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Prius Three -- New Car Purchased!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by BeatleBob, Feb 21, 2015.

  1. BeatleBob

    BeatleBob Junior Member

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    Hi All,
    Our Prius Two repair is an ongoing matter. Thanks to everybody providing input on that post, I gained a lot of insight. The separate cause to celebrate is we purchased a new 2015 Prius Three yesterday, and dove it home last night. I was the first to fall in love with the new vehicle. My wife is a close second. It is gorgeous -- Sea Glass Pearl, gray interior. We used Costco pricing, after doing a lot of research, including on Carmax, and CarGurus, a webpage that tracks deals in your area. A good price was had, along with the Toyota $1000 rebate and a five-year 0% financing.
    Issues I am currently grappling with, and reading discussions here concerning, are the extended maintenance and extended warranty offers they made. I told them I would sleep on those items and will get back to them.
    I feel really glad to have found Priuschat and all you folks in thie past week or so.
    Regards,
    Beatle
     
    Burna J likes this.
  2. matt b.

    matt b. Member

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    Enjoy, welcome, let's see some pics
     
    BeatleBob likes this.
  3. sfprankster

    sfprankster Active Member

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    Congratz on the new Prius!! Officially graduating from Gen II to Gen III!!


    As to the extended maintenance, personally, I would never purchase it. To me, if you look at the numbers, minus the first 2 years of "free" maintenance included in your purchase, it seems as if they are selling you the "free" maintenance as a part of their extended maintenance plan. The finance manager always shows the purchaser a table, with the amounts you would expect to pay, for all the services up to 75k and never going into detail about how the first 25k services are included in the initial vehicle purchase. I was offered the extended maintenance for $1760.00. For a lot less than that, you can invest in a few tools and supplies(oil filter wrench, floor jack, jack stands, oil filters, synthetic oil, drain plug crush washers, air filters, cabin filters), do the work yourself, and save a large percentage off of their offer. This truly hinges on whether you like to work on cars and/or are willing to do the work yourself.

    If you check the owner's manual, all of the services ending in 5k(15k, 25k, 35k, etc) are tire rotations and brake/fluid inspections only. Hard for me to put a price on an inspection, when there are so many repair facilities offering them for free, to drum up new business. The first major service, at 30k, includes the previously mentioned tire rotation, oil change, brake/fluid inspections and a change of the cabin and air filters. Changing the cabin and air filter is simple. It takes less than 10 minutes for the first time and even less, each time thereafter.




    For the extended warranty, you have up until the initial 25k warranty expires, to decide whether to purchase it or not. Waiting until later, will just make it impossible to be added to your current financing plan. You have to consider how long you plan on owning the vehicle. Are you a 2 year trade it in type of person? 5 year? Or someone that will drive the vehicle to its last breath? All are variables to consider before purchasing an extended warranty. Another thought to consider, Toyota's reputation of reliability. Do you consider it to be positive?



    Good luck on your decision!!
     
    #3 sfprankster, Feb 21, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
    BeatleBob likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best ringo!(y)
     
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  5. jry423

    jry423 Member

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    Congrats. I've got the exact same exterior color, but I got the bisque interior.
     
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  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    So I'm a little unclear.
    You have purchased a Prius Three but are also keeping your Gen 2 Prius?

    Which is perfectly fine, but I was under the impression it was a fix and keep the Gen 2 OR invest into a new Gen 3.

    Whatever case, congratulations, It's a very nice vehicle, I think you'll be happy.
     
  7. BeatleBob

    BeatleBob Junior Member

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    My post seeking maintenance help on the Prius Two started out under a fatual scenario where it looked like the hybrid battery might become a problem down the road because it had code history, but the present voltage was okay. Then mid week I was driving the car, and the red triangle came back on. The code this time was for the hybrid battery, which is shot. So, my wife needeing a car to depend on, we bought the new Prius THREE. On Priuus Two, I plan to raise the to Toyota how close to the line of the warranty coverage -- 8 year or 150K miles -- this was, and see what happens there. If Toyota is not willing to cover all or part of the repair, I will probably install a remanufactured battery. My tech friend says he will do the work, along with the punch list of inspect and replace items, if you remember that part of my post. Upon repair the Prius will become the family's second car. The Prius THREE is a sweet car, and having it takes the time pressure off fixing the Prius Two. It will be interesting to see whether Toyota responds to my pitch for a good faith coverage of the hybrid battery, given our purchase of the new Prius, and demonstration of brand loyalty. I am still mulling over exactly how to work that into my request.
     
  8. bingee3

    bingee3 Active Member

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    Congratulations ,,, sweet deal all around
     
  9. BeatleBob

    BeatleBob Junior Member

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    I am going to shop around to see what kind of price I get on the extended warranty. The pros and cons weigh in favor of us getting the EW. Our personality style makes it suitable. Once I put my money down, I will see to it that everything that comes up gets fixed. If we are outside warranty, my cheapness gene will make me want to slide by on things that break down and that is a slippery slope I want to avoid. That, plus on our 2004 Prius, the MFD and Nav system broke and was repaired under the EW, so we felt it was worth it. The Prius Three has a back up camera and even more electronic bells and whistles that make me feel it is a worthwhile investment. This brings me to a question -- what is the name and contact information of the dealer that sponsors Priuschat?

    BTW --- Pictures will follow later on today of a snow packed brand new beauty of a Prius Three sitting in our driveway. You have any idea what it is like driving home from a morning at school (adult Korean language class), in a snowstorm, with cars sliding around, and our Prius has about 20 miles on the odometer! I was very careful, believe me. And we won't easily forget our family's maiden voyage. My speed in mph was far less than the number of miles on the odometer --- an interesting phenomena, which I don't think happens that often. I told our daughter that as of now we have the oldest and newest cars on our block -- a 1995 Toyota Tacoma 4 WD, and a 2015 brand spanking new Prius!!! How awesome is that?
     
  10. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    So you actually now posses 3 vehicles, A Tacoma, A Gen 2 Prius, and the New Prius?

    And I was worried you were going to be stranded without any transportation options.
     
  11. BeatleBob

    BeatleBob Junior Member

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    Yes -- the family owns three Toyotas. It may seem like a lot, however, the Tacoma is a 5 sp stick shift, and the wife doesn't know how to drive a manual, so that put the pressure on to deal with the car situation right away.
    And the Prius Two is running, but the battery is kaputski.
     
  12. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Good call. ;) As to what you end up doing with the other one...your money, your WIFE. See ya around.
     
    BeatleBob likes this.
  13. rickcincy

    rickcincy Junior Member

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    We purchased a new 1015 Prius Three two weeks ago; also Sea Glass Pearl and we are equally in love with it! We've added a custom dash mat from Dash Designs of Tempe, AZ, a scuff cover for the cargo entrance, a heavy-duty folding sun shade, and a cap to shield the navigation system. But, like you, we are shopping for the best deal on a Toyota Platinum Extended Warranty. We learned last week Toyota has nixed such warranties being purchased over the Internet or from any dealership not in one's own state, unless we can personally visit the dealership offering the bargain warranty. This really restricts our options. Please post if you find a good discount we can use in Arizona.

    Rickcincy