Hi, I'm currently looking to replace my old car.

Been looking for the three option around 30k.

Second Hand Toyota Prius C 2013/2014 1.5(A)

Second Hand Honday Insight 2014 1.3(A)

Second Hand Toyota Prius 2014/2015 1.8(A)

New Perodua Axia

Been doing some research. But would love to have more input from bro owners of these cars.

eg.

What are the fuel consumption like?
Maintanance cost? What kind of basic maintenance does hybrid require? How often?
For hybrid, should battery dying replacement be a worry, how much is it to change it？ Must it be done by official workshop?
What's your opinion on these cars if you own one or more of them?
Does Axia foot sounds like Zinc plate when it's raining, 'cause that happen to Viva and what about Prius C and Insight?

Much appreciated for your valuable input.

This post has been edited by lukejey: Dec 25 2019, 10:58 PM

Never buy a used hybrid, there's a reason why many owners will sell it >5 years.

And Prius > Insight, Honda during that time still behind Toyota

Better to just get perodua axia

Yes, hybrid battery & other electronic components will start to fail after warranty ends.. Except you got plenty of cash to repair at later stage. Estimate battery cheapest also around 1.5~3k for re-con or half-cut condition and others like electronic A/C compressor & converter which will cost few k to repair if fail... The money you save in fuel in the end will throw back into repairing.. That why a lot of owners ditch their hybrid once warranty ends...

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 25 2019, 09:27 PM

Thanks bro for your input. Very much appreciated!

Thanks for your input bro.
But I would like to know like normally hybrid battery will fail around which stage? and how much is it to replace it at Toyota SC, and does it come with warranty as well?
Because I see some owner are driving it for 200k km without a huge problem but some said alot of problem.

insight 2011 owner here

i might be lucky but so far not much problem with my unit. new hybrid battery for insight is around rm4k but never got warning to change yet

2011-2019 (about to be 2020 is 2 weeks), thats almost 9 years with almost 200,000km clocked in

so far i’ve changed
-engine oil every 8,000km or every 6 months
-cvt fluid every 30,000km or 2 years
-wipers, every year
-normal batteries 3 times
-air conditioner magnetic clutch (same as city tmo parts), this one showed signs of failure after 7 years, was at 150,000km then
-front & rear absorbers, not because fail, i change absorbers on all my family cars after 7-8 years regardless of condition

many of the spareparts use city TMO or jazz model parts

fuel consumption get around 17km/L in city, 20-22km/L highway

the hatchback makes the car very useful but the aircond not the best for rear passengers

but if i could get a prius, i’d go with that, IF they have changed the hybrid battery. my family has one, 2008 model with 235,000km clocked in, so far no problem also. battery changed on final year of warranty. if u buy with old battery and no warranty, might spend a fortune changing that

This post has been edited by Hexane: Dec 25 2019, 10:05 PM

Grateful for your very informative reply bro.

If you don't mind,
Do you send it back to Honda SC. for oil change? How much does those cost?
How much did your air cond. magnetic clutch cost at what year?

Does your family has a prius or prius c? because I'm actually looking at prius 2014/2015 model as well.
Do you have any idea how much would the battery and labor cost if without warranty? I can't find it anywhere online.

Again, thank you bro.

A new perodua axia will not dig a hole in your pocket for at least the next 5 years.

For a used hybrid, add another 10k to your budget for whatever that may break down which will cost you. Not to forget the hassle of dealing with the broken down parts. Eg: time looking for an appropriate workshop, source for parts and the waiting time while your vehicle is being fixed.

The biggest concern when buying a used car especially a car with hybrid technology is, it's almost impossible to predict what's going to break down next and when will it break down.

Just my 2 cents opinion.

Thank you for your advice. Much appreciated!
Really thinking twice before deciding.

i sent my honda to SC only during warranty. after that do most of the maintenance myself in front of my house. but if u’re not the DIY type, can send to any workshop u like, provided its not a problem related with the hybrid system itself. the prius and insight, both have sophisticated engine+motor setup. if that one goes bad, even i would consider getting a new at that point

my family uses (because the car 2008 is still running till this day) is toyota prius, not the prius c. that one FC is awesome, can get 24km/L easily. that one we sent to SC throughout its battery warranty period. luckily we did, they changed the hybrid battery for rm18 because its covered

but in malaysia, fuel is not that expensive. i mean, if u can buy a 5k cheaper option with worse FC, u can still make ends meet because with 5k, u can buy fuel worth for many2 months to come

The reason why I'm looking at used hybrid are mainly for the better safety feature comparing to Axia and also thinking of maybe using it for grab as part time at night。Still calculating if the FC will be worth for that.

If say, total milage for grab part time is around, 500km/week.
It save roughly, RM0.09/km on hybrid, it will justify the 5k in 2 years time for grab alone apart from daily commuting.

Just not sure if the basic maintenance cost are higher than a non-hybrid and also the risk of other repairing work could be justify.

My mechanic just told me yesterday about his friend 2nd hand hybrid. The electronic brake fail and it cost RM5k to fix it.

For Axia, my FC 22.5kmpl on trunk road. 13kmpl city drive.

The good thing about buying new Axia is 5 years warranty, don't need to worry about repairs compare to other 2nd hand cars. Go to SC every 6 months and change engine oil. Other fluids you can change at outside which is cheaper during the 5 years. So far no major defect reported in Axia club.

If you are going for hybrid, get Prius C. Honda Insight's hybrid is inferior to Priuses'. Just make sure you find one with hybrid battery still under warranty or alrleady changed battery. As for master brake pump, yes it is prone to failure and repairing that cost a few k.

If you are not into car stuffs and just want something to drive around then new Axia is the way to go. No worry for the next 5 years.

However, do bear in mind the quality of both car is massively different.

Also, note that Prius C share some common parts with Vios. Not hard to find parts that are non inverter engine related.

Another tips...try joining Prius Facebook club Malaysia. Lots of owner selling there. Buy direct from owner instead of through used car dealers.

if your budget for is around axia range, not recommended to get a used hybrid as dc compressor alone will cost half of axia price

while other parts will easily cost you an arm and leg

Thank you bro for your input and time. Do you happen to know what model is that hybrid car?

Yea, warranty is the benefit of getting a new car.
How much does it cost for oil change in SC for you? Need to go and test drive all these cars this weekend maybe.

Yea. After more research, it seems that Toyota is better than Honda hybrid especially during those years. Yea, I'm currently looking at year 2014/2015 and it should come with 8 years warranty. Need to confirm with dealer if the warranty is still valid tho.

Safety and build quality is one major factor that's why having hard time deciding used prius/ prius c or local made.

This post has been edited by lukejey: Dec 26 2019, 05:06 PM

That's the concern. But alot of review said after years of driving and even reaching 250k km the car is still working fine without major problem as such. So I'm trying to collect more review and opinion.

Forgot already.

For your reference:
http://www.perodua.com.my/service-maintenance/axia/20
Engine oil + filter + gasket + labour should cost you less than RM200.
They recommend every 6 months go back service but you can go back before the 8th month if you haven't hit 10k km.

What's your driving style? Aggressive or light footed?

my view on the matter is u need to make cit clear what u are looking for in the car u want to buy

if u’re looking for build quality, these japanese CBU hybrids are very good. but the risk that you will be taking due to the fact that you have no information on how the previous owner took care of the car, is quite big. like other ppl have said, it can cost a fortune to fix crucial parts

i’ve done grab in my insight for around 2 months while in between jobs. during then i could only get max 17km/L in city driving because if u drive grab, u have to drive rather quickly. not the lightfooted-chill-save-petrol type of driving that you can do on ur own sweet time

if u buy an axia with 13km/L, thats around 4km/L difference. but if you total it up, its not that much

example, for every 1000km, with fuel RM2.08/L
insight: 58.8L = RM122.30
axia: 76.9L = RM159.95

thats RM37.65. im not saying im rich, but to me RM37.65 difference for every 1000km is not a deal breaker for me. in other countries like maybe singapore where fuel prices is SGD2.68, thats RM8.00, that’ll make A LOT of difference (RM144 for every 1000km to be exact)

this are all numbers that might not be relevant to some ppl

one thing i can say. i’ve driven my car for 8 years, and im hoping to drive for another 4 years at least because it suits my needs. when i drove a satria few years back, after 5 years, i cant wait to change to another car after settling the loan

currently i use my insight mainly for travelling interstate, and go to work using motorbike as im staying 4km away and traffic is pretty much non existent. parking wise, motor much easier compared to car. so i leave the car at home for my wife and daughter. it travels around 2,000km per month now over the weekends mainly. given that my car’s condition is still good, i get 20km/L conbined city/highway driving. so i have yet to start a loan on another car

but if i were you, i’d go with new axia with warranty for peace of mind. or try and get a used 2019 premium persona. i know its not within ur budget, but to me the premium line with 6 airbags and good handling is something i’d go a bit extra for. but FC for the campro is not EEV rated so it’ll be quite bad

This post has been edited by Hexane: Dec 26 2019, 08:44 PM

are those suppose to be oversea review?
with local weather and road condition i will consider parts lasting 150K a blessing

prius expensive when purchased but look at the price now, dealer know the risk and market

my relative bought an used prius this year, he bought it without knowing the pros and cons
cannot deny that QC is good and fitting is still decent for 10 years old car


it is good if it can last that long, since you are defending i suppose you really wanted the hybrid

From what i read majourity of the comments above, majourity voted Axia just because and only because of - New car, warranty, warranty and warranty.

And not the actual driving experience. Nobody talks about it at all.
All want to scare him off.

Oh BTW - you guys haven't heard about SC refusing warranty claims huh. Even if you fully service the damn car at the SC.

Actually Prius is so reliable that some countries like Singapore , uses Hybrid for their Taxi fleet
(I've seen Prius and Hyundai Ioniq being used) .
Its a real test - Driving long distance and being abused at the same time.

For Axia , nothing wrong with Axia also - I'm driving one and liking it. But still cannot compare with Hybrid fuel savings.
Mine can get 17Km/l city or sometimes 16Km/l if I am harder on driving. And its manual BTW. Auto expect 13-4KM/L.
Of course to get such good FC, everything has to be lighter and thinner. Sacrifice in comfort and handling.

So if it were me, I would choose a Hybrid. But with all other cars, just make sure its a good unit.

i second your last point

one of my relatives bought a used honda insight back in 2015. he bought a 2011 unit like mine as there were rumors that the 2012 had engine oil leaking problem

he went and looked at 9 units before buying one with 60,000km clocked. there were other units with lesser milage, but after seeing several units, that one was the best to him

so far he’s also still using the car but havent reached 200,000km yet i think

oh and to TS, do note that hybrids are not built for racing. u will feel the car quite underpowered. my parents prius was not so bad, but insight mmg feel underpowered if the hybrid battery not fully charged as the electric motor cant help much

Get a hybrid to tell everyone you care for the environment

my colleague has Insight. Sat in his Insight. Its more like a micro hybrid rather than Prius being full hybrid. Something like Serena Hybrid except Inisght has a way larger proper motor than Serena.
That's why when at traffic light, with the engine Auto Idle stop - Ac also becomes hotter.

The Insight is under power because its only 1.3L + Small hybrid motor vs Prius which has a 1.8L and more powerful motor. But if TS is gonna race in a Prius then no point buying a Hybrid.

Of course the difference between Prius and Insight - Insight relies entirely on the engine to move. The motor is just a part time assistant.
Insight can't crawl in a traffic jam or parking lot without starting the engine unlike Toyota'S Hybrid.

Whereas the Prius or Camry Hybrid, the motor can run independently or together with the engine. Or engine alone.

But the plus point would be if the Insight battery dies, not much effect on the whole car.

Whereas for the Prius.
There is a video by Tyler of Hoovies Garage - He intentionally boight a Prius with a dead battery. car still can run with the engine alone. But later he diy change the battery. Typical American style.

https://youtu.be/lSwUEVx5G3U

There. I've explained enough what happens if the Prius and Insight battery dies.

Not trying to scare him off, just sharing our thoughts especially when TS mentioned about maintenance & hybrid battery replacement as his concerns.

And naturally a new perodua axia which is under his shortlist have far less to worry when it comes to maintenance.

This post has been edited by budang: Dec 27 2019, 05:16 PM

i love how the prius feels like a spaceship of a car when you turn it on in the morning. just the lcd light up, then a humming motor noise, until u reach around 20km/H or battery depleted, then the 1.8L engine roars

i agree that the insight dont feel like a hybrid. for its time where not many auto start/stop cars were around, it was considered new. but the insight lost the hybrid race against prius pretty badly. however, it is still a rather decent car in general

i think the only reason why the insight can still get better scores than other hatchbacks is due to it’s regenerative braking (duhhh)

TS, if u want hybrid, get a prius rather than an insight. cabin also feels bigger in the prius. plus, the futuristic feeling really sells the hybrid experience

Thank you every brossss for your time and input. I'm sorry as I was running around yesterday and didn't have time to reply. Much Much appreciated.

Yes bro. Not planning to use it like a sport car. I'm from ipoh, so if I were to take up grab for part time, I believe I can't wreck it much as well, since people here will take all the lanes as slow lanes and traffic light everywhere. So won't have much opportunity to floor the gas. hahahahahaha.

Yes, I've already dropped Insight in my brain. Now looking at Prius and Axia mainly.

But I've yet to manage to find out what are the actual cost of things like invertor, air cond and stuff replacement at sc or outside workshop for Prius.

and also I heard that rebuilding the battery will cost much lower but I can't find much comment on how good it will be and how much it would cost comparing to a whole new unit at 6k-7k.

I'm also curious, the 8 years warranty are only for Hybrid battery right?

and can I request the used car dealer that I take the car to a workshop to get it check? Can it be done at toyota S.C.? Normally how much would it cost at S.C and workshop outside for inspection service? and I heard Tee and Tee workshop is superb for hybrid car, any bro had any experience dealing with them before?

You're right bro, I believe Axia is a good car as well. but I think I tend to think that the driving experience slightly better with a Prius.

Do you remember stories about SC refusing to honor the warranty claim? Would like to find out more.

Any tips on how to choose and see if a used car unit is a good unit?

hahahaha. thanks bro. Yes, I don't think those comment are not on the purpose of scaring me of a used hybrid. I totally appreciated everyone for their opinion and help.

and yes, Axia does have the pro of having a warranty and I appreciate everyone that mentioned it.

Thank you brother for your effort to find this for me. If only my words can repay your time and efforts.

My driving style are more of hmm, somewhere in between, not aggressive but not too light either. and as I'm in Ipoh, we can only drive so fast in town and most of the area, as people will normally hog both lane with 50kmh - 60kmh. hahahahaha. and the amount of bump increased in the main city area! and also the number traffic lights.

So I'm definitely more light footed than the way I used to drive back when I was in KL but slightly heavier than those super chill one.

Bro, may I know how's his Prius doing for him so far? Does he like it or regret it?

hahahahaha. Yea, I'm kind of more towards a Prius as I drove a Viva last time, as much as it's really worth the price and no complain, but it was kind of too thin and the sound that the roof make when it's under the rain really wasn't my favorite thing about it.

I bought a 2013 Prius C last year. So far so good and not giving me any problem. Power, safety, Airbags, handling, interior space, quiet and comfort, Axia no where near to Prius C. Average mileage was 22-23km/L. Insight can't run in Full EV mode.

This post has been edited by ToyotaKaki: Dec 28 2019, 08:26 PM

Thanks bro, glad that you're enjoying it.

May I find out a few things from you?
Why did you choose Prius C over Prius?
Did you got it from a dealer or direct owner?
Did you send it for an inspection prior the purchase? Where and how?

so far so good. he is very happy with it. definitely no regret.
that is for now, as he is not the kind that willing to pay for expensive part which cost 20-30% of car value.

my simple advice for you.
if you intend to buy an used car and pray nothing will fail, then you are basically driving a time bomb. no peace of mind.