping, rock dings, ripped-off plastic trim pieces, and a few small crunches from hitting unmovable objects
I've always used regular street tires, and have never blew a tire. On rough roads, I go slow and pick my way carefully. Outside of regular maintenance, I've spent less than $1K on repairs. In January, a fellow Prius dweller ran some diagnostics on my high-voltage batteries and they all are healthy.But, in the last few months, non-essential stuff has started to break-- a couple of door locks don't work electronically, security system no longer works, the computer screen is blank 95% of the time, the dash goes blank, a few buttons on the steering wheel don't work, one HID headlight is going out, etc. I didn't want to be outside the US, in the backcountry when something major breaks. So, it's time to get a replacement.
Regarding my 2004's issues and future -- Currently most all of the functions on the computer screen can be accessed in more than one way; so, it's still safe to drive. Also, these are all known points of breakage for the 2nd Gen Prii and have fixes. So, someone who is good with assembling and fixing computers will likely have the necessary skills. My son-in-law has those skills and needs a high MPG car for running about his small town; so, he's inheriting my '04. It does my heart good to keep it in the family. Who knows, maybe my 14yo grandson will learn to drive in it.
When I was originally thinking of replacing my '04 Prius, I strongly considered a larger vehicle. If you are interested in that discussion, you can read this thread. As I considered my options and did more research, I decided I would focus on replacing my '04 with one of these possibilities -- another Prius, a Prius V (small station wagon), or a RAV4 hybrid.
In the thread cited above, I said I would start a new thread to share what I found out about those 3 replacement options when I went to the dealership -- features, dimensions, test drives, etc. So, that's the purpose of this thread. I wanted to start out with some background first in this OP. My next post will be the text of the email I sent to the salesman regarding both my required and desired features of my replacement vehicle.
