Toyota Prius fan club

[bilalalam]

what is weather shield? whats benefit of it? how does it looks like?

Its a thin invisible/ transparent coating to protect the cars body from elements of nature. As in the UK the atmosphere is conducive to corrosion of metal, most cars comes with coating as standard.

Its a good thing- nothing to worry

[bilalalam]

I have to decide between Prius 2007 T-Spirit (UK Model) and Prius S 10th (Japan model). I m very confused what to do. I am getting UK model cheaper than Japan model but it lacks HID lights and rear camera. What do you guys suggest.

Although i have my self bought a 07 Japanese prius, that is serving me well alhamdolilah, but given the choice again I would got for the UK model as it comes with an MFD (multi function display) in English. Its been 5 months and I am still struggling to get used to those menus in Japanese.

The other good reason to go for a T4 is the weather protection.

cars in UK are also well maintained, try and find one that comes with a genuine UK maintenance history.

[Xulfiqar]

btw bilal - you never answered my question..

[dasche]

Japanese models are usually better since the max spped limit in Japan is 110 km/h. so they are driven better than UK models. Japanese models also come with under body rust protection (a thick layer of rubber like stuff)

do you really think that running cars at higher speed causes damage to engine or car performace?

I have seen too many priuses since last 3 months. more than 90% of them were Japanese models and most of them were repaired or had huge mileage. UK models were better in condition and with less mileage. So my conclusion is to go for UK model or get a very very neat and clean un-repaired Japan model and this is hard/rare to find.

[hsnmz]

do you really think that running cars at higher speed causes damage to engine or car performace?

I have seen too many priuses since last 3 months. more than 90% of them were Japanese models and most of them were repaired or had huge mileage. UK models were better in condition and with less mileage. So my conclusion is to go for UK model or get a very very neat and clean un-repaired Japan model and this is hard/rare to find.

If a car is run mostly at higher speeds like +- 140km/h i think it will effect the engine. I agree that finding a clean genuine car would be difficult. I have self imported mine from Japan with genuine mileage of 57000 and 4.5 grade 2008 S 10th anniversary. Its a beauty inside out

[dasche]

what was the total cost you had bear for that? Mind sharing some pics?

If a car is run mostly at higher speeds like +- 140km/h i think it will effect the engine. I agree that finding a clean genuine car would be difficult. I have self imported mine from Japan with genuine mileage of 57000 and 4.5 grade 2008 S 10th anniversary. Its a beauty inside out

[OmRON]

@zeeshan_gims

Our 2005 honda city gives us 18+ Km in city and 22+ km on highway, with gentle driving style, Part are relatively easy to find,
your math wins, This is something what I did when I heard Prius. Batteries of prius are I think hard to find.

I will stick to my 2005 Honda city

Guys I,ve done some research and calculations on prius.
Right now I,ve 1998 civic, wanted to change the car. People say prius is very economical, I did some calculations, to see how much do I save if I buy a prius.
To compare the economy of prius with my car, I drove my car with very light foot and kept RPM below 2, and drove arround 300Km routine driving. It gave me 13km/L petrol consumption.
Toyota company claims that prius 2006-2008 gives 5L/100Km of fuel, i.e, 20Km/L
I bought my car in 2005 for arround 7lack, After driving my car 100000Km in 7 years, I used 7692L of petrol.
If I drive prius 100000Km in 7 years, it will use 5000L of petrol.
I will save 2692L of fuel in 7 years. Now a days price is Rs106/L, suppose it will increase to Rs115/L, I will save Rs3,09580 worth fuel in 7 years.
These cars are used cars, and most of the times they reverse the meter readings, you have to change battery after an year or so, so subtracting the price of batteries i.e, Rs1,50000. You are left with Rs1,59000 of saving.
Now talking about the resale. After 7 years, my honda civic 1998 will be sold arround 8 lac, giving me 1 lac profit, and considering the price you loose after selling prius, plus the headache you'll be having in keeping prius in Pakistan( spare parts, mechanics and technical assistance not available).
In my understanding, actually you are loosing alot instaed of saving.

[dasche]

brothers are 100% right about that but its not only about how economical prius is. Its about options, drive and comfort. Drive it once to feel the ultimate difference. There is no doubt that prius is a car from future. Local manufacturers may not produce such thing even after a decade. Under two million rupees, there is no such thing other than prius. Its the bmw of the poor people.

[bilalalam]

btw bilal - you never answered my question..

Come again?

[hsnmz]

what was the total cost you had bear for that? Mind sharing some pics?

I paid around 1750000. Pics i dont have currently

[Xulfiqar]

Come again?

I asked you to explain/expand your last comment towards me..

[nabeel112]

Just got changed water pump. Mechanic told ma that they usually get complain for water pumps in prius. It costed me 12,500 and will last for 70,000 to 80,000. For all prius owners, you can easily check yourself if your water pump is working or not. So I save around 10,000 to 15,000 rupees per month on petrol. For all those who were complaining k yah ho jayay ga woh ho jayay ga aur sari saving chali jayay ge, guys thori c research karlo phir confidence k sath likha karo. Though parts are expensive but all genuine parts of civic and toyota are expensive as well. I am talking about GENUINE parts. A mechanic told me that chinese version of prius parts are now being imported so woh sastay milay ***.

[dasche]

Just got changed water pump. Mechanic told ma that they usually get complain for water pumps in prius. It costed me 12,500 and will last for 70,000 to 80,000........

so nabeel sab. how to check if water pump is working or not? Also tell us what happened to your car? how did you know about the problem of water pump in your car?

[Sdogar]

@zeeshan_gims

Our 2005 honda city gives us 18+ Km in city and 22+ km on highway, with gentle driving style, Part are relatively easy to find,
your math wins, This is something what I did when I heard Prius. Batteries of prius are I think hard to find.

I will stick to my 2005 Honda city

Assumptions made are incorrect, Prius batery will not need replacement in 1 year, Toyota provides warranty for 2,88000 Kms and if you buy a car with 75000 Kms on ODO you still can go for 200,000 Kms and prius in USA are running with above 400,000 Kms on ODO without battery replacement.Even if you assume 200,000 Kms and you drive 25000 Kms it will be good for 8 years and in those 8 years a lot of money will be saved. If you drive for 24000 kms a year with prius at an average of 22 Km/l (which is what is reported here by owners and elsewhere) you will consume fuel equal to 1090 Liters and now same mileage with a car of say 15 Km/l average will consume 1600 liters so straight away a saving of about 500 liters or 50,000 rupees and in 8 years it will save 4,00,000 Rs. Hopefully with the development of technology in next 8 years the prices of new battery will come down and even if we assume 200,000 cost for that it is still gonna save you a lot of money. Its resale will also increase by each passing years as this is future technology and will be adopted,no doubt about that.

[hsnmz]

Just got changed water pump. Mechanic told ma that they usually get complain for water pumps in prius. It costed me 12,500 and will last for 70,000 to 80,000. For all prius owners, you can easily check yourself if your water pump is working or not. So I save around 10,000 to 15,000 rupees per month on petrol. For all those who were complaining k yah ho jayay ga woh ho jayay ga aur sari saving chali jayay ge, guys thori c research karlo phir confidence k sath likha karo. Though parts are expensive but all genuine parts of civic and toyota are expensive as well. I am talking about GENUINE parts. A mechanic told me that chinese version of prius parts are now being imported so woh sastay milay ***.

what is your location and which mechanic did you go to

[nabeel112]

what is your location and which mechanic did you go to

i live in Lahore and I went to javed denso and iqbal pyara.. javed denso attached computer to car and told me that water pump is not working. He asked me 15,000 for just water pump. I went to iqbal pyara he charged me 12,500 including labour. But I will still prefer javed for mechanical and electric work. Moreover toyota charges 5000 for tuning and throttle body service while javed charges 2000,

[nabeel112]

so nabeel sab. how to check if water pump is working or not? Also tell us what happened to your car? how did you know about the problem of water pump in your car?

well your ac will not work well. U will get 3 check signs in your car and when u restart your car only 2 signs will remain. There is a coolant tank near hybrid engine. If your water pump is working, there will be movement in coolant. Usually life of water pump is 80,000.

[bilalalam]

Seen a lot of calculations going on this thread where people are comparing their petrol consumption VS maintenance cost of Hybrid and trying to prove its a waste.
With all due respect and without being rude may I comment
1- Any one claiming that an 8-10 year old 1.3 ltr and above car is giving a fuel consumption of 15KM/L - 18K/L etc etc are actually trying to prove the Japanese car makers wrong- even the people who manufactured these cars don't claim their cars can give such consumption. So please recheck your odos.
2- I have owned a manual 10 model city with the latest iVTEC Honda engine, needless to say most economical and light weight Honda city ever made. I drove it for some 50,000 KM before selling it off, used Hi octane percentage in each tank full, I am a light driver and I kid you not it never crossed 12.5 KM/L. Comparing that to my 07 Prius I save Rs 3400 on each tank full- (City used to cost me Rs 8/KM and Prius costs me 4.54/KM please feel free to challenge my claim.) driving on average 1000 KM/ month it saves me Rs 41,000/year-
3- Now the Hybrid batteries Issue, which seems to be the worst night mare here.
a- batteries don't die each year or so
b-they (kabli type) are available for 35-70 thousand rupees.
so assuming that the hybrid batteries die every year (that is only after 12,000 KM, which wont happen)

I am still a winner

Above all and talking of build quality, the local crappy civics, cities and corollas are no comparison to driving pleasure and the luxuries and the toys that you get in a Prius.

Lastly, all new and used Prius parts are available- so unavailability of parts is a myth. The petrol engine is the same as your 1.5 Jap corolla / fielder. Prius body and electric motor parts are also available in Peshawar and Bilal Gunj LHR (must be in other cities too) new ones can be had from Amir auto parts Montgomery road.

Also someone commented here that the water body (of electric motor) only lasts 80K KM. I believe there is no specific service life for water body of a Prius- functionality wise it is like any other petrol or diesel engine water body. so chances of it going bad are as high or as low as any other Diesel or Gasoline motor.

[dasche]

....

very well said brother.

[Xulfiqar]

Assumptions made are incorrect, Prius batery will not need replacement in 1 year, Toyota provides warranty for 2,88000 Kms and if you buy a car with 75000 Kms on ODO you still can go for 200,000 Kms and prius in USA are running with above 400,000 Kms on ODO without battery replacement.Even if you assume 200,000 Kms and you drive 25000 Kms it will be good for 8 years and in those 8 years a lot of money will be saved. If you drive for 24000 kms a year with prius at an average of 22 Km/l (which is what is reported here by owners and elsewhere) you will consume fuel equal to 1090 Liters and now same mileage with a car of say 15 Km/l average will consume 1600 liters so straight away a saving of about 500 liters or 50,000 rupees and in 8 years it will save 4,00,000 Rs. Hopefully with the development of technology in next 8 years the prices of new battery will come down and even if we assume 200,000 cost for that it is still gonna save you a lot of money. Its resale will also increase by each passing years as this is future technology and will be adopted,no doubt about that.

your post is correct assuming that the car will have "ZERO" worth at the EOL of your term of 8 years, Pakistan doesnt work like that, in Pakistan every common car owner considers resale above everything else. Your warranty statement also does not apply in Pakistan. If you want to compare warranties then Hyundai offer 10 year powertrain warranty in the US. meaning that if your Hyundai's engine conks out in 8 years of service due to a fault - you get a new one. I dont think that happens in Pakistan.

The last statement is also the reason for the massive Hybrid sales in US, the car is warrantied for 5 years, leased from a bank for 3 - returned at residual and the process starts all over. Taxis/rentals etc. all follow the same principle. Most (read as 90%) of the taxis in the US are still old Ford Crown Victorias (they are big heavy cars with bad consumption) - the reason they are owner operated taxis is the cheap availability of parts and servicemen. This has not yet happened with hybrids as the distances are too great in US.

I can imagine this as a success in a country like UK where RAC or AA will even come to you easily in the middle of nowhere and repair your car or tow you. I cannot see this feasible if your Prius breaks down in Shahzadpur and you are going to Lahore.