New 2012 prius owner

welcome and congrats!

 

Congrats bclinton - sounds like you got a great deal and it has low mileage too. I have a 2012 with almost 60k miles on it. As the Toyota dealer told me the other day after an oil change - "these Prius' are like tanks". Mine has been trouble free. Currently as you point out, it's great to fill up the tank for less than 20 bucks and go over 500 miles!

 

Just curious, what level trim was it? Three?

 

Sounds like you got a nice deal. It's really nice getting a full tank and it costs like $16-19 (every two weeks in my case), while my friends and coworkers driving gas guzzlers and giving me a hard time for getting a prius complain about getting gas weekly and spending twice that amount.

 

I bought a 2012 10 months ago, and I've never regretted it. I don't see how gas prices are relevant myself; when they are high, I'm laughing, and when they're low, I'm laughing even more.

 

bclinton, you aren't around the Fort Smith, Arkansas area by any chance are you? If so, that almost sounds like the car I traded in on a Honda CRV. I loved the Prius, I was just having great difficulty getting in and out of it and sitting in it for very long. I have a lot of back and nerve issues, hence my trading it in, never had any trouble with it. If you did in fact buy my Prius , let me know, I have a brand new air filter and cabin air filter I will give you for free, heck I will even change them out for you.

 

I totally agree. They say car buying is an emotional choice. Even if the car costs a little more upfront I'll be feeling good when I fill my tank for $20.

 

I traded mine in mid November and it was still on lot into December. They were also asking around $19k. Sounds like you got a good deal, hope you enjoy it. just had to ask, saw your name and the first thing I thought of was Bill Clinton , the former president.

 

Haha. Bill would be rolling around in a Tesla.

Do a drain/fill on the transaxle, as it probably has never been done. Consider getting a magnetic drain plug for the transaxle as well. Read this thread from the Prius C section, as the info still applies; compelling info in the thread to get changed, yet you also see people being adamant not to get it changed, w/o proof (reminiscent of the anti-vaccine arguments).
Prius C Tranmission/Transaxle/HSD Oil Change | PriusChat

Check the brake caliper pins and lubricate every so often too. Not doing so will cause the pads and rotors wear out prematurely. I'm still on original pads/shoes, and rotors/drums, at 137k miles. Your Gen 3 has disc brakes all the way around, unlike the Gen 2 front disc, rear drum.

 

Search can take time. You may also have to go through the 10 pages. Try changing keywords too.

Post #21 has a written detail. Post #25 has an embedded youtube link.
Change transaxle fluid, engine coolant, inverter coolant & brake fluid at 30k? | Page 2 | PriusChat

You might want to consider getting the drain/fill done sooner rather than later.

 

Gas price does effect the Prius purchase price, at least in the US. When gas was going up steadily and quickly, say 2004-2006, dealers were able to get more than sticker. Sometimes far above sticker.

Now that gas is very low, hybrids aren't as appealing and probably sitting longer on dealer lots (new and used). This is great for buyers, as the OP experienced.