SW03ES

True about CA lol. Next time I chat with my insurance agent I'll ask him about it...

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!

Well they would have made it up on the service if they hadn't boned it up and lost his trust by being unprofessional.

Yep, I hear that from everybody. The main difference is the composition of rubber, snow tires have much harder rubber that doesn't hold snow in the treads as readily and they have a more aggressive tread design to maximize traction. Summer tires on the other hand have very soft rubber to provide the grippiest handling and the best quiet ride and benign tread designs with shallow grooves. M+S tires are a hybrid of the two. Like most things that are hybrids (leather cleaner/conditioner, cleaner waxes, combo shampoo/conditioners) it does niether side of the spectrum as well as a dedicated counterpart.

I've been doing some research and it does actually appear that covering hit and runs under uninsured motorist coverage may be unusual. My company does it though, and it was their idea not mine.

Definately totalled. Sorry about the wreck, glad you're okay.

Glad to hear they were able to wash the car without destroying it lol. I don't see any cracks in the drive belt either, Lexus replaces things like this as a matter of maintenance though. The engine mount and the dog bone are also probably legit as those are common ES problems. If you're talking with JPI I'm sure he can do it much cheaper than the dealership.

My insurance agent disagrees, I've filed several hit and run claims and they've all been covered as no fault and my premiums have never increased. When you file a collision claim your premium comes up because you were at fault and are now a higher risk. You're not at fault when someone hits your vehicle and then unlawfully leaves without notice. Now if you file 12 hit and run claims they may take notice, but one bumper? Call your insurance agent...

I find that a possible deal, I got over $4000 off when I bought my ES.

Also keep in mind that they sell ES' with horrible tires usually, mine got much quieter once I upgraded to better rubber. The only thing you can do is drive them both back to back. I felt like you did, that I could save some bucks with the Camry. Like Jim said the interiors are a whole different world between the two, and *i* felt that the ES was quieter. In all honesty there's not really that much of a price difference and with the ES you get 2 more years of warranty, a much nicer interior, a more appealing exterior, a better ride and more sound isolation. After driving the two for me it was a no brainer.

If you're looking at an 05 330 the steering clunk is a non-issue. Lexus has an updated part for this and it is already installed on the 05. As for the transmission, its not the smoothest transmission out there no but it is plenty smooth, the acceleration delay is a fraction of a second and depending on your driving style you may not even feel it. This is a possibility on all cars with electronic throttles. As for the seat, I have a lower back problem and I find the drivers seat very comfortable. Thats just a matter of opinion, drive an ES extensively before you buy as you should any car to make sure it fits you. Cornering well, the ES is no sports car and its FWD. It does corner competently though but its not a car designed to be driven hard. I'm a fairly aggressive driver and I've been happy with it. Poor gas mileage, its not great I get between 20-25. But thats pretty par for the course in luxury cars, and at least the ES will run on regular gas. As for the guages, like SK said thats a matter of opinion. I think the ES' gauges are MUCH snazzier than the Camrys. The ES has Lexus' constantly lit optitron gauges and the Camry has plain ordinary plastic ones. Keep in mind that they don't design Lexus vehicles to be "snazzy" they design them to be elegant. I'm 100% satisfied with mine and I love it more every mile I drive it. Its gotten more comfortable and smoother as its aged.

It would have to be special order. Which means if you're looking in the used market forget about it. There might be a few in the whole country...

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

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.

Thats what everyone says until they drive their vehicle in the snow with new snow tires ;) Snow tires make a huge difference on any vehicle in the snow. Its not the tread pattern as much as its the composition of the rubber.

Some drivers never notice the hesitation, it all depends on your driving style.

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.

The voice activation is totally useless. It doesn't understand the commands at all. As for addresses, they're easy. The issue is you can't input addressed when you're moving only while stopped. You can auto input your home address and 6 saved addresses (kind of like presets) while you're on the move though. Once you learn the system its very easy to operate. It comes with a very thorough DVD that shows you all the functions.

Tuned- But I think $50 at least is worthwhile spending on a brand new $45,000 vehicle. termite- You'd have to ask your insurance coverage. For mine whenever your vehicle is hit and run, meaning even in a parking lot when you're not there they'll insure it under uninsured motorist coverage. They'll have an adjuster come out and look at it and he'll make all kinds of measurements to be sure that the vehicle was stationary when it was hit, then he'll give you an amount and you can shop from there. Repainting the bumper can cost from $300-$1000. By federal law the insurance company cannot tell you where to go so ask around and pick a shop that does good work.

The Lexus comes already standard with the CAPABILITY of XM radio where on GM vehicles XM is a factory option. You wind up paying about the same for it, just with the Lexus its a dealer installed option and the GMs its installed at the factory. If you buy it when you buy the car they'll roll it into the financing and its no big deal. Its kind of like actually coming WITH a phone or just prewired for a phone. The Lexus is simply prewired for XM.

Definately

I've heard that the newer ones do...

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.

Can you feel the scratch when you rub your hand over it? If you can then there is no way to repair it except with paint. If its that long I also wouldn't do this yourself, find some places in your area that have good references (do check them yourself) that specialize in bumper repair. It can probably be fixed to 90% by a skilled person with touchup paint and wetsanding but you'll always notice it even if others don't. If it were my car I would turn it into my uninsured motorist coverage (as a hit and run so it wont affect your premiums) and get the whole bumper repainted.

I find it very accurate even in the country areas of WV, VA, and PA I've never had any problems with it being unreliable or not having roads. A couple of times in the extreme country like when we rented a cabin on top of a mountain (literally) in VA it wouldn't compute a destination but the roads were still there that I could follow.