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Hi all, I'll be purchasing a new car sometime in the 12 months. I am considering a Prius. I test drove one when they first came out, but had recently purchased my first Daytona and just couldn't bear to part with it. I was laid off 2 years ago and returned to school. I'll be finishing my program in about 3 months and expect to be working before I finish up.
The other vehicles I am considering are probably not typical of a normal Prius buyer, though I since I haven't frequented this forum so I don't really know. I'll be waiting for the Dodge Charger to hit the streets, but I've pretty much narrowed it down to a Magnum/Charger RT or a Prius. Seems like they're pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum to me.
I stopped by the Toyota dealership yesterday in the hopes of checking out a Prius. They had 2 used ones sitting in front of the dealership. The sticker was $22K and change on one and $24K and change on the other. There was a third one around the corner that I was able to take for a 20 minute test drive priced the same as the 2nd one. All three cars had under 20K miles, and was told that they were pretty much base models with no options. He said that they had 2 others, but they were sold earlier this week. The salesman told me that the price of a base Prius was higher than a new one because I could drive one home today instead of waiting for a new one.
Overall, I liked the car. I don't think I'd buy one on the basis of a 20 minute test drive, though. The motor was a little louder than I remembered from the test drive I made took several years ago. I forgot to reset the trip/mileage counter when I started, but the 4 miles or so I drove after I reset it and it registered 43 something. Since most of that was on the highway, I was pretty impressed. On a really good day, I get 30 mpg with my Daytona on the highway. Normally, it's around 28 mpg on the highway. So I was pretty impressed.
I guess I'm looking for feedback from Prius owners and have some questions.
1) For those who have the navigation system, how do you like it and do you think it's worth the cost.
2) Has anyone installed a sunroof in one? Is it possible?
3) What kind of real world gas mileage are you getting?
4) Can any Toyota dealership service a Prius? I seem to recall that they could only be serviced by select dealerships. Is this still the case? Was it ever the case? If so, how numerous are these dealerships? How about stuff like oil changes, etc.
5) How reliable is the Prius. Is there any problem area I should be aware of?
Anything else I might not have thought of?
I appreciate any information you folks would be willing share with me.
Thank you.
Christopher
The other vehicles I am considering are probably not typical of a normal Prius buyer, though I since I haven't frequented this forum so I don't really know. I'll be waiting for the Dodge Charger to hit the streets, but I've pretty much narrowed it down to a Magnum/Charger RT or a Prius. Seems like they're pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum to me.
I stopped by the Toyota dealership yesterday in the hopes of checking out a Prius. They had 2 used ones sitting in front of the dealership. The sticker was $22K and change on one and $24K and change on the other. There was a third one around the corner that I was able to take for a 20 minute test drive priced the same as the 2nd one. All three cars had under 20K miles, and was told that they were pretty much base models with no options. He said that they had 2 others, but they were sold earlier this week. The salesman told me that the price of a base Prius was higher than a new one because I could drive one home today instead of waiting for a new one.
Overall, I liked the car. I don't think I'd buy one on the basis of a 20 minute test drive, though. The motor was a little louder than I remembered from the test drive I made took several years ago. I forgot to reset the trip/mileage counter when I started, but the 4 miles or so I drove after I reset it and it registered 43 something. Since most of that was on the highway, I was pretty impressed. On a really good day, I get 30 mpg with my Daytona on the highway. Normally, it's around 28 mpg on the highway. So I was pretty impressed.
I guess I'm looking for feedback from Prius owners and have some questions.
1) For those who have the navigation system, how do you like it and do you think it's worth the cost.
2) Has anyone installed a sunroof in one? Is it possible?
3) What kind of real world gas mileage are you getting?
4) Can any Toyota dealership service a Prius? I seem to recall that they could only be serviced by select dealerships. Is this still the case? Was it ever the case? If so, how numerous are these dealerships? How about stuff like oil changes, etc.
5) How reliable is the Prius. Is there any problem area I should be aware of?
Anything else I might not have thought of?
I appreciate any information you folks would be willing share with me.
Thank you.
Christopher