First time poster. I just bought a '05 Black package #4 today at MSRP and am thrilled. Already managed an average of 50 mpg during 35 mile drive home from dealership... and it's not even broken in yet! I have been reading priuschat for some time now and wanted to thank everyone for all the helpful information. I especially am thankful for those who encouraged potential prius buyers to look outside of metro areas. I live in Portland and initially did the wait list thing and put 500 bucks down on an '05 at a local metropolitan toyota dealer and was initially given a waiting time of 8 months to a year. At the time, that didn't sound all that bad, but after several months of waiting I became a bit frustrated. I then tried several other dealerships within the area and had some pretty bad experiences with the car salesmen. One dealership tried to screw me over with a pkg 4 at $2000 over MSRP, not to mention that they also wanted $1000 deposit. After mentioning to them that I refuse to pay over MSRP, they had the gall to tell me that NO ONE sells Prii at MSRP. What a crock. Needless to say, shopping for the prius was not a pleasant experience. I eventually read several topics on this fine forum discussing better availability outside of the "big city" and began to call dealerships within a 50 mile radius of my house. Luckily enough, a toyota dealership in McMinnville, OR had 4 Prii available, one with package #4 (which is what my wife and I wanted). Not only were they offering MSRP, they also were a true pleasure to work with in comparison to our previous experiences. A day after contacting them, my wife and I drove down and bought our first new car together, a 2005 prius with 12 miles on it. No wait. My wife and I are having a fun time learning all the bells and whistles. I have already spent quite a bit of time with my nose in the owner's manual. Look forward to becoming a tad more savvy with the car, although I know it'll take some time.
Package #4? Aah yes, The AM "Safety Model" The only way to get HID lights and VSC without paying for a BC "The Works" model. For such a smart purchase, I hereby double your PriusChat points to a total of four. :lol:
Congratulations! I am sure that you and your wife will both be very happy with your wonderful car. I have had mine for 23 days now and there has not been a moment since they placed the fob in my hand that has not been a joy. The driving experience just gets better and better! I let my best friend drive mine today and she was marveling at how easy and how much fun it was to drive. We hit some rotten patches of traffic and I noted that they don't bother me anymore (in fact I almost look forward to them) because all they do is increase my gas mileage. I don't even swear at the other drivers nearly as often as I use to. Any car that can improve the environment and my karma at the same time has to be wonderful. Congrats, welcome and enjoy! Tisza (Oh, and I am also adding to you point total. I don't know what we do with them but it seems to be a friendly thing to do
my wife and i just got our tideland pearl AM pkg prius after 10 months of the same kind of horror stories. i feel your pain. the great news is that our cars are here. personally, the only thing i feel is missing from our package is some way to integrate an MP3 player..either through an AUX in, like the toyota scion cars have...or through the inclusion of a cassette deck. BTW, you'll love the xenon headlights. i've never had them before and wow. what a difference! welcome to the club! david r.
congratulations!!! I have been driving mine for over 8 months now and I am still amazed how wonderful this car is. 8)
