any tips for a new owner?

1) Do not worry about the gas mileage on the first tank, you don't know how 'full' it is or how the dealer used it. Avoid High Speed steady cruising.

2) Do not worry about gas mileage on the second tank, keep learning the controls, where the corners of the car are, and your blind spots.

3) On the third tank, you should be comfortable enough with the car to start looking at the displays. You will find that you get great mileage if you just drive it.

4) Now is the time to read up on pulse and glide, avoiding braking, etc.

5) The 12 volt battery is sized small, any time you run accessories for over a minute, be in READY. If you turn on the head lights and just leave them on, they will turn off when the car is off, and front door is opened. There is a 30 second delay, but you can ask the dealer to change that to 0, 30, or 60 seconds at the same time you ask him to change the reverse beep to a single beep.

 

Wow, talk about breaking them down! I hope you got the deal of the century after a performance like that! Bravo...

Read up on Pulse and Glide, or as I call it stab and release... Essentially get up to speed or a little over and coast as far as you can. Learn where the balance point is between running on the electric motors and the gas engine, and maximize the use of the electric motor. It takes a bit of learning your vehicle, but will quickly become natural as you drive your daily route...

 

Well, based on that anology, I guess I really got a good deal! 2010 Prius III w/Nav - $3000 OTD after Trade (2007 GMC Sierra - $19,500 trade allowance), Tax, Tag, and fees... I put it on my credit card to get the points...

I bought the Toyota Warranty offered here for $1055, so to compare apples to apples, it was $4055 OTD...

Of course, to be fair, we'd have to consider initial investments, i.e. the value v. depreciation of your Staurn compared to the value v. depreciation of my Sierra. You probably made out better there being as it's tough to unload a full sized truck these days...

 

I'm just on my third tank of gas myself, so I'm just a little ahead, but the biggest thing to stand out was that the dealer only had 25/23PSI in the tires. Most people run as high as they can stand up to the cold PSI max of their tires. Higher tire pressure, rougher/noisier ride/ better gas mileage.

I'm running 38/36PSI and plan to to go 42/40PSI when I get the chance. (My tires are 51PSI max.)

Anohter thing is that creeping slow starts from a stoplight don't really help your gas mileage, which surprised me quite a bit.

Otherwise just get used to driving it, I'm sure you'll find the same things I've found out.

 

Good tips...I usually start slow off the line in the corolla and probably would do it in the prius if I didn't read this. Thanks

 

Well I hope the OP got a deal on his Prius inwhich he is happy.

But in general? Being at a dealership at midnight is not where I would ever want to be. The more common dynamic is that we as buyers are the ones held up in the abandoned farm house desperately boarding up the windows and doors, while the entire sales "team" of the dealership are the denizens of the night, coming wave after wave from out of the darkness moaning "Sign The Contract".

In most cases I think it takes a Lance Armstrong level of stanima to even entertain the idea that you can wear down the dealership as opposed to being the one being worn down.

I love cars, and I love researching cars, and almost every step of evaluation and purchase in the process....except I HATE dealerships and "most" sales people...which is probably good because it saves me money and from making impulsive buys...

Anyway...to the OP congratulations if you made it past the Witching Hour and escaped with the prize.

 

Drive it like there's no tomorrow - do at least 300,000 miles before worrying about "fixing" anything.

 

I have a fairly straightforward way of dealing with car buying. I do a lot of research ahead of time, decide what options/packages/whatever I want on the car, and how much I'm willing to pay. Also how much my trade-in is worth if I've got one. Then I go to a dealership and test drive the vehicle. I listen to their starting point, tell them what I'm willing to pay, and/or what I'm willing to accept on the trade. If they aren't willing to do that for me, I get up and leave. There are no shortage of dealerships, and if one isn't interested in my business I'll find one that is. It has worked well so far.

Could I get a better deal if I was willing to spend a bunch of my time haggling? Probably. But I hate haggling. Then again, the last two cars I bought were Priuses, both when they were in very high demand. MSRP was about the best deal out there, and plenty of dealerships were charging more than that. So the only real point of contention was over the trade.

Getting the first Prius in '06 required going to a bunch of dealerships. The number that said "Oh, we start at the "fair" condition KBB trade-in price, and then go down from there if there is anything wrong" amazed me. The idea that it was so important for them to screw people over on their trade in that they were willing to lose a sale over it was surprising. Fortunately I found an honest one (Toyota Marin for anyone in the Bay Area) and so was able to do the deal. Only had to wait a few weeks to get exactly the vehicle I wanted.

I went back to them to buy my 2010, and they were still giving reasonable trade-in value, so they got my business again.