Traded my Lexus...

I finally did it! I traded in my old faithful '99 Lexus LS400 for a new Prius. It was a little tough to do since there was nothing wrong with my Lexus, but I was ready for something new and something different after 6 years of LS400s. I was also tired of the fuel mileage and upkeep costs too. I was averaging about 18mpg in mixed driving on premium fuel, where I've been getting 50mpg in the Prius. My Lexus was a beautiful car with one of the finest built interiors out there. It was bittersweet to see it go. No one believed me when I told them that it had 210k miles.

I was somewhat indifferent between getting a Prius II or III. I really wanted a grey one, but I didn't care for the purple undertone to Winter Grey, so I chose Blizzard Pearl instead. I love the pearl white. I went with misty interior too.

I've really been enjoying my new Prius. The smooth quiet ride, the mpg, and the style of the car are my favorites. I really like the aux in and the supportive seats too. I'm 6'4, and I'm quite comfortable in my Prius. What I find odd is that my Prius doesn't get anywhere near as hot as my Lexus did when it was cooking in the sun while I'm at work. I don't get it. They are parked in the same spot, light colored cars, etc., but the Prius stays much cooler. Maybe the port installed window tint does a better job than the tint that was on my Lexus.

My first tank was 49mpg, and I'm on my second tank, which is currently reading 51mpg. Gotta love that! I've got a couple little rattles, but my prepurchase research on this forum told me to expect them, so I'm not bummed about them. I'll wait until I get a few more miles on the car to see if any more pop up before I let the dealer try to fix them.

What surprises me is how much people love my Prius. I was worried by some of the things I read in the hater threads, but everyone's response to my Prius has been overwhelmingly positive, and South Louisiana isn't really a hot Prius market either. I don't have any trouble with people on the road either, but I'm not a slow moving road block either. I can easily get 50mpg with the ac blowing and keep up with traffic, so I am very happy!

I've already done a few little mods. It's awesome to come from a car that had no aftermarket support to one that has tons of aftermarket support. So far, I've swapped out the meep-meep factory horn, installed 4300k xenon lights from Xenon Depot, installed LED license plate lights, installed the OEM illuminated door sills, swapped out the factory mats for weathertech front and cargo mats, and I have the Prius heatshield too. And since I didn't get the III, I'm likely going to install an indash nav too (probably the flayaudio unit). I really want the turn signal mirrors from Sigma too.

Some pics:

My old Lexus:


That beautiful interior I was talking about:


My Prius:




Plate lights:


Sills:


Xenon lights:


Flake shot:


Here's a link to a video of my new horn:
[ame="http://s520.photobucket.com/albums/w322/bchata1/?action=view&current=IMG_0684.mp4"]IMG_0684.mp4 video by bchata1 - Photobucket[/ame]

 

Thanks Jay! I love the horns too! You don't need any wiring or brackets. Everything you need is included with the horns. The Fiamm horns plug in to the factory wiring harness, so there is no wiring work to make them work. It's just a matter of swapping out the factory horn for the highway blasters.

The models that I installed in my Prius are:
high note: 7211222
low note:7210222

I bought them from Ryder Fleet, per the suggestion of a kind Prius Chat poster. Shipped to my home, they were $21 for the two horns. I believe they are by far the cheapest source for the horns.
Signaltone Fiam Electric Horn Low Note Freeway Blaster 72112-22

Thanks Tideland! I think you posted a bit on Club Lexus, no? I didn't post much over there. I spent my time at Lexus Owners Club; I was the LS moderator. It's a wonderful forum. My last LS400 that I owned had 315k miles when I sold it. It ran and drove perfectly. Other than the paint chips (it was a non clear-coated black), it was in fabulous condition for its age. If you keep up with the timing belt and suspension, a LS will go on forever. They are tremendous cars, and I'll always be a fan.

High Solar Energy Absorption Glass -- that is both a mouthful and very, very cool! I learned something new, thanks! I kind of thought there had to be some kind of special glass since the port installed tint isn't that dark; I'd guess 50% or so.

Thanks Tonic! I wish that we could get Smoky Granite (it's an absolutely perfect grey on some Lexus cars); I'd pay extra for that color just like I did for the blizzard. That's too bad that they sold the blue/misty out from under you, but it doesn't get any better than blizzard with 17" rims! I originally wanted the dark gray interior since it'll hide dirt better over the long run, but when I saw the misty grey, I had to have it. It makes the cockpit so bright and airy.

Thanks spiderman! I remember how exciting it was to see the first real 2010 owners posting pics on here back in '09. It's fun to be official now!

Thanks USB, I'm sure I made the right choice too! I'm really enjoying the car very much! It's funny you mention the low maintenance. I remember reading the maintenance book a while back, and it looks like I just have to change the oil until I get to 100k miles, and even then, it's just changing the plugs and engine and inverter coolants. I like the sound of that!

 

Thanks Paul! The amount that I save from using so much less petrol is awesome...more money for mods, right? It's surreal to go from 18mpg to 50mpg. My first fill up was a staggering....

$23. LOL :cheer2:

Haha that is true! I do like SHAWD. My mom's new Acura has it, and it's a fabulous system. I think my favorite one on my Lexus was ACIS.... that's the Acoustic Controlled Induction System. LOL Car Chat was the main reason I went to their site too. The constant Acura/Honda bashing got old quickly, but other than that, they post a lot of good automotive articles.

No problem! Take a look at the thread I linked to below for a video that briefly explains installation. All you have to do is pull the clips out that hold the top of the bumper cover in so that you can make enough room to stick your hand in there to swap the horns, and that's it!

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...8226-2010-horn-replacement-2.html#post1128319

With my Prius, I can sneak in to the drive-way on electric power without my Cattle Dog, Maddie, knowing! haha She usually peeks through the window when she hears me close the driver's door or the hatch. She likes to keep me company when I wash the car every weekend. This is one of my favorites of her (yep, she's as sweet and loving as she is beautiful) from when she helped wash the Lexus...

Haha, thanks! I can understand that people like power, but from a realistic stand point, I know that I don't ever use it. I do, however, use my Prius's 50 mpg each and every day! My Prius has plenty of power for everyday driving and can easily run at 80mph, so I have no complaints as far as power is concerned. When I bought my car it was in eco mode, and I haven't taken it out of that mode yet. I wonder what Power mode feels like? hmm

 

Haha, I don't doubt that!

Thanks, Maddie always loves a good complement! I hope the horn project works out well!

The problem with the maintenance cost is that everything is expensive. Every part on the car is top quality, and as such, you pay for it when it breaks. Plus, a lot of things in the engine bay aren't laid out in such a way that makes them easy to replace (i.e. the starter is located underneath the intake manifold, and they fail with some regularity on the 400 models. This repair is big $$$, just like most repairs on the car.). I easily spent $2k a year (just on maintenance) keeping my LS in good shape. I loved the car, but I didn't love it the amount that I was spending on it.

I took the video before installing the hid lights. My Lexus used to flash its factory xenon lights with the panic alarm, so is this alright on occasion, or should it be avoided at all costs? I'm just curious..

Thanks BC! I've been wanting to do this a long time, but it was hard to trade in a car that was in perfect condition. One day, I finally decided to just do it, and I'm so glad I did! I agree, the fun to drive factor and gas savings are just great! Today makes 1 month with my Prius, and I've completely enjoyed every second of it!