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Posted by =?iso-8859-1?Q?mark=5Fdigital= on July 7, 2006, 4:32 am
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> Background: I have been driving Corollas since '84 (after switching over
> from a Plymouth Duster & then a Datsun B-210), & bought a new one in '04.
> I seriously considered getting a Prius this last time - instead of yet my
> 4th Corolla ;-) , but... logistics weren't in my favor.
>
> First, I'd promised (since '03) to sell my '98 Corolla to a buyer by the
> end of June '04. Went car shopping in April, thinking that was plenty of
> time. Ha! Quickly found out that it was a minimum of a 5 month wait for a
> Prius, & I couldn't even find one to test drive - or even just gape at.
> Despite trusting Toyotas - based on experience, I wasn't about to plunk
> down over $20K on a new model of car, sight unseen or undriven. Through
> the help of the internet (actually I *think* it may've been a woman on
> this ng who kindly e-mailed me about it) I was able to test drive an '04
> Prius which the Ithaca, NY Toyota dealership had as a rental. Ithaca's
> 100 miles from here, but was worth the trip. Loved the car. But... there
> was the little problem of the gap created by selling my car when promised,
> & the new one arriving - sometime in the future. At least a 4 month gap,
> probably longer. My local Toyota dealership offered me a deal of renting
> me a Camry for $100/month until my Prius came in, but that could go on for
> months & months & months (they acknowledged that they had virtually no
> control over which option pkgs/colors arrived in their monthly Prius
> allotments), & so it would be just more $ down the drain - despite being a
> great rental offer.
>
> Secondly, no matter how many times I did the math, I realized that it was
> economically smarter to just get another Corolla. Even with gas
> consumption figured in (although I wasn't figuring close to $3/gallon at
> that point!) along w/ federal & state tax breaks, over the course of
> approx. a 6 year ownership the Prius would run me about ~$5K more (than a
> fully loaded LE Corolla - for which I bargained likely crazy & paid $200
> above dealer cost) for the pkg. options I definitely wanted on a Prius
> (IIRC, it was the 3rd pkg - not the lowest deal, but not near the top,
> either).
>
> Okay... So... I'm presently driving an '04 Corolla, not a Prius. But in
> the back of my mind, I'm still possibly thinking of one for the future,
> after this car's paid off next year. I usually like to drive my cars for
> 2 - 3 year loan-free, & then sell or trade them before they -really- lose
> value
> (IOW, sell them just before they hit the "sell it now or drive it into the
> ground" stage), but we'll see...
>
> In the meantime, I have some questions:
>
> 1 - What changes, if any, have already been made to this present Prius
> since '04?
>
> 2 - When is the next generation of the Prius supposed to come out? '08,
> or '07? In reality, several months early for either date? And what
> changes since '04 have been bandied about as being liable to happen?
>
> 3 - I've had automatic daytime running lights along w/ automatic full
> headlights (light sensor is on the top of the dash, near the windshield) -
> which I *love* - on my last 2 Corollas. Does the Prius have automatic
> lights - no manual turning on & off, except for brights? I got different
> answers on this back in '04 when I asked salesmen, & I couldn't find it in
> mentioned in the Prius literature back then. Odd, IMO, but true.
>
> 4 - What's known - if anything other than pure guesswork - about the
> future of the tax breaks for the upcoming years for hybrid purchases?
> Federal? NYS?
>
> 5 - I've noticed in the last few months that all-of-a-sudden there are
> more Priuses on the road here in upstate NY, & the local dealership has
> actually had 1 - 3 of them sitting on their lot from time-to-time. Are
> they still being built in just one factory & just in Japan? I know they
> added a work shift in '04 to try to help out with the long wait list
> problem - did they add more? Or are sales down, compared w/ initial
> sales? (Although I'm kind of doubting this last one...) Is there still a
> lag/wait time for the option pkg. & color one wants, to show up after
> ordering? Are dealerships helping each other out & doing trades w. each
> other as they do with other models, if they don't have what you want on
> their own lots? Or are most Prius orders still being filled via monthly
> allotments & you have to wait for the next fresh batch to show up & see if
> what you want happens to be on that truck, or forfeit to the next person
> on the waiting list?
>
> 6 - How about price - MSRP? I haven't paid anything *near* MSRP for the
> Corollas, & refuse to. In the end - usually by the 3rd bargaining
> session, the salesman/manager always moves down, down, down... to what I
> was after in the first place; they'd rather make any sale than lose it, is
> my understanding. I realize that supply/demand has mandated otherwise w/
> the Prius, re: price. Are dealerships not budging an inch from the
> sticker price, are they budging a little, or are they still getting *more*
> than sticker?
>
> 7 - What tires come on it? Do they handle well? Do they corner well on
> dry roads, are they good in rain - no hydro-planing, or on snow? (I
> *hate* the tires Corollas come with, & change them over as soon as I can -
> they don't corner very well, & they're *horrible* on snow. Waste of $400,
> but I really can't stand the factory equipped ones - don't feel safe, esp.
> on snow.)
>
> 8 - The back-up beeper... is it heard only on the outside, or does it
> sound on the inside, too? How loud or soft is it? One can get it
> disconnected, I think? (I can't imagine my neighbors appreciating it if I
> were to pull out of the driveway late in the evening, esp. in the summers
> when windows are open...)
>
> Okay, I think that's it... thanks to anyone/everyone who replies with
> info.
>
> Cathy
>
>
>
>
>
>
Do you own a home or condo, or do you rent?
mark_
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