Live across the street from beach want to get a prius, is it ok for car battery etc to be so close

I live right across the street from the beach. I have to rinse my windshield every morning just to see. I want a hybred, will the ocean air wreck the battery etc?

Probably the body will go before the battery. Besides is there not a 10 waranty?

Living so close to the ocean will shorten the life of any vehicle due to salt corrosion.

I do not think you need be concerned over getting a hybrid. The battery is in a sealed compartment so you do not have the constant of flow of salt air over the battery while the car is parked. In any case, it wouldn’t hurt to contact Toyota (or any other maker of hybrids) to ask if they recommend any special precautions or maintenance for a car operated in your situation.

I would not subject ANY new, expensive car to the conditions you describe…You are just throwing your money away…

Three things are certain: death, taxes and your car rusting out.
Yours will just rust out quicker than ours, regardless of whatever car you buy.

If you need a car where you live, don’t worry about it. It is the price of living on the beach.

I have heard that too, that living very close to an ocean will cause a car rust more quickly as we have here in the northern midwest with road salt in winter. You might want to try to determine how close to the ocean is critical for body rust and whether an enclosed garage, not a carport, would help to keep salt water spray away from your car as much as possible. An occasional fresh water wash including the underbody would also help to preserve your car. Keep in mind that much of populated Japan, where your car was designed, is near ocean water so your battery concern was certainly kept in mind if it was considered important to Toyota.

@WhaWho I don’t agree with you about Toyota taking the proximity to the ocean into account.

The Japanese don’t keep their cars nearly as long as we do, so they don’t even have them long enough to deal with the rust that we do.

"If you need a car where you live, don't worry about it. It is the price of living on the beach."

Could be a great way to justify buying that Corvette you’ve always wanted! ;=)

No need to worry about airborne ocean salt. Where most of us live they use road salt with a vengeance, and I see many Prius vehicles on the street, operating just fine.

I’m new here on car talk, and want to thank all of you for answering my question. What a great site!

I’m thinking of a used Prius. I went and looked at the Ford C-Max yesterday and liked it, but I can’t spend that kind of money.

I have about 9k I can spend. Want good milage (who doesn’t), any other ideas?
thanks guys

For $9000 you can buy a nearly new Hyundai Accent with very low mileage. Unless you drive close to 30,000 miles a year, a Prius will not save you any money. A small car like an Accent is both very easy on gas and has low upkeep costs.

Unless you want to use the hybrid to drive in the HOV lane on the freeway, you should consider other cars that get good mileage. You can buy a much newer gas-only car and that will save on repairs. You could buy a 2005 Prius with about 100,000 miles on it for $9000. Or you could buy a 2010 Nissan Versa 1.6 sedan with about 40,000 miles for a similar price. You get 26 MPG city and 33 MPH highway, but it is 5 years newer and has less than half the mileage. You might find a similar deal o a 2010 Kia Rio LX sedan.

Thanks you guys, I’ll look into the Hyundai or Nissan idea. Anyone have any input on the nissan cube

Here’s a review. They liked it. You might find a 2009 (1st year) for around $9000.