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Toyota Prius (First Generation)
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The clean-fuel credit IS something I will take a look at. Considering the cost of components, would seem to be a cinch to claim that the electric motor/hybrid system (including computer and excluding the gasoline engine) contributed at least $2000 towards the cost.
I would still think one could quibble about the electric car credit and "primarily." But the other credit looks cleaner.
Our dealer (Toyota of Berkeley, CA) said they haven't seen any 6-disc changers and that they couldn't swap the 1-disc the factory substituted for a 6-disc.
Thanks,
Don Gillespie
Nashville, TN
And... It's got extra stuff!
It has a 6 disk in dash ad changer. (How do they get 6 disks inside the dash mounted player?) It is controlled from the center control monitor.
It has a two toned leather interior. The leather was offered to me from the dealership, and installed at a site in wayward. I got to pick the patterns and colors at the installation site. They had a formatted printout sheet for the Prius (they have apparently customized a few Priuses), and a ring of leather swatches. The dealership had my car delivered to the customize. They called me and I took the swatches and the printout sheet to my car and filled in the printout sheet with the colors and patterns I choose. I wasn't entirely confident that the two color layout pattern I picked would look great. But two days later when I picked up the car from the dealership, it looked fantastic!
They also installed a moonroof! (Same shop that did the leather.) I gotta say, this car looks real real goooood with two tone leather and a moon roof!
My dealer told me he had an offer of $30,000 cash from an excited buyer who wanted to take my car immediately.
I'm waiting for the GPS systems to become available. According to my dealer, they may be available as an ad don sometime in July.
By the way, I drove my car from South wayward to Dais CA last weekend (approx 90 miles). I was at 49.2mpg when arriving at Dais. And while driving around town I got up to 49.6mpg. I had filled up the car before making the trip. The fuel indicator was still on full when I arrived at Dais! My father (riding with me) and I were both amazed!
I'm certain this is one of the best investments I've made. I have a cousin and a friend who have both gone to order Priuses for themselves.
Oh, my out-the-door cost with all the extras was $26,015.
Be careful when using the spell checker. It apparently makes changes without you telling it to.
Our dealer offered that explanation but I don't buy it. I heard from another Prius owner who lives nearby and he's been getting ~50mpg for in-town trips since day one. So we're taking it into the shop on Monday.
For those of you in the market, it can pay to look around for deals like this. You may pay a few dollars more, but you will not have to wait the 5 months.
Man, these are nice cars.
rrcarter, by "extra stuff" do you mean you didn't order a 6-disk changer but it was delivered with one?
Because we ordered one, didn't get it, and our dealer claimed they hadn't seen any.
You live in Dublin, not "Dubbin," right?
I read about buyers who experienced less than pleasant experiences with their dealer. I dealt with Dayton Toyota of South Brunswick, NJ. Joe, my sales representative, was knowledgeable of the Prius. All personnel that I dealt with over the five month waiting period were considerate and helpful. No one was pushy or neglectful. They accepted a one hundred dollar down payment that was totally refundable. As per initial negotiations, side molding and molded mudguards will be installed at no extra charge. My purchase was a pleasant experience.
Question of the day. On prehybrid cars, cranking noise can be heard as the starter turns over the engine. On this car...turn the key...silence, and the engine is running. How do they do it? Anyone???
My dealer in Dublin (not Dubbin -- I accidently used the spell checker when writing the message and it automatically changed the spelling of every word it didn't recognize. It even respelled Prius as Pries (???). Some of the respellings I caught before submitting the message. Others got away.) Anyway, my dealer in Dublin offered the options of leather, moonroof and 6 disk changer to me. I had no idea you could get leather and moonroof on this car. All of these options were installed after the car was received from Japan.
I am very pleased with the results. I have the comforts I like in a vehicle, and I get the excellent fuel economy, and do my part to help keep this air we have to breathe clean.
I've had my Prius for just over 3 weeks now. I still have that glowing sort of "pride of ownership" feeling whenever I get in and drive.
(I would like heated leather seats, but I'm just as happy without 'em.)
RE GAS MILEAGE -- I have noticed that the mileage I get in the first 5 minutes of driving usually averages around 27 to 30 mpg. The subsequent 5 minute intervals go up substantually. I'm averaging around 45 mpg combined city and highway.
I'm thinking this has something to do with the drive system reaching an optimal operating tempurature before being able to run at peak efficiency.
Back to "primarily" ... I think it clear that the IRS meant to exclude the Prius and Insight. That doesn't mean that their intent is consistent with the law, or that they understand the Prius.
Even though the gasoline motor is probably the major recharge source for the battery, that doesn't cut mustard. The publication (534?) notes that there can be a variety of sources that provide the (re)charge. Plugging a car into an electric socket? Most U.S. electric power is produced by fossil fuels.
So does "primarily" mean the primary source of power? I still believe that a close look at the meaning of "primary"/"primarily" leaves the matter at the least as a debatable issue, with a good argument to considering that the electric motor is the primary motor/source of power.
I love the service at our local dealer (Alameda) but hate the sales division. Sure, it's "buyer beware," but we still have a sour taste from the used car my husband bought there.
about aftermarket cruise control. Apparently if you're good mechanically, you can install it yourself.
I am very, very happy with this sale. The car is getting a 6-disk CD changer installed at the dealership, and then will go out for aftermarket moonroof installation, and then California emissions for a smog-exempt ruling. Moonroof w/gizmos was $1300; I think that's about the same as Camry options and if not, well, I'm still happy with the deal and a can-do dealer.
btw following Cliffy's advice to try email, I emailed other East Bay dealers. I got this reply today from Toyota of Berkeley: "While we
aren't selling our trak vehicle, one did just become available due to a
cancellation. It will be arriving within the week."
So if anyone wants a Prius this week, call Berkeley.
Joe G.
I thought is was neat that somebody is paying attention to what goes on here. She made mention of several of the good and bad posts here. She asked me about buyer frustrations with the process to get the Prius. I told her that the basis of most of the complaints isn't with the on-line process, but rather with dealers who long for the "good old days". I hope I represented your views well with this.
Dianne
Cheers,
Don
Thanks
Even with lower emissions, this is only an issue in large cities with smog problems, right ? The greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO2) would be about the same, no ?
A better comparison would be with the typical compact car such as the Ford Focus. According to EPA, the LX which with the comparable 110 hp engine, gets 25 mpg City/ 33 mpg Highway. With 50/50 driving, that's an average of 28 mpg.
Prius, with the same power (gas + electric) gets 52 mpg city/45 mpg. With 50/50 driving, that's 48.5 mpg.
Now, what that means is that the Prius is about 73% more fuel efficient. That I think, for many, would justifies the higher cost of the Prius. And further more, the Prius comes with many of the equipements standard, and are of higher material quality.
In the end, the Prius isn't going to be as cheap as the normal cars. As with any new technology, it tend to cost more when new. Even at $20K, Toyota is losing money producing it, so it's not like Toyota can cut the price much lower. If you think on that note, Prius is a bigger bargin than any other car on the market.
Question 1- Were you able to get the $2000 tax credit for purchasing a clean fuel vehicle?
Question 2- I keep hearing that the engine usually must run if you've got the heater blasting (this was also pointed out in an article in March's 'Car And Driver'). Living in Florida this isn't a concern, but I'm wondering if the same is true for the Air conditioning. If you have the A/C going, how much does it affect your mileage? Must the gas engine run when it's on?
search toyota website under prius dealers.
I'm looking to sell my gas pig Jeep Wrangler for a smaller more environmentally friendly car. I really love my Jeep but am starting to feel bad about having two gas pigs in the family ( my wife drives a Sequoia ).
I'm considering a Honda Civic 4dr EX over the Prius and here are my reasons. The Honda gets 32/39 miles per gallon with an automatic and a 127 hp gasoline engine. It also comes with CD player and sunroof for about $3000 less dollars than the Prius. The Honda uses a tried and true gasoline engine that I will most likely be able to drive for 200k or more miles.
With all of this going for the Honda, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me why I should get the Prius instead? I live in Georgia were the A/C will be used often. I will also have to drive on mountain roads as I am an avid mountain biker.
Thanks for you insight ( no pun intended ).
The Prius not only comes with a long warranty, it comes with your first three years of maintenance paid for by Toyota. It is a very roomy and comfortable car. It has ABS (which I don't think the Civic does).
If the bulk of your driving is in town and stop and go and you place a premium on being environment ally friendly, take a good look at the Prius.
I will also mention one thing about your Sequoia. While it is a gas hog, the emissions rating is extremely good. It is rated as a ULEV engine. This is the same level as the Honda Insight. The Prius is an SULEV which produces 75% less harmful emissions.
This is a CAUTION regarding the kind of oil you use at your regularly scheduled maintance procedures. We recently took our Prius for it's 7500 mile service to a large local Toyota Dealer who claimed to be very familiar with servicing them. I wanted to make sure they would use 5W30 oil as the manual specifies (for GOOD REASON) and was told "we always use 10W30 -- it's plenty good enough". Now, I have had mucho experience with the difference in mileage between 5W30 and 10W30 oil in several cars, and insisted upon 5W30. They reluctantly (and condencendingly) agreed, and the car has produced the same excellent mileage (44-52 mpg overall) as before. The lesson is: If you don't want a sudden and significant (and mysterious) degradation in gas mileage in your Prius, INSIST ON THE DEALER USING 5W30 MOTOR OIL AT SERVICING.
Grant Calkins, Camarillo, CA
CasinoOp@worldnet.att.net
5-speed: The Prius's CVT(continuously variable transmission) is better than an automatic and a manual transmission. We have beaten both types of vehicles with comparable engine power off of the line many times, simply because the engine NEVER REALLY SHIFTS! So you don't lose the power in shifting.
This car is NOT for people who want a Sports Car.
This car IS for people who want practicality, FUN, and a chance to change the automotive industry forever. This car is for people who want to feel good about driving a car and save money on gas doing it.
This car promotes driving according to gas mileage, not speed. You find yourself accelerating slowly and decelerating slowly, not wanting to race all the way to a light, only to have to "slam on it" and stop just to have to start up again. This ends up making you drive safer and give you the time to NOTICE THE WORLD as you drive by it.
This car makes you wonder why regen braking hasn't been used before, and gives you a whole new perspective on driving.
You find a new joy in sneaking up on people in parking lots because they can't hear you coming. The looks and stares you get, make you get noticed even more. Here in IOWA, we are one of 2 Prius owners in our city that we know of. It has handled the winter well, averaging over 30 mpg since November, with all of the cold(below freezing), snow and warming up we needed to do and all of the highway driving. When the outside temp gets up to 40F, the fuel efficiency improves to 45mpg easily.
Heater& AC: Yes, if you continuously run Heat and AC on High, the engine will stay on. You will notice this at intersections when the engine shuts off. If you turn on the heat/ac the engine will turn on, this helps you realize that you don't really need it on High all of the time.
If you like your fan on HIGH a lot, the Prius is not for you.
The PRIUS IS JUST PLAIN FUN!
the car. Is this regional or is it for everyone? I was also told that Toyota would send me a
certificate that can be used for the $2000 tax credit. Does anyone know more about this?
Any information would be appreciated. Thanks