Purchase Advice

New Prius cars will come with 2 years complimentary ToyotaCare (Basic maintenance) coverage. So every 6 months (No later) or 5k miles, if you take your car in for maintenance, you don't pay for the oil change and tire rotations.

Complimentary Maintenance Plan - Toyota Care

After that, you can continue with them or do it yourself. It is recommended for Oil, use 0-20w oil if you plan on doing it yourself.

 

As a potential buyer too I am looking for opinions about which options to purchase. I see that there are a lot of accessories that are offered at the time of purchase.

Here's my thinking on the options offered for the Level II

Alloy Wheel Lock - No
Lower Door Moldings - No
Paint Protection Film $395 - Maybe
Rear Bumper Applique $69- Is this protection from scratches on the bumper? Maybe
All-Weather Floor Mats - $200 Could be cheaper aftermarket?
Ashtray Cup - ? No
Cargo Net - Envelope - No
Cargo Organizer - No
Carpet Floor Mats and Cargo Mat - same as above, could be cheaper aftermarket.
Emergency Assistance Kit - No, I'll make my own.
First Aid Kit - No, I'll make my own.
Illuminated Door Sill - ?
Remote Engine Starter - No
And all the Performance Accessories - No.

Anybody see any reasons for me to change my mind about the above?

And will there be any more options that I should be weary of as the dealer tries to sell me at signing?

 

Not sure if the car is intended for the OP or his daughter.

If the latter, given his other thread, if I were in his shoes, I'd be concerned about buying her a brand new car and having it wrecked too. If it's for her, I'd buy her a reliable, cheap used car.

 

Depends on the kind of neighborhood you are in. Although to be honest, wheel locks are only good as a slowdown to car strippers trying to strip down a car short and right there. If it gets stolen, won't matter.

Paint Protection film - If you know your car is going to be driven on roads that will have debris, yea.

The Rear Bumper applique - It's just a sticker... similar to the paint protection film, but then, getting the aftermarket one from here might be better.

Illuminated Door sill - Nah... It's a flashy thing, not a 'need' thing.

As for the mats - That should be more of a 'throw in' than a 'need'.

What the dealer will try to sell you on is extended warranty - which some people here say 'don't do it'. The dealership will also try to sell you on extended ToyotaCare - All it is, is a coupon book to cover your basic maintenance for another x years. Up to you if you REALLY want it, but note, the basic maintenance is oil and tire rotations.

The only other thing they may try to sell you on is Gap Insurance. Before you go with it, speak with your insurance agent to know what your coverage is, otherwise, you putting more money on something you might not even need. Gap insurance is basically Toyota will cover what the insurance will not with regards to your car if it gets wrecked.

 

Is this the same daughter that wrecked the old car? If so you may want to rethink a new car as she learns or just grow some thick skin for the scratches and dings that might be a common occurrence as she learns.

Also - just to comment on one of the things that you mentioned in your initial post - I am unable to fit my bike in the back of my Prius without removing the front wheel. If you do a bunch of cycling and have a few hundred $'s I'd highly recommend a trailer hitch and a hitch mounted rack.

 

Well technically, it would be his car and his daughter is borrowing it. This is not a car she is going to have but his as well.

Also, remember the circumstances in which she wrecked the car. From one of his posts it was trying to avoid skidding. While a used Prius should or would have VSC, the thing of it all, be it NEW or USED, people will have accidents not necessarily because of their inexperience but also from other people's stupidity. Case in point:



This is an example of an accident I personally witnessed. As you see, the car on the left was hit by the car on the right.

Now the question is... Who is at fault in this picture?

First glance, it would be the car on the right, cause the car on the right has the front smashed in, the car on the left is skewed and was hit in the back.

Now, as the person who witnessed this... The order of events happened like this, as I was behind the car on the right. This is a 4 way intersection with only 2 ways with a protected Left Hand Turn Light, the other 2 ways is a left hand turn only when clear.

The car on the left, the driver ignored oncoming traffic, traffic going into the intersection and made a left turn while the right car was still going at 35 MPH into the intersection. The driver of the white care tried to brake, but didn't make it. The car on the left pulled out right in front of the other driver. Now given the guy on the left was on the opposite side of the intersection, making a left hand turn in front of the the other driver, he is at fault. The girl who was driving the car on the right was shaken and scared out of her mind and her only other avenue besides braking was to turn LEFT which would potentially go into ONCOMING traffic or turn RIGHT which would still plow into said driver of the blue sedan.

Her option was to slam on the brakes which she did. But the person at fault for the accident is not her, but the guy driving the blue sedan for not following right of way.

Now I am sorry if I am doing a soapbox on this thread, but remember, we did not get all the particulars of the situation with regards to how his daughter wrecked the car, for all we know, she was doing defensive driving, but being inexperienced on how to handle the skid, that is the result of her trying to avoid a situation. But as I point out here, the White car was also wrecked, (The car couldn't start and the radiator was pretty much trashed, the picture was taken after the steam was pretty much done), and it wasn't necessarily the driver of this car's fault either.

 

Well that was exactly my point. Would you want a novice driver in *your* brand new car?

 

Well that was exactly my point. Would you want a novice driver in *your* brand new car?

 

I doubt he is going to buy two used cars, let alone a new one for himself and a used one for his daughter. Some people are also relegated to putting their own car, New or otherwise, in the hands of a novice when it comes to kids. Hell, some people, like driving instructors are putting more than just a car at risk, but their own lives and sanity in the hands of novices.

Example:

 

Peter,

Sorry for the loss of your Crown Vic, I love those cars. Had 450k miles on my last one.

I love the prius so far. I know you live up in fairfax, but the dealer that I got mine from had the lowest price around, and was great to deal with. I could pm you his contact info if you want to cruise to richmond. I shopped him against carmax and he was about $500 lower.

Good luck in your search.

 

My dealer was giving three years maintenance so look for a deal there.

Check out the seats. I found my PriusIII/3 (same seats as yours) uncomfortable. I like gadgets and the sunroof/solar panel with internet and nav is fun to have. The sun roof definitely dresses the car up and I always liked to have one.

The seats can be fixed by getting a PriusIII/4 but that's about a $4K boost.

Dealers are making better deals on Prius III than on other models. Shop differently dealers also though I always like to buy where I'll be taking it for service.

 

^^^
I think to avoid confusing others and newbies, you should stop saying "PriusIII" or "Prius III". This is very confusing. See A few questions before I buy | PriusChat.

Better to refer to Gen 3 Prius, 3rd gen Prius, 2010 Prius, 2012 Prius, Gen III Prius, etc. You could also use ZVW30 (a Bob Wilson favorite ) but that might get a bunch of confused looks at dealers, until you point out the ZVW30 on a sticker...

There was a 2010 Prius III, but there were also 2010 Prius I, II, IV and V.

 

Actually, an 'ok' experience with skid control would be a computer game. I say OK because in games, you can simulate some things, but the three things you can't simulate in games is the following:

1) G-force - Any car action expresses a G-force factor, simulating that is near impossible short of a REALLY expensive simulator.
2) Feedback - Depending on the car, there is a bit of feedback. Ranging from the feel of the engine to the steering wheel
3) Fear - In driving, a situation such as this creates fear. Simulators, there is no 'fear factor' involve. Without that, a person who does the simulation will react differently than when their life is on the line. One of the reasons some military use live fire rounds during training to help trainees adapt to the situation.

Overall, car driving type games would help a little in recreating certain situations and how to deal with them, without putting people in danger.