SW03ES Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Well we put 5000 miles on my Lexus since October because my fiance's Grandmother was dying and we were travelling back and forth to NJ often. Wanting to save on the mileage and realizing that we have a big 400 mile each way trip to NY for New Years I decided we would drive her Prius to NJ this weekend for "Christmas" with her family. Its an 04, we've had it since April and it has 4000 miles on it. Its a pkg 9 with every option, smart entry, navigation, bixenon headlamps. I've driven it many times but never extensively, I did all the driving this weekend. I was impressed with it, its hardly a Lexus on the highway but it rode smoothly and we got 47mpg on the trip, the Lexus usually gets about 25. The drivers seat had some pressure points for me in the lower back area (I have chronic problems there because of a birth defect, most cars will make my lower back hurt after an hour or so, but not the Lexus) but other than that it was comfortable. I was able to get a comfortable seating position despite the limited manual seat adjustments. It rode like a champ at 80 with some kind of interesting wind buffeting that seemed out of place on such an aerodynamic car. It also developed some sort of rattle in the passengers dash halfway through the trip up that the dealer will have to look at... We had the two of us, 4 ferrets in their travel cage and our puppy in the rear seat, all of their stuff (which is massive I assure you, a 4 foot by 4 foot playpen, a collapsible crate for the dog, their luggage, food, litter, bedding, our bags, and christmas presents) it swallowed all the luggage very well and I was still able to see out the back window. The stereo is high quality (JBL) and and the climate control worked well. All in all I'm really impressed, its a very nice little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Well we put 5000 miles on my Lexus since October because my fiance's Grandmother was dying and we were travelling back and forth to NJ often. Wanting to save on the mileage and realizing that we have a big 400 mile each way trip to NY for New Years I decided we would drive her Prius to NJ this weekend for "Christmas" with her family. Its an 04, we've had it since April and it has 4000 miles on it. Its a pkg 9 with every option, smart entry, navigation, bixenon headlamps. I've driven it many times but never extensively, I did all the driving this weekend.I was impressed with it, its hardly a Lexus on the highway but it rode smoothly and we got 47mpg on the trip, the Lexus usually gets about 25. The drivers seat had some pressure points for me in the lower back area (I have chronic problems there because of a birth defect, most cars will make my lower back hurt after an hour or so, but not the Lexus) but other than that it was comfortable. I was able to get a comfortable seating position despite the limited manual seat adjustments. It rode like a champ at 80 with some kind of interesting wind buffeting that seemed out of place on such an aerodynamic car. It also developed some sort of rattle in the passengers dash halfway through the trip up that the dealer will have to look at... We had the two of us, 4 ferrets in their travel cage and our puppy in the rear seat, all of their stuff (which is massive I assure you, a 4 foot by 4 foot playpen, a collapsible crate for the dog, their luggage, food, litter, bedding, our bags, and christmas presents) it swallowed all the luggage very well and I was still able to see out the back window. The stereo is high quality (JBL) and and the climate control worked well. All in all I'm really impressed, its a very nice little car. ← cool. I sent this to my niece in Ohio. She's on a waiting list to get a Prius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 How longs the wait? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denslexusgx470 Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 How longs the wait? ← there's still a waiting list? so i guess they don't give any discounts yet <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Oh yes, the waiting list is longer than ever. Up to 2 years in some places. Discounts? Ha, a lot of dealers are asking $5-$10k OVER sticker. They're going to ramp up production this spring though and the supply should rapidly increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denslexusgx470 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Oh yes, the waiting list is longer than ever. Up to 2 years in some places.Discounts? Ha, a lot of dealers are asking $5-$10k OVER sticker. They're going to ramp up production this spring though and the supply should rapidly increase. ← but shouldn't the demand for it DECREASE after the hybrid Higlander and Rx400h come out?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 I don't think so. The highlander and the RX400h are both significantly more expensive than the Prius and they don't offer the same gas mileage. The demand will drop come spring when the production increases. Right now there are nearly 10 times as many orders as cars being built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 How longs the wait? ← She's been on the list about 3 months and is pretty close to the top now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Oh yes, the waiting list is longer than ever. Up to 2 years in some places.Discounts? Ha, a lot of dealers are asking $5-$10k OVER sticker. They're going to ramp up production this spring though and the supply should rapidly increase. ← They did that with Accords back around 1986. I went shopping and had an Accord all picked out. Then they hit me with the "added dealer markup" and I just walked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermate Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 a waiting list for a Toyota Prius?????? i guess this hybrid thing is really taking off....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Yep, some say the Prius has the longest and most extensive waiting list of any Automotive product ever. Taking off barely begins to describe it, they are HUGE. 3 mos. isn't bad. It all depends on your area. Here the wait is about a year and a half, in CA its 2 years. We got ours in WV in 2 weeks and paid sticker, but that dealer is now asking a $5k markup. Some dealers even auction them as opposed to running a wait list, they get a Prius in call everyone on a list and they actually have an auction. Check ebay, used 04 Priuses are going as much as $10k more than new ones! They built 40,000 Priuses in 04 and the wait list was 500,000 people long. This year they're planning on making 100,000 of them but thats still WELL below the demand. This is what is giving Toyota the confidence to build a hybrid version of every one of its models by 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 This is a brand new pkg #2 Prius on ebay, this is almost a base model (pkg #1 is the fleet model) and the MSRP is probably about $22500. Its selling for $30,000. A fully loaded pkg #9 (ours is a #9, its now a #6 in 05 they dropped 3 packages) is about $26,000. This car has no nav, no xenon, etc. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4512503730&rd=1 Fully loaded pkg #6 for $34,000 MSRP is $26,000. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4513094868&rd=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denslexusgx470 Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 i doubt price is the main concern of the people. heck, the top producing realtor and doctors drive the Prius! Maybe it's the idea of "GETTING THEIR HANDS" on a hybrid ASAP. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 a waiting list for a Toyota Prius?????? i guess this hybrid thing is really taking off....... ← There's a pretty good IRS tax incentive for alternative fuel vehicles that might be helping as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 This is a brand new pkg #2 Prius on ebay, this is almost a base model (pkg #1 is the fleet model) and the MSRP is probably about $22500. Its selling for $30,000. A fully loaded pkg #9 (ours is a #9, its now a #6 in 05 they dropped 3 packages) is about $26,000. This car has no nav, no xenon, etc.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4512503730&rd=1 Fully loaded pkg #6 for $34,000 MSRP is $26,000. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4513094868&rd=1 ← Neither of those cars met reserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 But they do sell for those prices, trust me. Hang around on some of the Prius boards. No Prius goes unpurchased. dens- Its funny, when we picked ours up a guy was trading his 540i BMW on one. I'm not gonna trade my Lexus on a Prius, I may replace it with a hybrid Lexus one day though... The tax incentive is nice, even nicer is that hybrids can be driven solo in the carpool lanes in VA and they're trying to get that passed in MD. Never have to be inspected, in MD they're even sales tax exempt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermate Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 There's a pretty good IRS tax incentive for alternative fuel vehicles that might be helping as well. yeah i've heard about that........a co-worker of mine was talking about it one day....he is really into the hybrid thing.... i read somewhere where one of the prototype Lexus hybrids (don't remember specifics) has somehting upwards of 400 HP........ .............half mechanical motor, half electric motor......those electric motors can produce some serious HP and torque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 Thats the one that should become the GS and LS hybrids, V12 performance with V6 gas mileage ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denslexusgx470 Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Thats the one that should become the GS and LS hybrids, V12 performance with V6 gas mileage ;) ← wow, that would be nice, hopefully in 10 years all the Lexus vehicles will be hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBdenny Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 SWO they don't have to be inspected? I sat behind one last month getting inspected? I know they can drive ine HOV single but the HOV's are a joke anyway. During the busiest traffic times they close one lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted January 4, 2005 Author Share Posted January 4, 2005 They have to be SAFETY inspected but not emissions tested. In MD we don't have safety inspections, just emissions testing ;) Around here the HOVs aren't a joke, driving HOV here can be the difference between a 2 hour and a 45 minute ride. A joke if you can't drive in the HOV lane, but a pretty good deal if you can ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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