Why are you waiting for a Prius??

Well, I've been lurking on this site for a month now, gathering the information I needed to take the "Prius Plunge"...and thanks to all of you, tonight I'm the proud owner of a Salsa Red, BC package, MSRP 2005 after waiting only 30 days!

I want to thank all of you for the suggestions, hints, tips, and whatnot you've provided me - it really made this the easiest car purchase I've ever made!

It all started on October 12, when I sent emails to dealers in the St. Louis area (and a few in the hinterlands, as well - per suggestions from PriusChat members). The responses that I got back from the St. Louis dealers ranged from 6 month waits, to a bizarre, "no wait list", whoever-makes-it-to-the-dealer-first-when-we-get-one-in policy. But then, I got a reply from Bob Hecht at Dan Hecht Toyota in Effingham, IL (about a 2 hour drive east of St. Louis). Bob said that, no, they didn't have anybody on their waiting list, and if I'd put down a $500 deposit I'd get first pick of the anticipated 2-4 deliveries they get every month. And, they only charged MSRP! I went ahead and put down the deposit, and a day or so later he said that they were getting one in with the AM package. I said that I wanted the BC package, preferably in Salsa Red. He said that they get an allocation every 15 days, so I decided to wait & see what happened. Well, true to his word, he called back in about 2 weeks & said they were getting the exact car that I wanted in! (Well, not quite - it came with a cargo net, but I was thinking about getting one anyway).

To make a long story short, I HIGHLY recommend anyone in the area talk to Bob Hecht - you may get one in sooner, and you'll only pay MSRP for it!

And, thanks to Troy([email protected]), when the finance guy tried to sell me the Platinum 6/100 warranty for $1350, I told him I could get it elsewhere for $870, and he went ahead & met the price (all the while moaning and groaning that he was only going to make $50 on it). He didn't offer the prepaid maintenance to me, so I'm going to buy it from Troy when I get home.

Another savings - since I came in pre-approved with a loan from another lender, they offered me a loan through US Bank at a slightly better rate.

The one downside is that they only offered me wholesale for my old car, which is in pristine condition. However, that wasn't a big surprise, so we ended up driving both cars back home and I'll try to sell it on my own.

We're staying in beautiful Effingham, IL tonight, after driving it around town to familiarize ourselves with it. This was the first car that we've ever bought (#10) that we haven't even taken for a test drive. I felt comfortable doing that because of all the excellent posters here - for which I'm eternally grateful! We're leaving early tomorrow morning to return to St. Louis. We decided to stay the night in case we encountered a problem with the Prius - that way, we could take it back to the dealer on Saturday before we began the drive home.

And, I have to say, this is the absolutely COOLEST car I have ever owned! We had so much fun driving around and being amazed by all the techno-features - especially the voice nav system (hey, we're both geeks, so what do you expect??). I can't wait to get home and spend some quality time with it in the driveway playing with the nav system

So, a million thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement!!