[Patman36]

Hey folks. I have a bit of an interesting situation and was hoping to get some advice from the Prius crowd here.

My father recently purchased a Toyota from a dealership near us. It is a small Toyota dealership and they were very nice to deal with. I currently drive a 2002 Corvette that I am getting ready to replace. Interestingly, I have narrowed it down to getting either an '04 Z06 or '04 Prius (I know, talk about opposites, huh?). I contacted the dealership where my father got his Toyota and told my dad's contact to keep me in the know if they have a Prius coming in, this was about two weeks ago.

Well, the guy called me last week and told me he has a '04 silver #9 being built 6/29 that is unspoken for and I can have it for MSRP. Everyone else on his list passed on it. I checked with him today and it is still available. He expected delivery in mid to late July.

I am really leaning towards the Prius as it will be a fun change from what I am driving now and will truly be something I enjoy. My question is whether or not I should go with the '04 or wait until the '05. The silver #9 is what I would want and I guess I am lucky it fell into my lap. Is there much planned for '05 or has info even been released yet?

I appreciate the advice folks. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Patrick

 

[jfschultz]

I would go for it.

Toyota usually only makes a major change in a car every 5 or 6 years and this is the first year for the current Prius. There may be some alterations in the option packages. That is fewer packages with various combinations of the same. So the 05 the works package might be a package 6 instead of 9. (Some one had posted here or on PriusChat that the rear wiper might become standard. That would probably be the level of change for the 05.)

For example the only difference I noticed between my 2000 Camry and the 1999 is the shape of the tail lights.

With the popularity, don't be surprised by a rather hefty price increase. (100% pure speculation, though my dealer indicated that mine is the last 04 they expected to get and to 05 will be a few $K higher.)

 

[arizona charlie]

Grab it right now.

I purchased an 04, millenium silver, package 9. I currently own a 1995 Mercedes S500, a 2002 SLK 32/AMG, and a 1998 SLK 230. We were using the S500 as a commute car but decided to buy the Prius because it evidences the newest technology. My MPG has been, at fillups, between 38 and 42. I enjoy driving the car so much that I gave my wife the AMG and am selling her 230.

Buy the Prius. If a few months from now you decide you don't want the car you should be able to sell it for between $2000 to $5000 more than you paid for it.

Happy motoring.

Arizona Charlie

 

[ifftster]

Go for it! there are a lot of people out there still waiting for their chance...

 

[Patman36]

Well we just went and test drove an '04 white #9 at a dealership today. First time I have actually seen one that wasn't moving down the street.

The car is very cool. I have a Nokia 3650 and it paired very quickly with the car. The salesman had never seen the Bluetooth work before; I called my father from the car and we are all amazed on how easy it was to work. We took the car out for about 20 minutes, did some highway driving, light traffic, etc. "Stealth" mode (I think that's what you guys call it) is pretty hard to get used to. It doesn't feel "natural" to be at a stop light and the car isn't shaking... you don't even hear anything!

We liked the normal trip display where it shows you consumption and what engines were working and when the battery is being rechared. The GPS is cool although we didn't really figure out how to work it; the lady that was taking was trying to take us somewhere but we just ignored her

All in all, it was a great experience. The fiance liked the car as did her little brother. I know it is an interesting move to go from a Corvette to a Prius; believe me, I am having trouble deciding between the two. But after today, the Prius might be ahead. It is definitely an experience.

Thanks for everyone's opinions.

Patrick

 

[jamarimutt]

I would buy the 2004 Prius for daily use and keep the Corvette for weekends.

 

[BIF]

I am a former Corvette owner. The Corvette is hard to beat when you step on the gas hard and feel yourself being pressed back into the seat!

But the Corvette is easy to beat when it's in the shop YET AGAIN and the dealer is telling you it'll cost $3,000 for a new transmission, and that they'll have to keep it for three weeks because they have to wait for parts.

And your response is "Transmission? I only brought it in because the radio wasn't working correctly!"

I sold my 1999 Corvette for a 2000 BMW Z3, and never once looked back! Later, I sold my Z3 for my Prius, and haven't yet looked back! People used to want to ride in my Vette, but I couldn't really shuttle multiple people or "stuff" around.

And then there was always that "steering lock" problem that could happen at any time (in the Vette), even though two different dealers claimed it was fixed. Yeah, right! I may be a bit biased, but I'm sure glad that my Vette is somebody else's problem now!

 

[Patman36]

Well I'm going to make my decision tomorrow sometime. If I don't go with the Prius, I'll let you guys know where it is coming in as it still isn't spoken for. He'll sell it for MSRP as well, silver #9.

Thanks for everyone's ideas. I appreciate it.

Patrick

 

[SLowen]

04 vs 05 Prius

As I understand it, you probably have no choice but to go with the 05. The press is saying that the entire 04 production is sold and they are only taking orders for 05 cars now. Perhaps someone else out there knows better than me, but with a 10 month wait, that is beyond September which is the start of the new model year.

 

[KiwiPrius]

04 vs 05 Prius

God man what are you waiting for???!!!
It took me all of three days to decide to get this car. ...the overwhelming feeling of complete peace and smugness is one to experience as soon as possible.
So keen I was that when the dealer came round to demonstrate the car, and after 20 minutes or so of drinving it, I asked him if he would like me to call a cab so he could get back to the dealership!! He was somewhat taken aback but said YES! I got the car that day (very unusual circumstances I admit, the usual waiting time here in NZ is about 10 weeks I think.)

 

[Bob Allen]

No brainer: go for the Prius. If you don't like it you can easily sell it to someone for what you paid for it, if not more, assuming you buy it at MSRP.
Frankly, from a Buddhist sort of view, there is no comparison between a Corvette and a Prius. Passengers on the Titanic might have valued the Grand Staircase over the "unnecessary" collection of lifeboats that cluttered the promenade, but, at the unfortunate end of the voyage, I think the value of each was pretty clear. You have a chance to be part of changing the face of our society or rewarding those who are perpetuating the damage.
Let us know what you do, and, I promise, I won't make any snide comments if you opt for the Vette.

 

[RSnyder]

No brainer: go for the Prius. If you don't like it you can easily sell it to someone for what you paid for it, if not more, assuming you buy it at MSRP.

Cool, once again the Prius defies common wisdom. This time its defying the "fact" that cars lose a few thousand dollars in value the moment you drive them off the dealer's lot.

 

[Patman36]

As of about 5 minutes ago, I will be the owner of a silver #9 in about 3 weeks

The car is at "ETA Port 6/29" which the dealer translated to mean it is probably in Long Beach, California (LBC for the rappers on the board). From there, it is shipped to Kansas City and then trucked to the dealership.

Got it at MSRP plus a document/title fee of $88. The other options include the floor mats and some kind of bumper protector (have no idea what that is).

I'll miss the Corvette, but I can always get another one.

So, I guess I'm here to stay for awhile.

Patrick

 

[BIF]

The bumper protector is a decal that sticks to the top of the plastic bumper cover. The decal is the same color as the paint, and runs on the top surface of the rear bumper from the left edge of the hatch door to the right edge of the door. It is not removable. In fact, I was told that removal would result in damage to the "real paint" underneath.

It's supposed to protect the top surface of the rear bumper against scratches from putting/taking things into/out of the rear hatch. But in my opinion, it doesn't cover enough, because it's only about an inch wide. For decent protection, I thought it should cover the entire top-facing area of the rear bumper. And I also thought it should be removable/replaceable when it gets too scratched up to look good anymore.

I think they wanted $150 for it, so I told them no. In fact, I told them if my car came with one, I would consider the value of the car to have been decreased, and I would then expect to be paid for the error. They duly noted my statement, and my car didn't come with it! <funny how that works, huh? >