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Comments
I think I agree with you. If we are pretty sure
that GM won't have Toyota making the prizm in
the future, there won't be anything worth buying.
I think the GM card and the cashback/rebate
were the plus, or else I would have gotten
a Toyota too.
Thanks
I've been religious with oil changes every 3,000 miles. The only thing I've had to do outside of routine maintenance is replace the headliner and the driver's side seatbelt.
When is this car going to die? I only like to replace cars when they start costing me a lot of money, which explains why I've only owned two cars in the 17 years that I've graduated from college. (My first car, a 1981 Plymouth Champ--the twin to the Mitsubishi Mirage, died after 97,000 miles. It probably would have lasted longer if I was more regular with the oil changes...)
Anyone out there with long-lived Prizms/Corollas?I was hoping to jump up to a Toyota Avalon or Mitsubishi Diamante, but my car just won't die!
Anyway, that car was rock solid. Got it from my dad as a hand-me-down. But ultimatly it was my complacency of it's reliability that killed it. By the time the car had 113,000 miles on it and I was 23, I know this car was never going to give me any problems, and got lazy on the oil change. (met my current wife, and lost my head for a while) The result was I forgot to check the oil level for 5 months (I use to check it once a month, and change it over every 6 months). During that long period, it developed a slow leak. It wouldn't have been a problem if I had checked the oil level more often. But what can I say... There goes the car after 12 years of faithful service to my father and I.
These corolla and it's clones just last forever, as long as you do your part in caring for it. I can see ads in the new paper about corollas with 200,000 and 300,000 miles on them. Geez!
Is the used price of a corolla really going to be $1000 more than a Prism. I thought I knew what I wanted, now I'm confused again. Any more input or advice?
When they come out with $1000-$2000 rebates, then think about the prizm.
Thanks.
When I took the card out, it was because Saturn was a (new) company under GM. Well, lo and behold...they don't take GM card points! They said they might in the future so I've been building it up and hoping that it would get worked out or that GM would come out with something (over 6 years) that I would want to buy.
Anybody else get caught in this or hear anything on it (the GM vs Saturn issue w/ the card points?)
I got an GM credit car offer in the mail not long ago (you get 3-4 such offers each year). I read the details, and it said that the points can not be used towards Saturn and one other brand. Oh well. I wasn't interested in the card any way.
I think Saturn is selling ok that they don't need incentives such as GM card points or anythign to sell their quota. Therefore, you can't use GM card points to buy a saturn (that should cut into GM's profit margin, and heaven forbid that.)
I had 1900 GM dollars and the MSRP was 14800.
I got the car for 10,200 with discount, rebates and GM card rebate.
I would recommend going and trying a different dealer.
It's possible to rack up a huge rebate if you charge everything on your card. Nowadays I pay off my bablance every month. That 1900 bucks I got was probably equal or less than all the finance charges I've paid over the years.
I purchased my '89 Corolla after trading in my '81 Corolla which had at that time 118,000 miles. At the time the '81 was running fine, the body was in good shape etc. After 10+ years I still have the '89 and it has 139,000 miles on it. My daughter, who just turned sixteen, now drives this car. One of the things that most impresses me about this car is its reliability (it's a Toyota, I know this should not surprise me). This car has never left any member of my family sitting. It has its original silver paint job which still looks great. There is one very small point of rust discoloration (about size of a dime) on the inside lower corner of the driver's door where it appears the rain water drains. This rust has not bubbled the paint, it merely is a rust colored spot on the metal. The car has its original water pump, clutch, alternator, engine and A/C unit. It has had brake pads replaced, timing belt replaced twice (per maintenance schedule)and other routine maintenance like oil/filter change, batteries replaced, spark plugs/wires and various belts and hoses replaced when appropriate. The car burns a little oil when started after having been left sitting for longer than a couple days. This happens only right after startup and stops after the first few seconds of operation. I think the valve guide seals are deteriating which allows a little oil to seep into the cylinder after being left inactive for a day or two.
Now for my '93 Prizm. The Prizm is a rebadged Toyota Corolla. It is made on the SAME assembly line as the Corolla in the Fremont, CA NUMMI plant jointly managed by GM/Toyota. The engine, transmission and even the wiper blade arms are are clearly marked TOYOTA. I did notice that the alternator is AC Delco rather than the Toyota's Nippondenso. I bought the Prizm rather than a Corolla because at the time, a similarly equipped Prizm was a better value than the Corolla, even though aside from styling and a few other minor differences, the two cars were essentially identical.
At this point the Prizm has 98,000 miles on it and it runs beautifully. Reliability has been EXCELLENT. The brakes are a case in point. I had the pads on the rear drum brakes replaced at 86,000 miles. Just this week I had the pads replaced on the front disk brakes for the first time at 98,000 miles!! Meinecke also machined the rotors, though I don't think they were warped to any degree since I have noticed no vibration/modulation or noise when braking. This car, like the older Corolla has never left me sitting. I will say that I think the quality on the paint job is better on the Corolla than the Prizm. I have many more fine chips on the hood etc than I do on the Corolla, even though both have been driven over the same highways under the same conditions. There are absolutely no rust spots on the Prizm at this point.
My point with this long post is, that as long as the Prizm's are manufactured with Toyota drivetrains, engines, etc., a consumer can be very confident they are getting a quality product that with reasonable maintenance should get 100,000+ miles easily. Now having said this, will some people experience problems with the Prizm or Corolla and the answer is yes. NO automaker can produce thousands of autos that are all perfect. But some automakers (Toyota, Honda, Saturn ...) produce vehicles that on average hold up better (in some cases, much better) than other makes. Note, this is also not a Japanese vs US issue either. Toyota and Honda both manufacture the majority of their vehicles sold in the US in the US. Of course all Saturns are produced in the US. When shopping for a car I tend to play the averages. Will a Corolla or Prizm on average be likely to be more reliable than say a Dodge Neon or MOST GM products and I think the answer is yes ;-).
I have a quote on the above Prizm for $15800 + taxes (GMS Discount + $1000 rebate). Good price???
Now, this is a widespread problem, a lot of Prizms and Corollas whine, even the 2000 models. I haven't heard of anyone who was able to fix it. The big question is if this is going to be a big problem in the future, causing the engine to go bad. What if that will happen after the warranty expires?
I also have another problem with my 99 Prizm. The airflow knob is VERY HARD to turn all the way to the right. I know of another guy who has this problem. Is there anyone else experiencing this? The Chevy dealers claimed that it's normal, of course.
Sorry to hear about the aftermarket cruise thing!! My Prizm has the factory unit and it works great.
I've been at odds with Chevrolet over this whinning problem since August and the struggle continues....
I think that the heating system was designed that way. When the settings are on floor heat, the windshield will fog (because of wet floor mats, snow...) So in the winter, you can still warm your feet and not have to worry about the windshield fogging up.
Does that make any sense?? I thought it did.
The only problem is that when you have the fan set at highest setting in the heater mode you get a most unpleasant blast of hot air right square in the face. I get very little warm air (75% defroster/25% heater)at floor level.
Since hot air rises, your face/neck stay REAL warm and the cold, heavier air remains at floor level--thus your feet remain cold.
I dont' know about the noise though.
I needed a larger car to haul around the inlaws when they're in town, and both my husband and I are long-legged, which meant that the inlaws rode in the back seat of the Prizm with their knees in their chins. The Diamante is an overlooked luxury car with a wonderful ride and plenty of leg and headroom front and back.
Anyway, I wrote earlier in this topic (Post #52) about the Prizm's great reliability--this car has never left me stranded. So I hope I find it a good home.
Also, the engine always feels like it is stressed when going above 60mph. Is this normal on a 3 speed?
Maudie Wood
You might want to check out the Diamante topics.
First your 16 valves (2 input, 2 exhaust) are operating all the time on your car. The surge you feel at 43 mph is very probably your automatic transmission kicking down into the lower gear, hence the surge feeling. At the change to a lower gear, the rpms increase giving a surging feeling. By itself this is not something usually to worry about. Your autotrans just has its shift point at that speed.
I'm now looking for an LSi model. No dealers seem to stock them, and virtually never in a 5 speed. Any idea why such low stock on hand?? I can order, but don't know what incentives will be upon delivery.
I was asking $2,250, but sold it for $2,000. A lot better than the $500 the Mitsubishi dealer offered me when I tried to trade it in for a 1999 Diamante. According to Edmunds, the fair market value is $2,020, so I feel good about the price I got. I hope its new owner takes as good care of it as I did.
I wrote earlier in this topic (Post #52)
about the Prizm's great reliability--this car
never left me stranded.
I have a 99 prizm with about 4600 miles on it.. Bought it new back in August. I have noticed the heater thing too, with most of the air directed towards the face rather than the feet... and I have noticed the "surge" too, on my speedometer(mine is like 2 or 3 mph's off, found this out after passing by a handy lil police radar thingy) it shows about 45 mph and it feels like the car cant decide upon a gear like it kicks up, then it kicks down.... but if I am below or above 45, it seems to be fine, and I also have noticed that when I am driving on the highway, around 65 or 70, the engine gets real loud and seems to be running a little rough.. guess its just too fast for them 4 lil hamsters under the hood... I have a 3 spd auto trans in my little prizm... for the most part, I love it... but she has already been to the shop once because the check engine light came on and took it in and to no surprise, something was wrong... they had to replace the emissions canister.. whatever that is.... but I recommend this car for a great first car... I am 16 and it is my first car... and I really enjoy it... gets me where I need to go and gets up and goes when it wants too... still haven't had any whining thank goodness, but I do have the "pebble guard" thing too, I noticed it the first time I washed my car, looks like a path of little bumps under the paint surface... I think that "pebble guard" claim is a bunch of crap but who knows....
i just posted about my gripes in #97, and forgot to mention that if there is anyone out there who needs advice from an owner, they can email me... Will gladly recommend this car to any parents considering buying their teenager a Prizm.
cynthia@dallas.net
So we're looking at a Prizm. Chevy was doing a $1500 rebate up until yesterday - anybody know if they are going to continue it.
She wants a 5-speed base with ABS. I'm skeptical that this is going to be on a lot. Anybody order one? How long to get?
Thanks,
- Mark
I configured mine on the net and then tried to find the car I wanted (base 5sp, no abs, no radio, but with cruise, moonroof, defroster and power locks the MSRP would have been 15,300 and I would've been happy. I would've gladly paid 700 bucks for the power sunroof. But the one I settle for had a 700 dollar optional radio (CD, 700 bucks what a rip) and not even floor mats! The msrp of mine was 14,800 and I got the car after rebates and discount for 10,100 (including GM card).
Honestly, I love the Prizm, its very well made. But if I were to do it over again, I would've waited and got a Ford Focus ZX3.
Does the 2000 Prizm have Variable Valve timing?
It should have vvt-i. Toyota build the Corolla/Prizm, and they share all the major components, that would include the engine. Since 2000 corolla all have vvt-i engine, so should the 2000 prizm.
Damn, I should have waited a year to get the vvt-i engine.