My first experience with the Prius was when one of our friends bought one in 2007. He raved about the car but wouldn't let anyone test drive it, including me. 5 years later we rented one at the Orange County Airport for the weekend to see if we could stand owning one and, after being pleasantly surprised, that same weekend we picked up our new 2012 gen 3 level 5. This past Tuesday night at class my friend has a mini seizure and needed help getting home. I offered to drive him in his Prius with someone else following so he would have his car at home and I could get back to class. Good idea since I'm a Prius owner and know how to drive it without watching a DVD first. I get in his car and it has 114,989 miles on it. I thought "Well, let's see how worn out the steering, suspension, brakes, power etc., is. To my surprise it drove just as nice as our gen 3 even though we have less than 1/2 the miles on ours. The steering was tight with no play, brakes (according to him) have never been replaced and feel strong, power is good, interior is in great shape with no holes worn in the seats, car handled great. When I got home I told my wife it looks like our little gen 3 Prius will be around for a long time based on what I saw in his 2007. He sees no need to upgrade his, either.
I traded in my 2008 this last November with 190007 miles only because I must have reliable transportation. Nothing was wrong with the car. The interior was spotless, suspension and steering tight, engine using about a quart of oil every 5000. The hybrid battery was my main concern based on usage exclusively here in the desert southwest. I had been watching for the right Gen III to come along, and sure enough it did. Unfortunately for me it was two weeks after putting new tires on the old car. Somebody at an auction somewhere got a really good deal.
Man, don't you just wish you had a crystal ball so you don't replace those tires or get that new battery - just to turn around and sell the car!! I have done that a couple of times myself.
I'm letting the tires on the Acura wear down to the cords while I casually shop CL for a Leaf to replace it. I draw the line when the steel begins to show through the tread, but I might just ride the bicycle when that happens just to avoid replacing the tires.
The one I bought last week has 87k on it and is amazing, I did get the 4 year/48k extra warranty for piece of mind if nothing else.
