My 2004 Prius has morphed into a 2012.

My 2004 Prius had 141,000 miles on it and was having some problems.
The air conditioner wasn't cooling unless the car was moving, it needed new brakes, belts and had lots of dings including a scraped up and loose rear bumper that needed replacing.

Another worry was that the HV battery was dropping to 1 or two pink bars regularly. When it was new the battery only dropped that far when the car was sitting still with the air conditioner on. I had a Toyota dealer check it out and they said the battery was fine. If the battery went out before 150,000 miles the warranty would take care of it but if it needed to be replaced after that it would have been a large expense. Too large for an 8 year old car.

So I decided it was time to trade it in for a new Prius instead of pay to fix up everything. The dealer gave me $3500 for the 2004. That's about the bottom Kelly value for this car but since it needed work I took it.

I almost got the Prius Five with the radar cruise control but chickened out at the last minute. It was $5000 more than the Prius Four and that just seemed too much for the extra features. I'll wait a few years until the radar feature becomes more affordable. So I've got a new blue 2012 Prius Four.

The new technology was a little overwhelming when I first tried it out. On the 2004 everything was on one screen. Now there are different screens all over the place. The added features are interesting but I find the things I use most, the map and playing music, all take several button pushes on different screens now. In the old Prius, with the custom Vais ipod control I installed, everything was just one steering wheel button away. I also preferred the old door buttons. They seemed easier to use than the new touch sensors on the front top of the handle. The powered driver's seat is great though.

So I've got a few more years now as a member of the Prius family.

BTW: I got my car through a Consumer Reports deal. If you pay $15 for their car report that shows all the dealer's actual costs, it includes some pre-arranged prices that local dealers offer. They were all below dealer's invoice. I saved around $2500 off the MSRP and there was no haggling.