My New Blue Streak Metallic c Three

Picked up my Blue Streak Metallic Prius c Three on Wednesday evening. Took it ten days to make the journey from Portland to Burien, Washington (just south of Seattle) and was the only c arriving at my dealership. Traded in my 2005 Prius (Pkg VI), which I purchased new, for $8500. Considering it had a cracked windshield, cracked tail light, gouges on the front bumper, cracked right side wheel covers, 50% tire wear, misc. wear and tear plus the reduction in sales tax, I am satisfied with the deal.

The sales manager said he practically had to beat the onlookers off with a stick while awaiting my arrival to pick it up! According to him, the eight hours it was on the lot resulted in two orders being placed. My c had 7 miles on the odometer and now, with about 170, is averaging 57 mpg (about 60% freeway, 20% country and 20% city). I turned down the offers of extended mileage warranties "at cost" as I never had to use the extended warranty on my '05. Also declined the Scotchguard, undercoating and clear coat, which I've always believed are unnecessary, and did not take any accessories such as the rubber floor mats as I'm sure I can do much better than the dealership.

I'd been reviewing threads about increasing the tire pressure and saw one or two references to 44/42 so stopped by Costco last evening and had them add air to those figures, thinking I would probably decrease to something in-between. While the guy was adding air, the manager came over and said "you really want that high a pressure in your tires?!" to which I replied "hybrid owners ride with higher pressures all the time". To which he replied "I'll see you in one year for a new set of tires!". Tried to explain I had done the same with my '05 Prius and gotten 50,000 miles per set but he was adamant that I was ruining the tires. The ride is fairly stiff at 44/42 and I think, based on some other suggestions, I'll try 40/38.

Overall, I like the way the car handles, the comfort of the seats and the great sound system! Had never listened to HD radio stations until now and am enjoying the additional choices, such as our local NPR stations having multiple channels!

Pat

 

For Tacoma and Camano Island, and anyone else in the Puget Sound region, we have the added benefit of 20% off of the standard vehicle fares on the Washington State Ferries. When I pulled up to the gate at the Bremerton ferry terminal yesterday, I told the cashier my car was less than 14', which meets the requirement for the 20% off. She appeared confused then asked what type of vehicle I was driving. When I said "a Prius c, which is a new model of Prius", she took a clipboard off the wall, checked the list and said "your car isn't on the list yet" and it seemed she was going to charge me full fare. Another worker in the kiosk said let me measure it and took a long-handled device with a wheel and ran it along the pavement next to my car. He called over to the cashier "13 feet 2 inches" and she rang up the discount and said "I'll make sure the Prius c gets added to the list".