I Bought A Cheap, Used Prius

2008 Prius in Grandmotherly Green

Late last Fall, our Volvo XC70s (2004, 2006) required service, one after the other. I had to rent a car.  The Volvo repairs took a long time.  An acquaintance loaned us an ’05 Prius with 299,999 miles on the odometer (2nd generation Prius odos get stuck there).  The vehicle ran amazingly well, was a pleasant vehicle to drive in terms of overall comfort and responsiveness, used Regular fuel (unlike the Volvos) and got amazing gas mileage (unlike the Volvos).  Regarding vehicle reliability and maintenance, my acquaintance said, “I just get the oil changed wherever there’s a coupon.”  My daily commute is a 60 mile round trip.  Even though I felt 30 percent less manly driving that car, I decided I needed a Prius.

Prior to all this, my wife bought the latest model Rainbow vacuum cleaner.  Honestly, it’s a marvel and we use it a lot.  The Rainbow was the most expensive home appliance we’ve ever purchased.

2004 XC70   –   2008 Prius   –   2006 XC70

Eventually, thanks to SearchTempest, I found an unprepossessing 2008 Prius in pale metallic green with about 202,000 miles on the odometer for less than $3000.  I mentioned the Rainbow vacuum cleaner because it cost more than my 2008 Prius.

We arranged to see the car on a Sunday at a small car lot, Georgia’s Finest Auto Brokers near Chickamauga Battlefield in North Georgia.  The car was as-advertised and the sale was without any hassle.

In our area we’ve got a Toyota dealership that can be trusted to manage service work and a really excellent independent mechanic who specializes in Japanese cars.  Since purchase, have put new tires, new 12-volt battery, front brakes and had a roof leak fixed (faulty seal under the leftside seam trim-piece where roof and body panels meet).  Car probably needs a tune up, but I’ve been getting between 39 and 45 mpg (depending on ambient temperature).

All in all, I’ve been pleased with the car.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I wish I’d checked out the available information at PriusChat prior to buying (for my wife) a 2016 Prius Three with Advanced Technology Package for a bundle of cash from Bill Penney Toyota of Huntsville, Alabama.  More about that disaster in another post when I get enough emotional distance to write clearly.

Don’t worry.  I still have and use firearms and vote my conservative conscience.  I still don’t believe any of the climate alarmism that’s functionally a religion for some people.  Saving money on fuel is what motivates my Prius ownership.

Yes, I know that one shed in the photo needs replaced.

Below please find a photo of a Franken-Benz monster car I saw February 3 at Spencer, Tennessee.  It’s in worse shape than that shed.

 

 

 

Bike Project for 76

Update: I’ll try to post some better pictures of the bike frame this week. C.

Tuesday evening I drove out Murfreesboro to buy a Modikoso bike frame for my son.  Goal is to build up a versatile cyclocross-ish bike for the boy to ride on and offroad.  I happened upon this amazing deal using SearchTempest to search multiple area Craigslist pages within however many miles of home I was willing to drive to make a purchase.  A couple of things sold me on this frame – it came with a Chris King headset that, itself, was probably worth close to what the seller was asking, and it was designed for use with 650b wheels.  A few years back, I picked up a 650b wheelset for $50 from Mike at Elon Bike Shop when I was visiting my best friend, Eric.  (See my Troi Villes Tour d’Alamance blog posts for reference as well as this post about Elon Bike Shop.)

The wheels I thought were Shimano 105s, but turns out they were Mavic Experts Mavic CXP 21s (from a distance the sticker looked like it said Expert) with a 105 9 speed cassette.  I’ve got good condition Dura Ace front and rear derailleurs I got around the same time at a local sale for a few dollars.  Now, the big things I need are fork, seatpost, appropriately sized stem, handlebars, crankset and shift/brake levers.  And chain.  And cables. And pedals.  Tires and tubes should be no problem.  Those that came with the tires are old and unsuitable for the use I think this bike will get.

The frame’s seller told me she’d set it up for time-trials.  While I have only the vaguest idea what that is, that Kinesis Air Foil front fork looks like it was designed for riding fast in a straight line on intact, smooth pavement.  Thing I’m trying to figure out is whether the Kinesis fork has to be replaced with a 650b-specific fork or whether a more standard and more easily obtainable 700c fork will work.

Here are a few more photos of the Modikoso:

On another note, here’s something I drew goofing around with Sketchbook, I think it’s called, on an Ipad: