hello, i've been obsessing about the prius ever since i noticed larry david driving one on curb your enthusiasm back in early 2001, i think. sadly i had already bought a 2000 outback. i shouldn't disparage my subaru, it's saved my life in the snow and has helped me and everyone i know move. it's a great car, but it's time to say good-bye. this is where you come in. i need your help deciding on a package. i think i'd be happy with anything from 3-8. i'm actually more hung up on the color--dying for magnetic gray, but am afraid if i wait until may, i'll miss out on the full tax credit. i would be happy with silver too, but that's the color of subaru, so... some things for you to consider when offering your astute advice: i don't get the navigation device, everyone i know who has it swears by the thing. but it seems like--in an attempt to avoid traffic--it takes you on far-out routes in residential areas with way too many stop signs. is it really that great? leather-pleather, don't care about that one either. heated seats? now that would be nice, but it doesn't look like any of the packages have that. fortunately, i know someone with contacts and MAY be able to get a prius sooner than later, if i don't decide to hold out for magnetic gray. sorry for being so long winded. and thanks for listening. best, palau
I got Package 7. My highest priority was to make sure that I got the VSC (stability control) for safety's sake.. Consumer Reports claims that stability control is the single biggest improvement in automotive safety since the seat belt, and I wouldn't buy a new car without it. VSC comes in with Package 4, though, so you can stop there and have quite a nice car. I also wanted the enhanced stereo, since I had added an aftermarket stereo to my old car and I didn't want to go back to an entry level factory model.. that took me up to package 5. The alarm system and garage door opener at this level are nice, as well. At package 6 you get the fancy high intensity discharge headlights, which are great. My fiance, though, wanted the GPS navigation system, so it was package 7 for us. The nav system is a great toy, though I've never yet used it to find a place I didn't already know how to get to. When I've tested it out, it has given me great instructions. You can tell it that you want to avoid highways, in which case it will wind you around on access and surface roads, but if you let it, it will take you in the most direct way possible. Someone else will have to talk to you about the leather seats and package 8.
I have package 7 as well. I think i should have gone for 8 now just because the cloth tends to get a little dirty and wear more than the "leather". i'm looking now for an alternative on how to keep the cloth clean and looking nice at all times.
Package #5 with Leather upgrade. Don't need HIDs Fog Lamps are useless Aftermarket Navigation is 3x better and no lockouts+free upgrades & cheaper. I like having Nav & Consumption screens on all the time.
Package 3, 2005 because the car was sitting on the lot and I could drive it off the lot that night. Otherwise I would have gotten a package 4. I wanted the VSC but I needed a car soon and so I decided to forego it (the VSC).
I bought the highest package and some extra bells and whistles on top of that. If they had a package that went to 11, I would have bought it, cause 11 is one better than 10.
I originally wanted Package #4 because I wanted the VSC. However, my dealer was having a heck of a time finding a #4. He found me a #6 and knocked off a little over $1,000 to compensate for the fact that they just couldn't get a #4 in this area. The navigational system never really tempted me.
the 05 package compliations are a little different, but i have a pkg 5. didn't want NAV or bluetooth, didn't like HIDs or foglamps. wanted premium sound, 6cd changer, side airbag and smartkey options. if i'm gonna spend the money i want it to be fun, but some of it was too much to be worth getting a pkg 6 for a few thousand more. even worst case scenario, the 60k is reached during q1 (which i don't think is going to happen but i haven't seen the latest sales numbers) as long as you buy during q2 you'd still get the full credit. so keep an eye on the numbers, you might have till the end of q3 to buy if you really want gray. my last car was gray, so i opted for black this time B) good luck
I intended to get a #5 (in April '05) for the above reasons, then I found out that a #5 package wasn't available in So Cal. I did a little more searching and contacted a dealer in Nevada who said they could get me one. The day I mailed off the deposit, I got a call from them saying that they couldn't. They said their boss said they could get me a #6, but if I didn't want that there were ten people who did. Since I could get a #6 in So Cal, I decided to "settle" for that.
In my case i came from a vw touareg with a v8 and all the goodies so these goodies were pretty much a given. they are fun...get them...if you drive your car a lot why not enjoy it. right?
+$650- GY #1- Driver and Passenger Side and Curtain Airbags (your basic TRAC car) +$175-HE #2- Rear Camera, AM/FM CD 6 Speakers & MP3, Smart Key System +$650-HF #3- All the airbags +$350 -HG #4- Vehicle Stability Control +$1381 -HI #5- JBL, CD Changer, 3 more Speakers, Bluetooth, Security Alarm & Homelink +$625 -HK #6- HID's, Front Fog & Driving Lamps +$1900 -NL #7- Navi +$1160 -NW #8- Natural Leather Seating Material I wanted at least a package 2; 2 and 3 aren't available in my area, and 4 adds some nice stuff pretty cheaply, so I got 4. A higher package would be nice, but knowing I could probably find better valued aftermarket products for what I was looking for helped.
In my area (Nor Cal) only pkg 3, 6, 7, and 8 are available. I picked pkg 6 since I wanted all airbags, VSC and fog lamps. The premium JBL audio is not so premium in my opinion. The factory Bose system in my previous car ('96 Jetta) sounded way better. -AdrianO
Why wouldn't they just make the increments between the numbers larger? EDIT: Oh yeah. The question. We got a 2005 Package #3, since that was the lowest package available in our area. But, even if we had had all of the packages available, we would have gone for #3 because it was the lowest package with all the airbags. Would have considered VSC if I had been better about researching it before we bought it.
thanks, everyone. this is really helpful, esp. since i don't actually know anyone who owns a prius. i'm sure i'll be coming back for more help. xox palau
It's all about the norm. If everyone makes stereos with volume knobs that go from 1-10, and then someone comes out with one that goes up to 11. Dude!! Or if everyone is getting the "8 minute abs" video, just think how much money you could make selling a "7 minute abs" video.
I bought a package #1. #4 and #6 would have been easier to get (2005, So. Cal) but I didn't need all of the bells and whistles of a #6. The other package also had some stuff I didn't feel I really needed (although other rave for the SKS, I'm find without it.) I absolutely wanted the side curtain air bags. VSC would have been nice but I could only get that in a #6 or for some reason if I got that I gave up the airbags. Don't remember. At any rate I wanted a #1 in Black with a gray interior. Ended up with a #1 Black with an ivory interior. Walked in, test drove, bought it. No waiting list. If I lived in an area with more rain or had to deal with snow, I would have gotten the VSC and airbags even if it meant buying a #6.
Package 8. This is my first ever *new* car, and I had my previous car for over 9 years & 179K miles and wanted to treat myself to a car that had EVERYthing and then some.
Package three. Didn't really care about the VSC. From what I've been told, it helps in slippery conditions. I'm in FL, and it rains a lot in summer but that's about as bad as it gets (besides hurricanes). The Prius is nicely equipped at any stage.
#4 I wanted all the safety upgrades. I have my own Nav system and rarely listen to music. No garage door to open. The HID lights were a bit tempting, but I decided to not get them.
