Have been looking hard at the Prius. Our Honda van lease is up and my wife is sick of consuming gas. We have three kids and rarely is the entire family in the car at the same time. The Prius would work, but I have one major hurdle to get over. Is the car a full season vehicle. We live in NJ and the winters are mild, but we do get occassional snow. Our driveway is about 1/8th of a mile with a large turning incline in the beginning. From other posts on this site, it appears the traction control cause problems in the snow. Our current van pulsates as we climb the driveway hill and eventually makes it (sometimes it takes a few times with running starts). We can currently drive out of the drive before the plow comes in 4" or less. Will the Prius be able to deal in these conditions? Currently looking at the 2007 with package #1 and have negotiated to invoice plus a $395 advertising fee. On top of this we have taxes, doc fees, tags & NJ tire surcharge. Bottom line #'s: 20,419 Base 704 Package #1 with Mats & wheel locks 610 Destination 395 Advertising 22,228 vs MSRP of 23,264 1,556 NJ tax 129 Doc fee 254 New tags 8 NJ tire tax 24,175 Out the door Looking to buy today, is this a good deal or could we do better? Any comments would be appreciated, newby
1. I can't think of any reason you should pay an advertising fee. 2. Do you really need the wheel locks? 3. There seem to be an abundance of Priuses at the moment, making it a good time to buy. Have you gotten prices from any other dealers? 4. If you're concerned about your driveway, see if they'll let you test drive one up it (someone looking to purchase in Colorado did this earlier). Your Princeton forecast shows some snow on Tuesday and Sleet/Ice on Wednesday, which might make for good test conditions. 5. Only buy today if you really have too. Is your lease up today? I bought in a bit of a hurry -- concerned that our other car was dying and I'd have to rent a car so Megan could get to work -- but could have saved money if I'd played a bit more hardball. We haven't had any trouble with our Prius in the snow in Chicago (yet -- we did get our best dump of the season today!).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Feb 13 2007, 10:24 AM) [snapback]389457[/snapback]</div> Thanks for your reply! The lease is up tomorrow. 1. How much driving have you done in the snow? 2. I agree - advertising should be out 3. Currently playing two dealers and I'm getting sick of it. What is a reasonable number under invoice with the supply in the market. Some have said 2k under MSRP which in my case seems to be $500 under invoice Any other thoughts, I do really appreciate. Thanks again
I'm in the Chicago area too. I have had the car for a one year period. I've never had a problem getting around in the snow. I did, however, get stuck when my wheels slipped off of my driveway. It was impossible to rock the car out. There's a thread dedicated to this in the main forum. It's about 6 or 7 pages back titled something like "I hate my prius". Evidently, the problem is due Toyota's traction control rather than this being a "prius" issue. But, you may want to check out that thread. Otherwise, I've had two big snows here in Chicago and I'm getting around just fine. Today, we have strong winds that's blowing the snow on the roads. I made it to work ok. Most of the other renters aren't here today. Oh, and you'll love the mileage per gallon. I'm over 40 in the winter and in summer I was getting over 50.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newby @ Feb 13 2007, 01:26 PM) [snapback]389525[/snapback]</div> Limited snow driving so far; just hasn't snowed that much in Chicago this year. I think today's is about our third real snow. No problems in any of it so far or on some ice we've had, and we're using the widely dissed OEM tires. The Prius does have a low ground clearance, so I wouldn't think of it as a deep snow vehicle at all. Most posters here don't seem to have a problem, and if snow is a regular issue upgraded tires seem the standard recommendation. A few posters report problems with traction control on snow/gravel on slopes. Your price doesn't seem bad (I paid MSRP). If you don't have time to haggle endlessly, I don't know that you'll do better. But I'm also a lousy haggler. One recommendation people here make is to just offer invoice price. There's also a thread here on car seats with some suggestions for fitting three child seats in back if that's an issue. http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&show...st&p=388273
Newby, I am north of you in New Hampshire, I immediately swapped out my OEM Goodyear Integrities for Nokian WR's, an excellent all season tire IMHO especially in colder climates like me and perhaps you. I slapped them on there and I dig through snow and ice. I feel very safe and secure driving my prius with those tires, whats more is it handles very nicely. You may notice a bit less MPG however.
After driving home in the snow today, along with wind drifts, I can confidently say that the Prius handles fine in snow. Just don't get off road and get stuck or you'll be doomed. My husband got home in his Honda Civic and it took him 6 times of pulling in and backing out to get into the garage. Our driveway slopes up towards the house which created this problem. My Prius pulled in the driveway with ease on the first take.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newby @ Feb 13 2007, 09:22 AM) [snapback]389440[/snapback]</div> I got mine about a year ago 2006 Package #3 for the same price. 06 #3 has the same features as your 07 #1 (backup camera and side air bags). With the news of supply catching up with demand, I think you can find a better deal. Dennis
