High Mileage

[Funkyboy]

Just looking on Autotrader and it's noticeable the amount of Prius's with really high mileage into over 6 figures. It must be one of the few cars you buy nowadays where you are practically guaranteed a car that can do this sort of mileage. There are very few cars now (especially diesels) that can do this sort of mileage without wallet busting maintenance bills.

[avensisd4d786]

taxi drivers are using them I am sure they are exempt from congestion charges.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

It must be one of the few cars you buy nowadays where you are practically guaranteed a car that can do this sort of mileage.

Almost every car is capable of high mileage is maintained correctly to be honest. However obviously if a high mileage user, the fuel savings in a Prius vs diesel or standard petrol will be even bigger!

taxi drivers are using them I am sure they are exempt from congestion charges.

They used to be, but I believe its only the PiP which is exempt now (they moved the goal posts a little while ago regarding emissions).

[PeteB]

Taxis and minicabs in London that are licenced by the London authorities are exempt from congestion charge no matter what type of vehicle.

The Toyota Hybrids also have lower running costs, as brakes generally last longer (my last Prius only needed new discs pads at close to 100,000 miles, and then only because the discs had rusted in the year I drove it infrequently). With no gearbox, clutch or torque converter, maintenance is simpler and fewer fluid changes are required. When I sold my 2002 Mk 1 Prius 4 years ago with 163,000 on the clock, it was only on its third set of spark plugs too, and running like a dream, apart from the a/c that had failed. I understand it's still in daily use now.

[Funkyboy]

It must be one of the few cars you buy nowadays where you are practically guaranteed a car that can do this sort of mileage.

Almost every car is capable of high mileage is maintained correctly to be honest. However obviously if a high mileage user, the fuel savings in a Prius vs diesel or standard petrol will be even bigger!

taxi drivers are using them I am sure they are exempt from congestion charges.

They used to be, but I believe its only the PiP which is exempt now (they moved the goal posts a little while ago regarding emissions).

I agree that cars can go longer if probably maintained but in a lot of cars this maintenance can become prohibitive modern diesels need egr valves dpf changes even some gearboxes only last 120k (ask any range rover drivers) but the Prius seems to only need basic maintenance which doesn't cost a lot to get done.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I ran my Prius as a taxi and believe me, they do need maintenance. I have had my inverter replaced at 70k miles and the EGR valve and pipes around 75k. The Prius doesn't burn through consumables like a modern diesel but it does still break down or need expensive parts replacing.

To be fair I'm not entirely sure the fuel savings alone make up for the higher cost of the vehicle and more expensive maintenance repairs, though many taxi firms now use the car because they can run to high mileages but also many councils require hybrid cars or at least encourage them;

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10500035.Greener_taxis_for_York___s_streets/

So seeing a Prius as a taxi might not be entirely down to drivers knowing a good thing.

[Funkyboy]

That's good feedback I do agree about the high purchase price a 3 year old Prius is right up there with a BMW 3 series

[Grumpy Cabbie]

That's good feedback I do agree about the high purchase price a 3 year old Prius is right up there with a BMW 3 series

Which is why they're barely selling these last few years.

When I bought my gen3 they were £17,500 and only about £1,000 more than a base Mondeo at the time. Then the Prius made sense, though I think the pricing was to compete with the Honda Insight which was then new too. The Insight was meant to be a Prius killer and Toyota were worried about losing sales. Then they realised the Insight was crap and sure enough Prius pricing went up and up and up.

It's actually cheaper to buy a base Lexus CT200h than a base Prius! In the US they look on in amazement at that. The Prius pricing here is just to make the locally built but overpriced Auris HSD look good.

The good thing about the Prius increases are than my nearly 6 year old example with 84k miles demands over £7k for a car originally worth £17,500 (I paid less than that!). People still want them, just not badly enough to pay £22,500.

[APS]

Im sure the taxi industry keeps the prices up. My cabbie driver has 22 Priuses running 24/7. He buys them on eBay and then adds on 100-200k on them and then sells them on again for maybe £1500 less. He swears by the reliability of them. There are now some mechanics who specialize in just repairing Prius taxis. this mean repair costs can be kept to a minimum.

Sent from my iPad using Toyota OC

[barrycoll]

New T3 is £18,150 from drive the deal

[Grumpy Cabbie]

And I didn't pay £17,500 5 years ago ;)

I always work on official pricing as deals can always been struck. Also, the present Prius is 6 years old now so will be discounted for the gen4 (assuming it ever gets released). I bought my gen3 when they'd been for sale about 4 months in the UK, so were still demanding full book - unless you work your charm and negotiate hard :)

[PatW]

What about the Battery? Does it generally last to those high mileages and if not, how much does it cost to replace?

It's good to know I could run my 2010 Prius for a lot longer as it's on 60k at the moment.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Well Pat, it depends when in the World you are. If you're in the UK and you get your car serviced at Toyota then they extend (subject to certain terms and restrictions etc) the Battery warranty upto 10 years inclusive and unlimited miles. If you don't use Toyota for servicing then it costs £39 a year/10k miles.

See this for further details;

https://www.toyota.co.uk/service-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check?gclid=CKGs4P73vMYCFQKg2wodCS8GjQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you have a gen3 Prius then the Toyota website suggests the replacement Battery is about £800, though if you have the HHC in force, who cares how much it costs.

Be aware the HHC only covers the HV Battery and not the 12v battery or the expensive hybrid transaxle.