Pay to test drive a Prius

That is crazy lol

I think it is VERY important to test drive the car before buying as some people just can't seem to handle the feel of the car (like my roomate) and they may not be happy with it overall. Personally I'd try to find someone in your office or a friend of a friend and see if you can swing a better deal.
Get the specifics of the car before you take a ride as well. My roomate sen me a text telling me how my car rides like a f%$#@$ dump truck and is flighty on the freeway and his Corvette is more comfortable and the Camry rides better. Well of course it would, my tires are at 66/64psi.

 

According to the other thread you state you have a 2008 and your wife has a 2005. In this thread you state the guy around the corner has these cars. Am I reading something wrong here?

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm .... interesting.

... Brad

 

Thats just silly!! Check around with different rental companies. I know they have some have prius's that you can rent. Trust me they wouldnt charge 100 $ a day, you could proabley rent a prius for 2 days for 100 bucks. Also you might wanna check out this. Toyota Rent a Car . let us know how it goes.

Regards

 

I'm guessing that HE is the one who wants to rent one of his two Prii out for $100/hour. I'm also guessing that he wants to hear our collective reaction to see if his price is too high.

Am I correct, sergebergeron? If not, please explain your previous post.

... Brad

 

I rented one last weekend in Tampa, FL from Budget. 500 miles and 270 dollars later I returned a car and I am glad I that Budget didn't get me something I didn't want.
Generally speaking liked the car and would like to buy it ... just not now. Will wait for 2010 model. Gas savings hype is not that big as you hear it is. Most of the European cars burn 5-6 l/100km (about 47-50 MPG). Smaller diesel engine will do that no sweat. Prius has to be plug-in with bigger battery to get really attractive.

 

Be careful you don't compare apples to oranges. The diesels that get that kind milage are generally smaller and MUCH less efficient in regular city driving, and often more expensive in terms of inital cost and repairs. They also put out much higher levels of pollutions. Arguably, they may do better in very hilly terrain though. Either way, there is a whole thread on this subject and numerous others if you care to do a quick search. Great info for sure.

 

I'd say the "guy around the corner" is not a very good human being. Trying to profit off of his friends and neighbors by charging exorbitant feeds just to drive his car??

 

some dealers still have prii in their fleets of loaners.. i think they'll let you test drive one.. or rent one from enterprise.. paying some guy $100 to drive his prius for an hour is not a good idea...

 

Prius has 1.5 liter engine + whole hybrid/regeneration thing. If you compare that with other gasoline engines or diesels found in European cars it's nothing really striking. Most of the cars there are 1-1.3 liter in size, full time obviously and they burn 6-7 liter no sweat.

 

i smell something.

anyone living near me wants to test drive one they can for the cost of a cup of starbucks. jeeze. do unto others...

 

i am sure when you order yours and it comes in you can test drive it, then if you don't like it there will be 10 people in line to buy it if you don't want it.

 

Same here, exception-I have to ride along.

I ordered mine,put $500 deposit down with stipulation I could back out after driving it.
When it came in took it for a test drive.
When I finished I told salesman it was a done deal.
Why not do the same?

 

Do personal auto insurance policies cover "auto rental"? Hmmm...

 

Come to think about it . . . This would make for a neat business model/service danny could incorporate into PriusChat . . .

A new forum where Prius owners with a few years of experience with the car would be willing to give test drives and impart first hand knowledge and experience to potential Prius buyers willing to pay for such a service. This service would also have the added benefit of being very localized information. I can't advise someone in Minnesota what it's like to operate a Prius in harsh weather conditions, but those who would be searching for this type of information can find it locally from someone who's lived it.

The cost of the service would be market driven; what the owner would be willing to provide and at what price (free, a cup of coffee, lunch, $100, etc.), and what a potential buyer would be willing to pay for a good test drive in a used Prius with an owner who would be much more knowledgeable than your average sales critter.

Toyota dealers don't always have a Prius for a test drive, and in my case, they just let me loose with the car without a salescritter riding along to give me good/bad/ignorant information.

If PriusChat had enough members make themselves available to provide this service in enough geographic locations, I could see even Toyota dealers getting on-board and mentioning it to their potential Prius buyers.

 

Hertz's "Green Collection" includes make & model reservable Priuses. I paid $32.99 per weekend day. Just sayin'...

 

Our Toyota dealer loaned me one for the day last year when I had the Avalon in for some warranty work. That all day test drive was enough for me. I never drove the one that I actually bought about two weeks later until I drove it off the lot on my way home.

 

I have an Avis rental Prius sitting in my driveway as I type. $85 out the door for 24 hours.

 

The dealership we are dealing w/ did not have a car to test drive either, but the sales guy offered to arrange a rental for use (at our cost ~$40./day or ~102./for the weekend Fri-Mon). Great idea for us -at least we were able to use the car & get to know what we were buying before committing to the purchase. -Worked for us anyway.