I checked the member list yesterday and noticed that members go back to 2002 and number in the hundreds if not thousands. Made me wonder how many of the earliest members of the site still have and are happy with the priuses? Anyone read any info on how many stayed with their Prius or upgraded to a new one?
early Prius owners keeping their cars?
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The on G1 owner I know is still quite happy but is on the wait list for the Highlander hybrid.
In the world of Prius, I'm a latecomer, with a Jan/Feb. 2001 delivery of a 2001. Only about 38,000 miles on it.
My mother ordered her 2002 in June of 2001, Nov. 2001 delivery. She wouldn't trade it for the world, even for one that did come with the Navigation system (which she didn't order on hers because she didn't know what it could do at the time)
In July of 2003 Toyota offered us "Pioneers" (those who ordered through the old internet ordering system) to pre-order a 2004. My husband saw the chance to have his own Prius (rather than always stealing mine), so he jumped on it. Then Toyota ignored the internet-ordered pre-orders, and just sent cars out willy-nilly to dealers, asking them to fill the preorders from that... <grumble> Got our 2004 in Nov. 2003 (cars started deliveries in Oct., my dealer had Pioneer preorders through end of Dec.), but a friend of mine was able to just walk into a dealership in Nov. 2003, no preorder, just a dealership with no Pioneer orders, and picked a car right up off the lot, while others were still waiting on lists... (<grr> not upset with my friend, he was lucky, just really annoyed at Toyota for ignoring such a useful tool as the internet ordering system and screwing the Pioneer orders...)
Anyhow, the number of 2004+ Prius now outnumber the Classic Prius on the roads in the US, growing even more every month... So, us Classic owners are getting drowned out. That, and a lot have been turned off of these groups with all of the repetitive newbie questions - most of us "just drive it." and love it.
My mother ordered her 2002 in June of 2001, Nov. 2001 delivery. She wouldn't trade it for the world, even for one that did come with the Navigation system (which she didn't order on hers because she didn't know what it could do at the time)
In July of 2003 Toyota offered us "Pioneers" (those who ordered through the old internet ordering system) to pre-order a 2004. My husband saw the chance to have his own Prius (rather than always stealing mine), so he jumped on it. Then Toyota ignored the internet-ordered pre-orders, and just sent cars out willy-nilly to dealers, asking them to fill the preorders from that... <grumble> Got our 2004 in Nov. 2003 (cars started deliveries in Oct., my dealer had Pioneer preorders through end of Dec.), but a friend of mine was able to just walk into a dealership in Nov. 2003, no preorder, just a dealership with no Pioneer orders, and picked a car right up off the lot, while others were still waiting on lists... (<grr> not upset with my friend, he was lucky, just really annoyed at Toyota for ignoring such a useful tool as the internet ordering system and screwing the Pioneer orders...)
Anyhow, the number of 2004+ Prius now outnumber the Classic Prius on the roads in the US, growing even more every month... So, us Classic owners are getting drowned out. That, and a lot have been turned off of these groups with all of the repetitive newbie questions - most of us "just drive it." and love it.
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2,237 Posts
Pioneer Order days
I for one do like to see the revival of the Toyota Internet Hybrid order
system that Toyota had implemented once long a go.
Now with the general public awareness of the efficiency of Hybrid power train,
more and more people are looking into the Hybrids as their next vehicle purchase candidacy.
The Internet order is effective in order to stop some dealers "gouging" the
customers seeking to purchase the Hybrid vehicle.
I have seen over the years that when Internet Prius orders were in place no one dared (dealers) to put an addendum premium sticker on those ordered via the
Toyota Internet order system 'cause those vehicle came in with that customer's name on it but now days vehicles comes in as normal allocation and whether those vehicles has been ordered by a customer
no one knows for sure.
Let bring the Pioneer Prius order days back. Highlander Hybrids or more
Toyota Hybrids in line to be deployed in the very near future.
You order the vehicle and comes with your name on it at MSRP and no mark up over the List. I already hear that certain "Lexus" dealers were
taking a long waiting customer's RX400h deposits and the vehicle arrived
then suddenly a $10.000 over the list _Market_adjustment_ price tag added to that regularly ordered Hybrid !
Let simply bring back the Pioneer days order system back and everyone will be happy. No Gouging, at MSRP....
I for one do like to see the revival of the Toyota Internet Hybrid order
system that Toyota had implemented once long a go.
Now with the general public awareness of the efficiency of Hybrid power train,
more and more people are looking into the Hybrids as their next vehicle purchase candidacy.
The Internet order is effective in order to stop some dealers "gouging" the
customers seeking to purchase the Hybrid vehicle.
I have seen over the years that when Internet Prius orders were in place no one dared (dealers) to put an addendum premium sticker on those ordered via the
Toyota Internet order system 'cause those vehicle came in with that customer's name on it but now days vehicles comes in as normal allocation and whether those vehicles has been ordered by a customer
no one knows for sure.
Let bring the Pioneer Prius order days back. Highlander Hybrids or more
Toyota Hybrids in line to be deployed in the very near future.
You order the vehicle and comes with your name on it at MSRP and no mark up over the List. I already hear that certain "Lexus" dealers were
taking a long waiting customer's RX400h deposits and the vehicle arrived
then suddenly a $10.000 over the list _Market_adjustment_ price tag added to that regularly ordered Hybrid !
Let simply bring back the Pioneer days order system back and everyone will be happy. No Gouging, at MSRP....
GreyMud said:
Same here. There's really no reason for me to trade "up" on my 2001. I just finished my last full tank at 50.9 MPG. For me it is our commuter car and daily driver and it is perfect PERFECT for that. We have a Rav4 when needing more space, and to do any kind of moving. My wife uses that for her extensive 2 mile drive into work each day.
As long as it runs, it will.
...until somebody comes up with a way to turn my favorite car, a 1992 Volvo 240, into a hybrid 50mpg machine, I'll stick with the 2001 Prius.
I appreciate all the comments. I've read that the Prius has never had any recalls. If true, that's very impressive. Just FYI, I bought my 2005, off the lot, within 24 hours of coming into the local dealership with all my internet research. The car became available when the man who it was supposed to go to chose to wait a week before taking possession. I was told that because of demand, dealership would not hold cars once they came in. I guess I lucked out. Still not sure if I got the straight story, though.
recalls
some very early 2001 Prius (produced before fall of 2000) were recalled for their power steering rack. (PS light goes on, loss of power steering (left with difficult to turn manual steering). temporary fix is reboot, while waiting for new PS rack...)
Most 2004s and some 2005 Prius, along with several other Toyota models, were recalled for a faulty brake light switch. The switch could corrode, and the rear brake lights not come on when pressing the brake pedal.
some very early 2001 Prius (produced before fall of 2000) were recalled for their power steering rack. (PS light goes on, loss of power steering (left with difficult to turn manual steering). temporary fix is reboot, while waiting for new PS rack...)
Most 2004s and some 2005 Prius, along with several other Toyota models, were recalled for a faulty brake light switch. The switch could corrode, and the rear brake lights not come on when pressing the brake pedal.
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144 Posts
4 yrs in Aug with my 01 48k mi one new engine only 600 mi just getting broken in. again but I wont even consider a new one
No, we're not happy with our Classic 2001. But since we still owe the credit union for another 9 months, we're kind of stuck with it. We've had problems with the regular battery replacement (way too expensive), the steering rack replacement (which we are fighting to get Toyota to pay for under the extended warranty), an ongoing problem with the gas engine not starting (which seems to require replacing yet another part), recalls, and some other issues like more expensive tires.
If you can afford to make repairs and the extra cost for maintenance, then having a Prius is great, a wonderful conversation piece and great prestige symbol. The only good things about our Classic is the gas mileage (49 mpg for mostly highway driving) and its environmentally-friendly emissions.
If you can afford to make repairs and the extra cost for maintenance, then having a Prius is great, a wonderful conversation piece and great prestige symbol. The only good things about our Classic is the gas mileage (49 mpg for mostly highway driving) and its environmentally-friendly emissions.
The only reason I traded up my 2002 (45K miles, no problems, replaced the tires once, cracked windshield once, and vandalized window once) for a 2005 was because I'm a musician and needed space in the back for my keyboard. My trade-in on the 2002 was affected slightly because of the scratched vinyl on the inner doors that inevitably happened when I loaded that thing into the back seat. I don't need to trade up any more now, however nifty I think the 2006 mods are...and if my keyboard had been able to fit in the back of the Classic, I'd not have traded that one up either.
old Prius owners
I got a letter about this, and I assume that most did. If you think that it would help with your fight we can find a way to get a copy of that letter into your hands.
DAS
Sorry, camper I was not aware of this. Are you aware of the Toyota "warranty enhancement" on this for 2001 and early 2002 models, for 5 years after the vehicle's in-service date?camper said:
I got a letter about this, and I assume that most did. If you think that it would help with your fight we can find a way to get a copy of that letter into your hands.
DAS
I will keep my 01 for a while. I ordered it in July 2000 before the import started, and got the first shipment in early September 2000. It did have some recalls and a recurring stalling problem, and the OEM tires were troublesome, but everything is fine now. It has about 80K miles.
I'm not sure about "conversation piece" or "prestige symbol". It certainly didn't work for us :wink: During the first two years, we did perk up when we saw another Prius on the road; that's about it. Other than that, it's just a car we really enjoyed.
We just added an 06 Pkg 7 to our fleet (of 2). Both cars will see a lot of action. The 01's turning circle is remarkably tight, and valet is easier I'm sure :wink:
I'm planning to sell the 01 in 2008, partly because of the expiring of the hybrid warranty, but mostly because it will be time to make room for a Camry Hybrid in the garage
I'm not sure about "conversation piece" or "prestige symbol". It certainly didn't work for us :wink: During the first two years, we did perk up when we saw another Prius on the road; that's about it. Other than that, it's just a car we really enjoyed.
We just added an 06 Pkg 7 to our fleet (of 2). Both cars will see a lot of action. The 01's turning circle is remarkably tight, and valet is easier I'm sure :wink:
I'm planning to sell the 01 in 2008, partly because of the expiring of the hybrid warranty, but mostly because it will be time to make room for a Camry Hybrid in the garage
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