Well I'm back on the forums, glad my username still exists. Had an '05 which I put 84k in two years, sold it to get something more fun (BMW) and now back to a '10 III black with navi. The forum looks so much better now and I like the accessory shop feature...
Welcome back! What type of BMW did you get and what led you back to the Prius? There are, often times, wonderful debates about the merits of the Prius vs the merits of a "fun" car, like a BMW. You now have some insight into both. Care to share?
Don't count on that pristine black paint staying pristine for long. It's the worst paint I've ever seen on any car. I'm scared to wash it because I hate seeing all of the new scratches and swirl marks.
I had an '03 330 convertible. Fantastic car, over-engineered, handled like on rails, heated seats were amazing too...nothing wrong with the car actually. What got me was maintenance... lots of little things need to be replaced due to tear/wear. For instance, how often do you have to replace the front control arm bushings on a Prius? Eh...probably never or once in its lifetime. On most BMW's, once every 50,000 miles IF you wish to retain its handling characteristics... DIY job is about $350, dealership $1200. In the end, reliable beats fun for me. Yeah, I noticed. Not too worried, have tons of waxes/sealants sitting here. Now might be a good idea to invest into a random orbitter buffer.
Great write up!! I believe everything you said as I too had owned a few German vehicles and though they are a blast to drive the maintenance can kill you!!! I had a couple of Audis and Mercedes (early 2000) and thank goodness for the warranty and for Audi the maintenance contract (free). The brakes in Audi needed replacement at 10,000 miles (rotors and pads). I do not drive very hard and the car was driven mainly highway. As for my 7 year old Prius with 103,000 miles, I could not ask for a better vehicle. Only oil changes over the life of the vehicle. Changed the PSD fluid at 65,000 miles. That's it!! I am only 80% wear on my front brakes so they'll last me another 20,000 miles or a little less. Great, great car!!!!
LOL, I thought i wrote too much and edited the post to shrink down the info. But you my friend, seem to *truly* grasp how much maintenance Euro cars require. Glad to be back on priuschat though.... less stuck-up people and kids than the BMW forums... that's fact folks.
Also, i feel like a total newbie again...Gen III is such a huge improvement over Gen II for ME in terms of interior design and navi. Looks are eh, well, will have to get used to is like my ex Gen II. So much reading to do on the forums and manuals...
I am a complete noob, waiting for my Prius to arrive at the dealer (supposed to show up next week-- yay!). Coming into the Prius experience, it is great to hear from someone who owned one, went off to something "better," then came back. That says a lot about the brand. Welcome back, and thanks for the post.
Yeah, now 80% of our cars in the house are all Toyota/Scions and 1 good faithful Dodge van... 250,000 miles and counting! Go Toyota!
