Proud new owner

Best wishes to you with your new Prius. We've been Prius owners for several weeks at this point - and are very pleased, too. During these past weeks we've gained insights and some help from the forums on this Web site - we've appreciated what we've gained, too. It's likely you'll come to enjoy the vehicle even more as time goes by. Happy and safe driving to you.

 

Congratulations on your new Prius. I know you will enjoy driving it and will learn a lot from the the knowledgeable people here on PriusChat. It's a fun car and I smile every time I get into my black beauty.

 

Why do I get the feeling that my wait keeps getting longer because other folks are jumping ahead of me in the line? I've seen/heard several stories like the one above. Is this happening at my dealership too? :angry:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Festus @ Sep 18 2006, 01:30 AM) [snapback]321045[/snapback]</div>

I sure hope not, because that would infuriate alot of folks that are on the list only to find out they've been skipped over. It better not happen to me either.

 

Welcome Ellen!

Enjoy your new spaceship!! Please post back and let us know what mileage you get on the 1st tank, etc., as well as any questions you may have..... :lol:

 

I think alot of Prius' are becoming available due to people either A) Finding one somewhere else faster, B) Walking out over trade-ins, or C) Not being able to negotiate prices.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hopeful Future Prius Owner @ Sep 18 2006, 06:52 AM) [snapback]321067[/snapback]</div>

I have very little faith that dealer's adhere to their lists unless they are very specific in telling you where you are on that list. The dealer I got my car from never told me where on the list I was, but I got my car because "well, what a coincidence, I just got your car in and you just happened to call." Another dealer was very specific with me, "you are number 7 on the list, most people in front of you want package #4 or #3."

I guess my thinking is the more specific they are with you, the less likely you are to get jumped.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ellen Aparicio @ Sep 17 2006, 04:34 PM) [snapback]320883[/snapback]</div>

Congratulations on your new Prius. The red is definitely a beauty, it was my second-choice color. As you discovered, you need to go out and find the car yourself instead of waiting for a dealer to call if you want to improve your chances. I waited a week with no word or guarantee of progress before taking matters into my own hands and tracking down a dealer that had the car I wanted. After being told by another dealer that their car like I wanted had been sold, I received a callback 10 min. later saying the deal had fallen through and it was still available. I signed the Buyer's order that day and took delivery a week later.

Enjoy your Prius. Don't sweat over the mileage, just enjoy it. And don't get too distracted watching the arrows instead of watching the back end of the truck in front of you!

 

Woo Hoo! Congrats on the new Prius! That's wonderful.

I have had mine since the day after Thanksgiving 2005, nearly 10 months now, and I have never enjoyed the dirving experience as much as I do the Prius. Even after nearly a year, I still actively look forward to driving it.

Enjoy it!

Dan

 

Congrats, Ellen - and you're right - it's fate - Ellen and the Red Prius - VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM <but not while you're in stealth mode>!

Congrats, Ellen - and you're right - it's fate - Ellen and the Red Prius - VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM <but not while you're in stealth mode>!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Festus @ Sep 17 2006, 10:30 PM) [snapback]321045[/snapback]</div>

My experience: I was called when they got new ones in. I was at work the first two times, and couldn't get there soon enough. The third time, I was nearby doing errands when they called on my cell. I went right over. They had two sales people pitted against each other: there was another family outside looking at the same car. We rushed my paperwork through (supposedly), and I got it. I had to walk by the other family to go out front and look at my new car. This is not a fun way to buy a car, and I have no way of knowing if I was kind of "set up."

During the same period, a friend of mine was on a list at another dealer. She was called when the car came in, and they scheduled a date for her to come in after they did the "prep" on the car. It was very relaxed, no threat of marauding customers, and she got the royal treatment that she deserved for buying such a nice (and expensive) car.

I didn't really like my car buying experience, especially compared to my friend's. I didn't even get a demo ride - get this - they let me take out another new Prius that had just finished "prep", that had been bought by someone else. Around the block, that's all I got.

There are several Toyota dealers in the Bay Area, and I called several to get on their list. I continued to get calls afterward. So I think each dealer is different, they all get a different allotment of Priuses. And after they call everyone on the list, if no one can come that day they can sell them to people who walk in. Anyway this is my impression.

 

Congratulations and hope you enjoy it. I've had mine for two weeks now - it only took a month to get it after first visiting the dealer. My mileage so far is just about 51 mpg overall (both computed and checked when filled up) so I am pretty happy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dachshund @ Sep 18 2006, 04:46 PM) [snapback]321305[/snapback]</div>

They wouldn't let you drive the car you were buying??? Wow. But they let you drive the car someone else had bought? Who was driving the car you were buying?

I'm just glad mine wasn't sold while I was on the way to put down the deposit. It was a 40 min. drive and I had to get a few documents together first. I did ask him, "Now it's still going to be there when I get there, right?" Fortunately this dealer was a little more honest than some others I've heard about.

After I put down the deposit I drove straight to the first dealer and got my deposit back from him because he couldn't get his act together. The salesman wasn't too happy when I called to say I would take him up on his offer to get my money back if they couldn't get the car I wanted. He tried a few lines like "that color (blue) and package are the most popular..." and "if you're not prepared to wait for a Prius.." (as though I didn't have the fortitude to sit around and wait while he went on vacation and then not call me back when he said he would while meanwhile the number of available Prii kept getting smaller). Another interesting note: he had said earlier that they had found the car at a dealership in a certain city, and had asked to trade but had not gotten a response. I looked up that dealership and made a cold call to see what they had coming in. They said no, they didn't have one of that color at all.

Incidentally, I never heard any dealer mention waiting lists here in NC.

 

After reading many threads here I have learned that the gas gauge is not linear and should rightly be called the guess gauge. Add in the fuel bladder and you really can't predict gas usage just looking at the gauge. All I know is to fill up when it gets down to one or two bars and don't risk going further based on the miles you have driven.