I bought my car new in 2006, and it was a heady time. Back then there had been a waiting list for the Prius for the previous two years, but I was able to get this fairly quickly. Averaged 49 mpg, a few minor mods. I was pretty active on PriusChat for several years. I met Danny and TonyPSchaefer in person (back then I told Tony I worked in a suburb close to him, and he said "oh, are you the Prius in parking lot X, or the one just south of that?" Turns out neither, but that shows you how few of the Prius were around at that time). I drove the Prius until 2015, then my son got a job so I let him primarily drive it while I got a gas guzzler (Mazda 3 that gets 37 mpg). I still drove it occasionally, although he replaced my LOTOLV4 ("lot to live for") license plates with "DAB ON EM" - a teen would understand that - not something that makes sense for a middle-aged guy. Then last month he had it parked near his girlfriend's place, and some guy sideswiped it for no reason, possibly drunk. Now it's totalled and just waiting on insurance, but it's a sad day for all of us. A nearby restaurant caught it on their cameras. Sorry about the black bars, first day with the new editor (literally).
When they cut you the check for the totaled value, make sure they account for the $1500+ value of the OEM catalytic converter. Often insurance companies conveniently forget about such things unless you argue with them.
Ouch....the poor car! My condolences. Good choice with the Mazda 3....my daughter's very old Honda Odyssey got t-boned last year (thankfully everyone was okay) and after a lengthy search with her, we replaced it with a 2015 Mazda CX-5 and, so far, has been a quality car for her. (Mazda seems to have their transmission problems fixed....replaced the crappy Jatco trannies with their own Skyactive ones.) Let us know what you get!! (It took me about 8 weeks to get my new AWD Prius so best of luck!!)
Ah, bisco, that's a name I recognize from the early days. We're not sure yet what the plans are. Technically my son is on his own now, with his own job and out of college. I reminded him that driving our car was a left-over college perk Also he lives downtown in the city of Chicago, which isn't very conducive to car owners. Normally he only drives a couple times a month. A possibility is a car-share program.
