Buying a Prius as a family car to replace an old Mercedes estate?

quenching

I'm considering changing the family car and buying a Toyota Prius II, 2007 or so, as a replacement for an '91 Mercedes 230TE (huge big 7 seater E class estate, 2.3l petrol auto). There's nothing wrong with the Mercedes, in fact it almost the prefect school run car, except it drinks petrol, is expensive to tax, and is lacking in safety features. Its possible replacement must be automatic, reliable, and cheap to run, and NOT DIESEL as it'll only do 7k mikes per year on short suburban runs. Hence, the choice of a Prius.

The Mercedes does 20MPG (suburban school runs etc), being conservative I understand that a Prius II does about 50MPG.

Based on driving 150 miles per week and petrol at €1.70/l I calculate I'll spend €23 per week in a Prius as against €58 in the Merc, €35 per week saved. It'll also cost €600 per year less to tax. Annual "savings" of €2400 :eek: Servicing/tyres/repairs/insurance I can't see much difference, I could be unlucky with a big bill from either.

A 2007 Prius will cost me about €9000, after 4 years it'll be worth approx €4000 all going well. So I "spend" €5000 in depreciation over 4 years, the Merc is costing me nothing at this stage.

So.....over 4 years-

• Save €9600 in fuel/tax
• Spend €5000 in depreciation
• Overall gain over 4 years of €4600 (plus whatever I sell the Mercedes for)

I also gain the added safety features of a modern car, important with 3 kids to move around. However, I lose the extra space/seats of the Mercedes, but thats looking like an expensive luxury at the moment, the extra 2 seats are very rarely used.

I do like the Mercedes though and would miss it but I have another old Merc to help me get over the pain

Am I missing anything here or does it seem much more sensible to move to a Prius?

Makes total financial sense to move to the prius

Anan1

My heart says no, but I can't argue with the reasoning.

sumo12

I'm a merc driver/fan and work in Toyota dealer - I could never bring myself to get rid of a merc and buy a Prius! Having said that, Prius is totally bullet proof, gives no trouble at all and is incredibly cheap to run. Sounds ideal for your requirements, but it's not a merc....

Sumo

Del2005

quenching wrote: »

I'm considering changing the family car and buying a Toyota Prius II, 2007 or so, as a replacement for an '91 Mercedes 230TE (huge big 7 seater E class estate, 2.3l petrol auto). There's nothing wrong with the Mercedes, in fact it almost the prefect school run car, except it drinks petrol, is expensive to tax, and is lacking in safety features. Its possible replacement must be automatic, reliable, and cheap to run, and NOT DIESEL as it'll only do 7k mikes per year on short suburban runs. Hence, the choice of a Prius.

The Mercedes does 20MPG (suburban school runs etc), being conservative I understand that a Prius II does about 50MPG.

Based on driving 150 miles per week and petrol at €1.70/l I calculate I'll spend €23 per week in a Prius as against €58 in the Merc, €35 per week saved. It'll also cost €600 per year less to tax. Annual "savings" of €2400 :eek: Servicing/tyres/repairs/insurance I can't see much difference, I could be unlucky with a big bill from either.

A 2007 Prius will cost me about €9000, after 4 years it'll be worth approx €4000 all going well. So I "spend" €5000 in depreciation over 4 years, the Merc is costing me nothing at this stage.

So.....over 4 years-

• Save €9600 in fuel/tax
• Spend €5000 in depreciation
• Overall gain over 4 years of €4600 (plus whatever I sell the Mercedes for)

I also gain the added safety features of a modern car, important with 3 kids to move around. However, I lose the extra space/seats of the Mercedes, but thats looking like an expensive luxury at the moment, the extra 2 seats are very rarely used.

I do like the Mercedes though and would miss it but I have another old Merc to help me get over the pain

Am I missing anything here or does it seem much more sensible to move to a Prius?

How big are your kids, do they all require booster seats and can you fit 3 booster seats in the back of a Prius?

166man

Sounds like a good idea to me, you should also get handy money for your Mercedes too if it's in reasonable condition.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

Hard to argue with the logic.Just one thing though.The motor tax on a 07 prius is €384p.a. and is €160 on an 08.I dont think there is a huge difference in buying price between the two years.

There is a lot of speculation about tax changing in the upcoming budget.I know its an unequal system and dont want to get into a debate with anyone about it but whatever changes are made I think its highly unlikely that they will completely reverse the situation and make an 07 car cheaper to tax than an 08.Cant see any real upside for buying the 07.

Even if they completely even out the system the chances are that you will have taxed the car for a year already.

If you other merc is 30 yrs old or approaching it you'll be in line for the €52 tax rate on it so you'll have the best of both worlds.

Best of luck with it.

Stallingrad

3 kids in a Prius, have you tried it? A bit of a squeeze I would think.

quenching

RoverJames wrote: »

Makes total financial sense to move to the prius

Thanks RJ, sometimes you have to go with the money!

sumo12 wrote: »

I'm a merc driver/fan and work in Toyota dealer - I could never bring myself to get rid of a merc and buy a Prius! Having said that, Prius is totally bullet proof, gives no trouble at all and is incredibly cheap to run. Sounds ideal for your requirements, but it's not a merc....

Sumo

Seeing as my wife couldn't care less what she drives as long as it doesn't break down I'm glad to hear you consider them bulletproof, always good to get it from those at the coalface.

Del2005 wrote: »

How big are your kids, do they all require booster seats and can you fit 3 booster seats in the back of a Prius?

I need 2 booster seats and a full child seat, so off to test that scenario this afternoon hopefully. I've fit them in the back of a Yaris so should be OK. I'll buy new seats if needed.

166man wrote: »

Sounds like a good idea to me, you should also get handy money for your Mercedes too if it's in reasonable condition.

The Mercedes is in particularly good shape, no rust, damage or faults, but big petrol engined cars don't sell quickly these days.

quenching

Wheres My ForkandKnife wrote: »

Hard to argue with the logic.Just one thing though.The motor tax on a 07 prius is €384p.a. and is €160 on an 08.I dont think there is a huge difference in buying price between the two years.

There is a lot of speculation about tax changing in the upcoming budget.I know its an unequal system and dont want to get into a debate with anyone about it but whatever changes are made I think its highly unlikely that they will completely reverse the situation and make an 07 car cheaper to tax than an 08.Cant see any real upside for buying the 07.

Even if they completely even out the system the chances are that you will have taxed the car for a year already.

If you other merc is 30 yrs old or approaching it you'll be in line for the €52 tax rate on it so you'll have the best of both worlds.

Best of luck with it.

2 more years before the other Merc hits 30, no doubt they'll change the rules just before it qualifies for classic tax. As for tax on an 07 versus an 08, I might well wait until the changes are made before picking a car. Forecasting car tax rates in Ireland is a mugs game

166man

quenching wrote: »

The Mercedes is in particularly good shape, no rust, damage or faults, but big petrol engined cars don't sell quickly these days.

Big engined petrol cars aren't really selling but those W124's still fetch good money last time I checked. 2.3 isn't that huge anyway!

Wheres My ForkandKnife

quenching wrote: »

2 more years before the other Merc hits 30, no doubt they'll change the rules just before it qualifies for classic tax. As for tax on an 07 versus an 08, I might well wait until the changes are made before picking a car. Forecasting car tax rates in Ireland is a mugs game

It all depends wheter you want to wait or not but if you buy the car this month or next month and it has no tax you will pay 12 months tax and any changes won't affect you till the end of next year.

Personally upcoming budgets are the last reason I would wait to buy a car.If I did that I'd never buy a car:)

650Ginge

I changed a e200 2001 to a Prius nearly 2 years ago. Financially it's working out. I have spent €2400 on fuel on that time on fuel in the Prius at an average of nearly 60mpg. The merc averaged 27mpg, so I would have had to spend €5300 if I still have the merc. Cheaper to tax bit not significant and cheaper to ensure again only a couple of €100.

The Prius will struggle for width across the back seat. Leg room is better than the merc believe or not but bum room not so good really only suited to 4 adults.

Here is the data on fuelly to back up the above. I record every fuel up.

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/650ginge/prius

quenching

650Ginge wrote: »

I changed a e200 2001 to a Prius nearly 2 years ago. Financially it's working out. I have spent €2400 on fuel on that time on fuel in the Prius at an average of nearly 60mpg. The merc averaged 27mpg, so I would have had to spend €5300 if I still have the merc. Cheaper to tax bit not significant and cheaper to ensure again only a couple of €100.

The Prius will struggle for width across the back seat. Leg room is better than the merc believe or not but bum room not so good really only suited to 4 adults.

Here is the data on fuelly to back up the above. I record every fuel up.

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/650ginge/prius

Thanks for that, seems to make excellent financial sense, which is proving very difficult to argue with. The improved safety for passengers is also making more and more sense. I tried our child seats today in one, 2 boosters and a full seat, and it was a bit tight but I think still OK. I agree though that legroom is better that the Merc, and the boot space was better than I had expected. Given that 90% of its journeys would be less than 3 miles I think the kids can cope with the slightly narrower rear seat. 3 seats are a push in any car so I'm not hugely surprised that its a tight fit.

Long motorway journeys with 5 of us in one might be a bit more tedious than the Mercedes but that's only about 4 times a year, I could hire a minibus each time and still be better off Its looking fairly certain we'll change to a Prius as long as my wife likes it. However, just to throw a spanner in the works I've now been asked to consider a Toyota Corolla Verso!

Supergurrier

Decat the prius for more boo !

Serious pants: Makes sense, can't say i blame you

Mr. Nice

sumo12 wrote: »

I'm a merc driver/fan and work in Toyota dealer - I could never bring myself to get rid of a merc and buy a Prius! Having said that, Prius is totally bullet proof, gives no trouble at all and is incredibly cheap to run. Sounds ideal for your requirements, but it's not a merc....

Sumo

So you've never had a Prius come back for warranty work?
The earlier ones were a balls, and not very efficient either. They look crap (IMHO), perform poorly and the re-sale value is sketchy to say the least.

Eric Cartman

this thread wins the award for most depressing thread title in motors of 2012

on paper it makes sense op, but the merc is an infinitely nicer car.

Idbatterim

Op just checked carzone and there are a few 08's asking just under 10k and road tax is only E160 per year at present, they would also have better resale value, in for a penny, in for a pound i reckon... would expect price of insurance to drop also, and you will only have to nct it every second year as opposed to every year with the merc...

sumo12

Mr. Nice wrote: »

So you've never had a Prius come back for warranty work?
The earlier ones were a balls, and not very efficient either. They look crap (IMHO), perform poorly and the re-sale value is sketchy to say the least.

Earlier ones? This chap is talking 07/08 which are bullet proof. The perfect car hasn't been built yet, but we've done very little warranty on any Prius of any year. Jap imports generally end up having to replace hybrid batteries, that's the only major-ish thing...

Yep they're ugly and they're horrid inside, but that wasn't the point of this thread..

sumo12

Eric Cartman wrote: »

this thread wins the award for most depressing thread title in motors of 2012

on paper it makes sense op, but the merc is an infinitely nicer car.

+1

sambucus

quenching wrote: »

I'm considering changing the family car and buying a Toyota Prius II, 2007 or so, as a replacement for an '91 Mercedes 230TE (huge big 7 seater E class estate, 2.3l petrol auto). There's nothing wrong with the Mercedes, in fact it almost the prefect school run car, except it drinks petrol, is expensive to tax, and is lacking in safety features. Its possible replacement must be automatic, reliable, and cheap to run, and NOT DIESEL as it'll only do 7k mikes per year on short suburban runs. Hence, the choice of a Prius.

The Mercedes does 20MPG (suburban school runs etc), being conservative I understand that a Prius II does about 50MPG.

Based on driving 150 miles per week and petrol at €1.70/l I calculate I'll spend €23 per week in a Prius as against €58 in the Merc, €35 per week saved. It'll also cost €600 per year less to tax. Annual "savings" of €2400 :eek: Servicing/tyres/repairs/insurance I can't see much difference, I could be unlucky with a big bill from either.

A 2007 Prius will cost me about €9000, after 4 years it'll be worth approx €4000 all going well. So I "spend" €5000 in depreciation over 4 years, the Merc is costing me nothing at this stage.

So.....over 4 years-

• Save €9600 in fuel/tax
• Spend €5000 in depreciation
• Overall gain over 4 years of €4600 (plus whatever I sell the Mercedes for)

I also gain the added safety features of a modern car, important with 3 kids to move around. However, I lose the extra space/seats of the Mercedes, but thats looking like an expensive luxury at the moment, the extra 2 seats are very rarely used.

I do like the Mercedes though and would miss it but I have another old Merc to help me get over the pain

Am I missing anything here or does it seem much more sensible to move to a Prius?

OP are you too far from a LPG filling station to consider a conversion on the merc.
The optimistic assumption being that fuel costs are halved with a payback in less than a year at your weekly mileage.
Less money outlay (or debt) for not quite the economy of the Prius I know...but still you get to save the merc (and being the butt of Duncan Stewart jokes)

sdanseo

It makes financial sense to move to the Prius.

However, it makes as much financial sense to move to a nicer car that will do decent MPG and may not even have to cost you as much. €5,000 - €6,000 will get you a decent 2005+ Mondeo, Vectra, Octavia diesel that should churn out 30-45mpg depending on usage. Estate versions are generally less sought after and can be cheaper and might actually suit you better, rather than putting up with the relatively small and definitely ugly Prius while still saving you a ton on tax.

quenching

sumo12 wrote: »

this thread wins the award for most depressing thread title in motors of 2012 +1

+1 from me too, and I started this thread

quenching

sambucus wrote: »

OP are you too far from a LPG filling station to consider a conversion on the merc.
The optimistic assumption being that fuel costs are halved with a payback in less than a year at your weekly mileage.
Less money outlay (or debt) for not quite the economy of the Prius I know...but still you get to save the merc (and being the butt of Duncan Stewart jokes)

Nearest LPG station is in Finglas as far as I can tell, and that appears to be the only one in Dublin! So, too far away and too risky to rely on a single source.

I can live with Duncan comparisons, won't hear them anyway if I pad my ears with the €50 a week I'd save

quenching

sdeire wrote: »

It makes financial sense to move to the Prius.

However, it makes as much financial sense to move to a nicer car that will do decent MPG and may not even have to cost you as much. €5,000 - €6,000 will get you a decent 2005+ Mondeo, Vectra, Octavia diesel that should churn out 30-45mpg depending on usage. Estate versions are generally less sought after and can be cheaper and might actually suit you better, rather than putting up with the relatively small and definitely ugly Prius while still saving you a ton on tax.

I'll be considering other options alright, but diesel is not one of them, the short journey type we use the car for doesn't suit diesel.

quenching

quenching wrote: »

Nearest LPG station is in Finglas as far as I can tell, and that appears to be the only one in Dublin! So, too far away and too risky to rely on a single source.

I can live with Duncan comparisons, won't hear them anyway if I pad my ears with the €50 a week I'd save

This should of course be €20 per week, doesn't sound that much really does it? Maybe the Merc is worth €20 extra per week (an extra €50 per week on petrol, €30 of which I'd be spending on depreciation on the Prius anyway).

Del2005

quenching wrote: »

Thanks for that, seems to make excellent financial sense, which is proving very difficult to argue with. The improved safety for passengers is also making more and more sense. I tried our child seats today in one, 2 boosters and a full seat, and it was a bit tight but I think still OK. I agree though that legroom is better that the Merc, and the boot space was better than I had expected. Given that 90% of its journeys would be less than 3 miles I think the kids can cope with the slightly narrower rear seat. 3 seats are a push in any car so I'm not hugely surprised that its a tight fit.

Long motorway journeys with 5 of us in one might be a bit more tedious than the Mercedes but that's only about 4 times a year, I could hire a minibus each time and still be better off Its looking fairly certain we'll change to a Prius as long as my wife likes it. However, just to throw a spanner in the works I've now been asked to consider a Toyota Corolla Verso!

Have you considered a Civic Hybrid?

quenching

Del2005 wrote: »

Have you considered a Civic Hybrid?

I did, but in comparisons reviews they seem to come off worse than the Prius, well the Insight does anyways, and we need the hatchback really.

sambucus

quenching wrote: »

Nearest LPG station is in Finglas as far as I can tell, and that appears to be the only one in Dublin! So, too far away and too risky to rely on a single source.

I can live with Duncan comparisons, won't hear them anyway if I pad my ears with the €50 a week I'd save

Would be a dual fuel setup ie petrol and LPG
I have my own car being converted at the moment the lads at LPG.ie. The demonstration car I was shown had a virtually seamless changeover between fuels. petrol automatically comes on whenLPG runs out.
https://maps.google.pl/maps/ms?vps=2&hl=pl&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=214379981455406153958.0004c8b7d951e7988c000#bmb=1
This is a map some guy on boards is creating it shows the spot in Finglas and another Coldwinters selling it for 80cents
Don't know anything about the one in Tallaght though. There is an LPG industry map on the net too but is not updated which is why the above was created.
Best of luck with whatever you go for though

Bigus

A 2 nd gen Prius drives much nicer than a w124, I have both ,

Most of the people who put down the Prius ,have never driven one.

They require almost no maintenance so there are big savings here too

If I'm going away for a weekend or a long drive I have no problem taking the Prius ,

In realit 55 mpg is normal and will drop to 48. Mpg in winter

The Prius also has a super strong crash structure compared to older mercs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhLNlfTk0RQ

quenching

Bigus wrote: »

A 2 nd gen Prius drives much nicer than a w124, I have both ,

Most of the people who put down the Prius ,have never driven one.

They require almost no maintenance so there are big savings here too

If I'm going away for a weekend or a long drive I have no problem taking the Prius ,

In realit 55 mpg is normal and will drop to 48. Mpg in winter

The Prius also has a super strong crash structure compared to older mercs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhLNlfTk0RQ

Thanks Bigus, nice to hear from someone who has both. In reality the extra safety is as important as the savings, I'm just still struggling to make the psychological leap from lovely old Merc to efficient modern Prius!

Alanstrainor

Really can't argue with your logic OP. Makes perfect sense.

By the sounds of it, you've gotten great use out of the Merc. I really can't see any real cons going for the Prius, you'll have a much safer, newer car that costs little to run, and the cost of it is hardly crazy.

Best of luck!

Del2005

Bigus wrote: »

The Prius also has a super strong crash structure compared to older mercs

From watching 5th Gear Modus V's 940 crash I agree and won't drive anything less than Euro NCAP 3 now. New cars just plough straight through any non NCAP cars.

Sesshoumaru

Del2005 wrote: »

From watching 5th Gear Modus V's 940 crash I agree and won't drive anything less than Euro NCAP 3 now. New cars just plough straight through any non NCAP cars.

That was very interesting! Just shows how far modern small cars have come in terms of safety.

eth0

quenching wrote: »

lacking in safety features

Jaysus, are ya stone mad to consider that a reason for changing car?

What's next, people will be packing in the Ferrari and getting a Google Driverless Prius because it's safer for the kids and mere humans shouldn't be driving. I'd rather die in a '91 Merc than survive a crash in a Prius meself. Most depressing thread I've seen in here

650Ginge

eth0 wrote: »

quenching wrote: »

lacking in safety features

Jaysus, are ya stone mad to consider that a reason for changing car?

What's next, people will be packing in the Ferrari and getting a Google Driverless Prius because it's safer for the kids and mere humans shouldn't be driving. I'd rather die in a '91 Merc than survive a crash in a Prius meself. Most depressing thread I've seen in here

Will the person responsible for forcing this helpless innocent poster to read threads that they have no interest in and make pointless and downright silly death alternative posts please stop.

Light Switch

Much much much rather the Merc, it's worth the extra cost if you can afford it.

Eric Cartman

Light Switch wrote: »

Much much much rather the Merc, it's worth the extra cost if you can afford it.

at 7000 miles a year id be looking into getting a bigger merc, s500 territory

Eric Cartman

Bigus wrote: »

Most of the people who put down the Prius ,have never driven one.

Having driven a 2nd gen prius, lexus rx400h and rx450h I can safely say they are the 3 most boring cars I have ever driven, my old peugeot partner 1.9 non turbo was more fun to drive.

0 steering feedback , front wheel drive (or bias in the rx400h's case) and enough computers to calm the car down at even a threat of any fun, heavy to maneuver and not as comfortable as other cars in the price bracket (the lexii included)

quenching

eth0 wrote: »

Jaysus, are ya stone mad to consider that a reason for changing car?

What's next, people will be packing in the Ferrari and getting a Google Driverless Prius because it's safer for the kids and mere humans shouldn't be driving. I'd rather die in a '91 Merc than survive a crash in a Prius meself. Most depressing thread I've seen in here

I'm assuming you're not serious, given the cars intended use?

Light Switch wrote: »

Much much much rather the Merc, it's worth the extra cost if you can afford it.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

at 7000 miles a year id be looking into getting a bigger merc, s500 territory

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Having driven a 2nd gen prius, lexus rx400h and rx450h I can safely say they are the 3 most boring cars I have ever driven, my old peugeot partner 1.9 non turbo was more fun to drive.

0 steering feedback , front wheel drive (or bias in the rx400h's case) and enough computers to calm the car down at even a threat of any fun, heavy to maneuver and not as comfortable as other cars in the price bracket (the lexii included)

You're all missing the point, the car is mostly for my wife to drive 3 kids to and from school. She has no interest in cars other than their ability to not break down, doesn't think she's Ayrton Senna reincarnated, and gets enough "excitement" from the passengers! A safe, boring, reliable car will suit her down to the ground :P In the meantime I have an '84 Mercedes 190E to keep me happy for the 1000 miles a year I drive it.

eth0

quenching wrote: »

I'm assuming you're not serious, given the cars intended use?

Deadly serious, I wouldn't come near a Prius in a month of Sundays

kuro2k

Any chance you could post a pic of the 230TE ?

Soarer

quenching wrote: »

You're all missing the point, the car is mostly for my wife to drive 3 kids to and from school. She has no interest in cars other than their ability to not break down, doesn't think she's Ayrton Senna reincarnated, and gets enough "excitement" from the passengers! A safe, boring, reliable car will suit her down to the ground :P In the meantime I have an '84 Mercedes 190E to keep me happy for the 1000 miles a year I drive it.

Once she gets used to the CVT (not that there's much getting used to!) she'll never drive anything else again!

We bought our 2005 Prius in the UK 4 years ago, and haven't had a minute's bother with it. The wife swears by it and won't drive anything else!

Use the cruise control all the time, let the electronics do the thinking, and you'll be up in the 50's mpg no bother. We did a round trip from Cork to Connemara last weekend, including plenty of driving around the country roads up there, and averaged 60.2mpg over the whole weekend. And that's including sitting @ 120km/h on the motorways coming home, which isn't the Prius' forte.

extremetaz

sdeire wrote: »

However, it makes as much financial sense to move to a nicer car that will do decent MPG and may not even have to cost you as much.

This!

Get yourself a nice efficient diesel motor - it'll depreciate less as there's no battery associated uncertainty (be it either technological prejudice or batt lifetime concerns), cut your bill by just as much, have a bigger boot (important for any family) and gives you the benefit of a huge choice of interior and ride specs.

IMO, current hybrids don't work (I'll make very minor exception for the latest plugin models) and I owned one for 4 years so I know a thing or two about it (apologies to any Prius/Civic owners but there's no argument beyond personal preferences in favour of them over clean diesels).

Better off with an efficience ICE than a hybrid.

galwaytt

extremetaz wrote: »

This!

Get yourself a nice efficient diesel motor - it'll depreciate less as there's no battery associated uncertainty (be it either technological prejudice or batt lifetime concerns), cut your bill by just as much, have a bigger boot (important for any family) and gives you the benefit of a huge choice of interior and ride specs.

IMO, current hybrids don't work (I'll make very minor exception for the latest plugin models) and I owned one for 4 years so I know a thing or two about it (apologies to any Prius/Civic owners but there's no argument beyond personal preferences in favour of them over clean diesels).

Better off with an efficience ICE than a hybrid.

No, no, and........No.

Do NOT get a diesel.

For the OP's use, it will NOT be efficient. Efficiency is an all-in figure to include purchase (value), mpg, servicing, depreciation etc etc etc.

It has been done to death already - for the mileage OP is doing, diesel is absolutely the wrong choice for this application.

Whether a Prius is the best is not 100%, but it's certainly better than any diesel.

Oh, and, btw, a Prius IS an ICE car. It also happens to be an efficient one at that (for this app....).......

extremetaz

galwaytt wrote: »

Oh, and, btw, a Prius IS an ICE car. It also happens to be an efficient one at that (for this app....).......

lol - I'll grant you that.

Wasn't aware the diesels were regarded as being so inefficient for short journeys.

Sleepy

I reckon we should make the first post of this thread a sticky as an example of how to work out when it's a good idea to change your car for all those morons swapping reliable cars that have seen most of their depreciation already for brand new small engined diesels to save on motor tax...

quenching

kuro2k wrote: »

Any chance you could post a pic of the 230TE ?

Here you go....
1991, 180k miles, 2.3l petrol automatic, 7 seats, electric everything. Available to swap for a Prius, maybe

delthedriver

quenching wrote: »

Here you go....
1991, 180k miles, 2.3l petrol automatic, 7 seats, electric everything. Available to swap for a Prius, maybe

Nice car. Have you a tow bar on the Merc ?
Toyota dealer advised me a couple of years ago that it is not possible to fit a tow bar on a Prius.At the time I was interested in the Prius as a household runabout.It may be may worth checking up to date position, before you make any decision:D

650Ginge

delthedriver wrote: »

quenching wrote: »

Here you go....
1991, 180k miles, 2.3l petrol automatic, 7 seats, electric everything. Available to swap for a Prius, maybe

Nice car. Have you a tow bar on the Merc ?
Toyota dealer advised me a couple of years ago that it is not possible to fit a tow bar on a Prius.At the time I was interested in the Prius as a household runabout.It may be may worth checking up to date position, before you make any decision:D

Still can't tow with any model of Prius, which is a pain. Hitch mount bike rack is fine.

quenching

delthedriver wrote: »

Nice car. Have you a tow bar on the Merc ?
Toyota dealer advised me a couple of years ago that it is not possible to fit a tow bar on a Prius.At the time I was interested in the Prius as a household runabout.It may be may worth checking up to date position, before you make any decision:D

No tow bar, never had a need of one so the Prius not being able to take one is no big deal to me, I do use a rear mounted bike carrier sometimes but I can't see why it would fit a Prius also as its only attached by straps etc.