I got my license plates today then took the car in for an alignment. Front end was way off. They found a steel cord sticking out of my left front tire - I told you they were bald. They also recommended struts for the front. I expected that. I'll add it to my things to do list. Then I got a set of new tires from Discount Tire. Nice to be able to buy a full set of tires and have them installed for less than $300. That's just a little more than one of my Jeep Wranglers tires and less than one run flat for my BMW. Tomorrow I'm getting a new windshield from Safelite covered under insurance. This is working out well for a commuter scooter. So far, I'm into the car for $2800 purchase price, $127 for the inverter pump, $59 for an alignment, and $299 for tires. A grand total of $3285. I know it's 16 years old, but with 114,000 miles I think she has a lot of life left in her. I saw other Prii when I was searching, but the mileage was always high or they had salvage titles. I can't believe how many salvage - restored titles I saw listed on Craiglist. The cars looked good, usually had low mileage, but I didn't want to deal with underlying problems.
I'm glad I didn't read the owner's manual, I towed my 02 home from west Texas, front wheels up on a dolly with no problems and no side effects. Over 600 miles and the car is now a daily (sort of) driver, and made the trek up to coastal Oregon last summer for the eclipse.
I'm going to work on my C/L ad today to put my 03 up for sale. Mine is like a new car at 150k and will go up for $2700. I'll post up pics in case anyone is interested. Rockauto sells loaded strut assemblies. I have a set of 4 waiting to be put on my 02, which really needs them. Control arms & tie rod ends, too. I've had a lifetime of cars. The little incognito Prii's are right up there among my favorite cars ever. They feel good driving and are fun. And I can't think of anything about them that bothers me. I don't know why so many cars have less than stellar titles, either. I'd NEVER buy one of those.
You have my number, I have a spare, 01, manual trans wiring harness you can have to get wiring parts off it. I have a spare, semi nice top with a cloudy rear window you could have. Hard tops are nice, but kinda defeat the purpose of convertibles. I've sourced parts in Phoenix at 20th Street Autos, on 40th Street I also have a pretty nice Autel code reader that works fine on my 01.
Brian, I appreciate the offers - especially the wiring harness if needed. The Boxster is in good condition cosmetically and has a full soft top in good shape. But it also came with a hard top which you know is nice here in the summer. I will get to the Boxster after I get through maintenance items on the Prius. My wife wants that Boxster gone, and the only thing that is going to keep it around is to get it running well and let her enjoy riding in it. I'm wish I would of known of this forum earlier and waited a few weeks for you to sell your 03. Better price than I paid for mine. A little higher mileage, but I bet the inverter pump worked and the tires weren't shot!
