Posted by Larry Morphew on October 14, 2004, 5:18 am
> It went very well - the Prius handles nicely, accelerates well getting on
> the highway, the in-dash display is intuitive and not as distracting as I
> thought it might be, and I could barely tell when the gas engine cut in and
> out. The only thing that stood out as annoying was the limited
> rearview-mirror visibility; I prefer to have more of a view as to what's
> coming up on me.
I agree with you regarding the rear view from the center mirror (as I
mentioned in an earlier post). It could be better. We have 5k miles on
ours now and have gotten used to it but it is still somewhat annoying.
>
> Unfortunately, the three cars they had on the lot contained unwanted option
> packages putting them in the $4k range, and they confirmed there's no way
> of installing just the onboard satellite navigation short of the $k
> all-inclusive accessory package, so I walked. I just couldn't justify the
> added expense - the base model price was pushing it, and my treat was to be
> the sat nav, not the other things I have no interest in.
We ended up spending more than we wanted to but we still believe we
got full value received. Not sure I'd want to give up the options now
though. We like the gadgets as much as the next person, I suppose.
But, suffice it to say that we really didn't plan to spend as much as
we did. When and if you do make your purchase, be prepared for the
additional warrenty offer (increases the warrenty from 3 years to
whatever you want - we took 7 years) and, of course, they want to sell
you a service agreement, which we also bought but not so sure we got a
great deal on that now that we've had time to study it further.
>
> They promised to call me if a base model Prius turns up in their allocation,
> and I'll consider it if I can find an elegant sat-nav solution.
I've seen some dash mounted satellite navigation systems that look
pretty good that can be added as an accessory item. These aren't from
Toyota but are relatively inexpensive. I'm considering adding one in
the near future.
Glad you had a good test drive. Hope you can eventually find the one
you really want.
Larry Morphew
Posted by Fustanella on October 14, 2004, 11:35 am
> we did. When and if you do make your purchase, be prepared for the
> additional warrenty offer (increases the warrenty from 3 years to
> whatever you want - we took 7 years) and, of course, they want to sell
Does that cover the battery? One of the nagging concerns I have is what
would happen when the hamsters in there get tired, and who handles the
replacement cost. There's also the chance I'd be out of the car before then,
though I bought my current car new in '96 and it's going strong.
> I've seen some dash mounted satellite navigation systems that look
> pretty good that can be added as an accessory item. These aren't from
> Toyota but are relatively inexpensive. I'm considering adding one in
> the near future.
Steve's Kenwood comment gives me food for thought, and I'm also considering
one of the Palm OS handhelds with GPS built in as I'd get more overall use
out of it, in the car and out. The latter isn't as elegant but it is more
flexible.
> Glad you had a good test drive. Hope you can eventually find the one
> you really want.
It's in their court, augmented with the fine advice I'm receiving here and
in other Prius conversations.
Posted by Jerry W on October 14, 2004, 12:01 pm
: quoted-printable
The good thing about an aftermarket nav is that it is portable. Many of =
them will cover a given area in more detail thatn the OEM version too, =
at least in the US.
If you get an extended warranty, shop around first and make sure you but =
the Toyota version not any other. 7yrs/100000 miles available for less =
than $,000 - see Priuschat.com
regards
Jerry
> we did. When and if you do make your purchase, be prepared for the
> additional warrenty offer (increases the warrenty from 3 years to
> whatever you want - we took 7 years) and, of course, they want to =
sell
Does that cover the battery? One of the nagging concerns I have is =
what
would happen when the hamsters in there get tired, and who handles the
replacement cost. There's also the chance I'd be out of the car before =
then,
though I bought my current car new in '96 and it's going strong.
> I've seen some dash mounted satellite navigation systems that look
> pretty good that can be added as an accessory item. These aren't =
from
> Toyota but are relatively inexpensive. I'm considering adding one in
> the near future.
Steve's Kenwood comment gives me food for thought, and I'm also =
considering
one of the Palm OS handhelds with GPS built in as I'd get more overall =
use
out of it, in the car and out. The latter isn't as elegant but it is =
more
flexible.
> Glad you had a good test drive. Hope you can eventually find the one
> you really want.
It's in their court, augmented with the fine advice I'm receiving here =
and
in other Prius conversations.
------=_NextPart_000_008F_01C4B1ED.F2DC35E0
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<DIV>The good thing about an aftermarket nav is that it is portable. Many of
them will cover a given area in more detail thatn the OEM version too, =
at least
in the US.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you get an extended warranty, shop around first and make sure you but
the Toyota version not any other. 7yrs/100000 miles available for less =
than
$,000 - see Priuschat.com</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>regards</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jerry</DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV>"Fustanella" <<A
message <A
=
pool-d02.news.aol.com</A>...</DIV>>
we did. When and if you do make your purchase, be prepared for =
the<BR>>
additional warrenty offer (increases the warrenty from 3 years =
to<BR>>
whatever you want - we took 7 years) and, of course, they want to
sell<BR><BR>Does that cover the battery? One of the nagging concerns I =
have is
what<BR>would happen when the hamsters in there get tired, and who =
handles
the<BR>replacement cost. There's also the chance I'd be out of the car =
before
then,<BR>though I bought my current car new in '96 and it's going
strong.<BR><BR>> I've seen some dash mounted satellite navigation =
systems
that look<BR>> pretty good that can be added as an accessory item. =
These
aren't from<BR>> Toyota but are relatively inexpensive. I'm =
considering
adding one in<BR>> the near future.<BR><BR>Steve's Kenwood comment =
gives me
food for thought, and I'm also considering<BR>one of the Palm OS =
handhelds
with GPS built in as I'd get more overall use<BR>out of it, in the car =
and
out. The latter isn't as elegant but it is =
more<BR>flexible.<BR><BR>> Glad
you had a good test drive. Hope you can eventually find the =
one<BR>> you
really want.<BR><BR>It's in their court, augmented with the fine =
advice I'm
receiving here and<BR>in other Prius
conversations.<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
------=
Posted by richard schumacher on October 14, 2004, 1:33 pm
> > we did. When and if you do make your purchase, be prepared for the
> > additional warrenty offer (increases the warrenty from 3 years to
> > whatever you want - we took 7 years) and, of course, they want to sell
>
> Does that cover the battery? One of the nagging concerns I have is what
> would happen when the hamsters in there get tired, and who handles the
> replacement cost. There's also the chance I'd be out of the car before then,
> though I bought my current car new in '96 and it's going strong.
The traction battery (the big, expensive one) is covered by the standard
8 year/100,000 mile drive train warranty. If the salesanimal said you
had to buy an extended warranty to cover that battery that long then he
was lying.
After seven years of Toyota selling about 100,000 Priuses I have found
zero reports of battery replacements other than those damaged in
accidents.
All extended warranties are insurance policies, priced to return a
profit to the seller. If you can afford the possible loss or repair
cost it's always a better bet to self-insure (in other words, don't buy
the extended warranty).
Posted by Fustanella on October 14, 2004, 3:03 pm
> If the salesanimal said you had to buy an extended warranty to cover that
battery
> that long then he was lying.
We hadn't gotten to that point, since they didn't have a model that served
my needs.
XML site map
> the highway, the in-dash display is intuitive and not as distracting as I
> thought it might be, and I could barely tell when the gas engine cut in and
> out. The only thing that stood out as annoying was the limited
> rearview-mirror visibility; I prefer to have more of a view as to what's
> coming up on me.