New driver interested in Prius, advice needed

[chaikitty]

Hi all,

I've been lurking about for a while and thought I'd jump in and ask for some advice. I'm the typical native New Yorker in that I've never had need for a car and thus never bothered to get a license. I'm a treehugging granola eater :P so I could never justify the ecological (let alone financial) expense of having a car in a city where it's not necessary. Last year I moved to Tempe, AZ and got a rude awakening as to how spoiled I was my whole life by NY's stellar public transit system. I have a short commute (15 minutes tops) so taking the bus hasn't been that bad here, but the problem is in the Valley you really, really need a car to get anything done. Fed up with baking at bus stops, I threw my hands up in surrender and decided I needed a car. So my roommate taught me how to drive in her Saturn Ion and I just recently got my license. I've been fascinated with the Prius ever since it came out, also being a technology geek. I've been doing a lot of research into them and particularly with the 2nd gen, it seems like the perfect car for me--super fuel efficient, pretty (love that Seaside Pearl, next best thing to the Japan-only blue to me), OMGCOOL tech, and it's a way for me to put my money where my mouth is in terms of caring about the environment.

But I wanted some advice, because I've had people telling me not to get a new car as a first car, not to get a Prius because they're quirky compared to other cars and not good for new drivers, etc. I know there's a lot of bad info out there about Prii. I've been seriously considering the 07 Touring, but then I read about the next-gens and was unsure. I was thinking my credit/financial situation would be at a good place by the time the next gens came out but now that they're not going to be plug-ins like folks were hoping for, I'm not sure what to do. I'm patient but I'm wondering what the best option is right now, considering my patience with Valley Metro (and relying on roomies for transportation) is about gone.

[john1701a]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chaikitty @ Jul 4 2007, 03:56 PM) [snapback]473101[/snapback]</div>

I've had people telling me not to get a new car as a first, not to get a Prius because they're quirky compared to other cars and not good for new drivers, etc.[/b]

New drivers have higher expectations than those that have already learned to deal with traditional designs... everything from having the steering-wheel block your view of the speedometer to the waste of having the engine needlessly run. Not having developed a tolerance yet is great. You're still quite open-minded too.

It makes Prius a very pleasing choice... but at the same time creates disappointment with everything else.

That raising of the bar puts owners in an awkward position. It's your choice whether to embrace change now or to delay until the inevitable. But with the current state of gas prices, I suggest seriously considering Prius.

[pewd]

>also being a technology geek.

that really answers it right there. if you're really a tech. geek, this is the car you want...

>super fuel efficient

yes, absolutely. i TRIPLED my gas mileage over my prior car.

> put my money where my mouth is in terms of caring about the environment.

yes indeed.

> people telling me not to get a new car as a first car

whyever not? its your money. you won't have to fuss much with maintenance on a new one.


>, not to get a Prius because they're quirky compared to other cars

hm.
since you've never driven before, i don't see how that can be true.
turn off the MFD and it acts and appears pretty much like any other car.

put gas in it. turn it on. press the pedal, it goes. press the brake, it stops.
that big round thing in front of your face is the steering wheel.
i can't see where it feels much different than other cars.

inside, sure, its way different.
but from an operations standpoint, it feels and behaves like any other car.
the accelleration, braking, steering, etc. all feel pretty much the same as any other car out there.

except when it comes time to add fuel. thats big time different. i've never been able to go 2-3 weeks between fillups on other cars.

> not good for new drivers, etc.

nonsense. take whomever said that, blindfold them, take them for a ride in a prius.
they will notice how quiet it is. other than that, they won't be able to sense a thing out of the ordinary.
hm, except at stoplights, when the engine turns off. thats differnet. but for a first car, that won't seem different to you, it will seem normal after a few weeks.

>I was thinking my credit/financial situation would be at a good place by the time the next gens came out

don't forget to factor in the fuel savings into your budget - this car burns far less gas than most others.
i'm saving $100 a month over my prior car (jeep).

love mine. most folks on this board do also, or they wouldn't be here.

see if you can rent one for 2-3 days. drive around, make sure its comfortable for you.
but if you really are a technology geek, see my first sentence....
you'll have lots of fun hooking up mods to this car - scan guage, ev switch, etc.

[Godiva]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chaikitty @ Jul 4 2007, 03:56 PM) [snapback]473101[/snapback]</div>

But I wanted some advice, because I've had people telling me not to get a new car as a first car, not to get a Prius because they're quirky compared to other cars and not good for new drivers, etc. I know there's a lot of bad info out there about Prii. I've been seriously considering the 07 Touring, but then I read about the next-gens and was unsure. [/b]

Let me guess. None of these people actually own or drive one.

There's nothing wrong with the Prius being a first car. It will simply spoil you for other cars. It is no more quirky than any other car. There is nothing wrong with getting a new car as a first car....I did.

Go take a test drive if you can.

If there's a Prius club in your area go to a meeting. They'll show you their cars and answer questions.

If you really want green sounds like a Prius is a good fit. You don't commute enough to justify a used Insight.

And yes, you were spoiled by the public transportation system in New York. And no, you really can't function in the west without a car...unless you're maybe in San Francisco and I'm not sure about that. i do know in San Diego you just can't get anywhere without a car. You can...but it will take you three times as long. For shopping...forget it. No one can carry that much stuff and however you go you're going to have to do some walking.

The 2008s will be coming out in a few months. You can probably get a good deal on a 2007 starting now. Or you can wait. No word on what the 2009 will be but probably not plug in and probably no LiIon batteries either.

[chaikitty]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jul 4 2007, 02:30 PM) [snapback]473123[/snapback]</div>

Let me guess. None of these people actually own or drive one.
[/b]

Hee, how could you tell? There is so much bad info out there on the Prius and downright lies and propaganda from the buy-American-at-any-cost crowd that it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff sometimes. I've learned a lot by lurking here. It's funny, I've never been a car person at all, never paid them much attention, but researching the Prius has awakened the crazy car chick that was apparently inside me all along. It's just so cool. I probably am far too timid to contemplate the kinds of hacks that I see here, but I find them fascinating nonetheless. Conventional cars just seem boring in comparison now.

[Michgal007]

My Prius is my first car. 10 month later, still loving it.

[Godiva]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chaikitty @ Jul 4 2007, 05:56 PM) [snapback]473174[/snapback]</div>

It's funny, I've never been a car person at all, never paid them much attention, but researching the Prius has awakened the crazy car chick that was apparently inside me all along.[/b]

Same here. Owning one made me much more car crazy. I know more about how my Prius works and what it needs than I've ever know about any other car I've owned.

[FL_Prius_Driver]

Both my offspring learned to drive in the Prius. It is surprising to see things from their point of view. This will also apply to you if you use a Prius as your first vehicle. Here are some lessons:

1) Stopping at a gas station is both a financial and time wasting exercise. Doing it twice to four times as often makes them think something is wrong with the "nasty" car. They are smelly (?!), noisy, and jerky. [It wasn't funny to my daughter, but when the Camry had a rare rough idling episode with a stuck EGR valve her response was "Get Out, It's going to Explode!"]

2) Prius drivers ignore the speed of traffic around them (with exceptions). They keep wondering why everyone is ignoring their MPG....then ask where is the MPG gauge in other cars. [Teenagers love to experiment and test boundries. There is a BIG difference between maximizing MPH and MPG.]

3) The Prius does demand quite a bit more understanding of the internals of the car. I could leave the Corolla or Camry unattended for a long time and have it startup right away after being away for months. This is not how you can treat the Prius.

[bobdavisnpf]

Welcome to the forum... hope we can be offering congrats real soon! We've got some experience with "Prius as a first-ever car" and it is all good.

My daughter learned to drive on the Prius and inherited our '01. She has driven our '05 a lot and our '06 a fair amount too. She really prefers the '05/'06 but is very happy with the '01.

I've encouraged her to try out other cars and took her out in several others as part of her driving education. She is pretty firm in her position that the Prius is the easiest, most natural car to drive. We had a Saturn station wagon when she was a new driver: she never felt she had the degree of control she wanted in it, and often chose not to drive rather than take the Saturn when it was her only choice.

She did feel at first that the '01 was a better first car, due to a sense that it had better all-around visibility.

The hatchback design, as a class, tends to disrupt sedan drivers' sense of their surroundings since they're not used to using side-rear windows (or even side mirrors) to see who's in their blind spots. With sedans, people just look in the rear-view mirror, see out the big rear window, and fool themselves into thinking they have checked their blind spots (they haven't: that's why we call them "blind spots"). If you start with a hatchback, though, you won't have this built-in laziness ingrained, so it won't seem like a "quirk" when you look around to see what's actually out there.

Other quirks:

Gear shift knob is located near the steering wheel, the default position in USA cars up til the '60's, when "4 on the floor" came into vogue. I'll call this "retro".

Pushing the knob down to go forward and up to go back seems, well, backwards. Same thing with the wiper's speed control, turning it down to go faster and up to go slow. Ok, this down-vs-up thing strikes me as a quirk, but it'll come in handy when I tour other places in the world where "down" means "go."

Using an "on" button instead of turning the key to crank the starter is just catching on, maybe a dozen cars have an "on" button now. This is great for beginners, who often over-crank with the old ignition-key method, sometimes burning out their starter motors. I'll call the old key system a quirk every time.

Used-car prices are unusually high. Prius holds its value so well it's hard to believe you are not getting ripped off when you buy one used. The '01 Prius is 7 years old, has 75K miles, and its dealer price is $15K, 72% of its sale price (original MSRP). Most people figure to lose that on their car the day they drive it off the lot! Its private-party value, if we kicked its condition down to "good" for a quick sale, is $12200-$13500. That's still 60-65% of its original MSRP. The good news: if you buy an '05 for 80% of MSRP, then 5 years from now you can guess it's still sellable for 60% of MSRP. $4200 for 5 years' worth of car... not bad, not bad at all! If that's a quirk, you bet I'll take it!

[lenjack]

As mentioned before, renting one for a day or 2 should tell you all you need to know.