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Practical alternatives to a new Gen 3?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by p00kienrayray, Feb 6, 2016.

  1. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    I agree. When you currently have a reduced added cost over cars like Camry/Corolla, the value is even higher.
     
  2. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    I have a feeling your Sister doesn't want a Prius. We travel all over the U.S. in ours Prius. Have taken extended trips with luggage and 3 non child sized people on more than one occasion. All that has been done comfortably, with plenty of room. A baby in a baby seat and a folding stroller, plus diaper bags, cloths, extra clothes/blankets, toys and plenty of baby bottles in the cooler would easily fit in the back behind the seats. Need to show your sister that a Prius is a hatchback with quite a bit of room... and don't forget to show her the big bin under the hatch load floor that could event double as a travel bassinet, or extra storage for towels, cleaning agents and other baby paraphernalia.

    Prius makes a lot of sense, it's roomy, efficient, safe, super reliable and will help save money on fuel, no matter the price per gallon happens to be. To top it off, if you shop wisely (and as some on this thread have previously stated) you can find lightly used Prii for bargain prices at the moment. Win-win in most cases.
     
  3. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Based on what was presented....what ever she gets, I would advise staying away from a used car. The last thing a new parent needs is unexpected breakdowns and car repair costs with the expense of new/young children...and statistically women "usually" have another child shortly after the first...if they have another one. Space is also a big consideration. I would "guide" here towards a Toyota Corolla as there is plenty of space for Baby Bags, two car seats and two strollers. The OTD price is lower, the MPG is still good and the reliability is just as good as the Prius. Best wishes.
     
  4. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    She has said in the past that she likes the idea of having a hybrid, though never really identified the Prius as a choice. If money wasn't as big an issue as it is, I'm confident she would get something along the lines of a Rav 4 hybrid.

    To be fair, I have a full size jogging stroller folded up in my prius hatch, and it takes up 90% of the space. I usually stuff diaper bags/blankets in the remaining 10%, which is underneath the stroller or in between crevices if I have to. I'm usually the driver, and my wife accompanies our 2 y.o., who is in a rear-facing baby seat in the middle seat. I would honestly compare the child seat to a very large adult, and with this seat in the middle, it is kind of awkward for even an average sized adult to sit in back there. The baby seat often blocks the seat belt buckles for the remaining 2 seats, so buckling before we take off can be a struggle. Although once seated, my wife has enough room to rest her bum and legs, the protruding hard plastic angles of the baby seat restricts her upper body movement. I suppose we can always seat the baby seat on the side to maximize my wife's comfort, but we'd much rather maximize the baby's safety ;-)

    That is indeed something to consider. Though one can argue that getting a CPO vehicle can be protected by a generous warranty, she has not expressed consideration for used. Besides, I personally am not inclined to start the tedious process of searching for a used vehicle, and then kicking tires. It's just so much easier to search and deal online for a new car.

    My sister has decided that she will be test driving cars starting next week, which I think will quickly narrow down her choices. It may even sway her thoughts on what is needed and what is wanted.
     
  5. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    CPO as in Certified Pre-Owned? Still just a used car. They just had one of their over-worked mechanics give it a once over looking for obvious stuff and fluid levels (just like during their free oil change)...then jack the price.
     
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  6. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    Yes I understand, but my point was that they come with a warranty. I've bought used, but never CPO. The prices never made sense to me. Many of the prices are close to pricing for new cars.
     
  7. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    My sister in law bought a used 2nd gen 2007 Prius on my recommendation a few years back after someone backed over her beloved and parked Honda Civic and totaled it. I found a well maintained example, with dealership receipts, for all services performed. The car had almost 60K miles on the ODO. She bought it in 2010 for about $16K. Her Prius now has almost 200,000 miles, without complications and still gets 48 mpg. She's replaced the 12V battery twice in that time and is about to replace the tires for the third time. Tampa, Florida heat can be tough on batteries. I've tried to get her to trade the '07 for a 3rd Gen a couple of times, but she will not give this car up. Loves it.

    Prius has some proven reliability cred. I wouldn't hesitate buying a well treated Prius. Both Prius we've owned, our '05 and now our '11, have been mechanically trouble free solid reliable.

    A full sized jogging stroller is about as big as a bicycle. That's pretty good that you can stow that in the back of the Prius with the rear seats up! You might want to invest in a bike rack to allow more room in the car. We use a bike rack on our Prius when we have to carry more than one bike, which is fairly often, Spring through Fall.

    The baby seat should always be placed in the center seat area when possible. The good thing about car seats, is that they are somewhat temporary. Eventually your child could graduate to a smaller front facing child seat, unless yours is a combination seat, and then after that booster seat.

    We were blessed with twins, so double the load.:) We didn't have a Prius back then (Toyota wasn't even thinking about Prius yet), but we were able to handle the loads with our huge Honda Civic Wagon, which was a good bit smaller than a 3rd gen Prius. At the time we were living in Phoenix and managed to make a few epic family trips to Florida and other eastern areas of the country for family reunions, birthdays, and holiday events. Would have loved to have been able to drive a Prius during that busy period of time!
     
  8. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    We actually have a hitch mount rack that holds 3 bikes. Love it!

    So my sister test drove a few cars today. She finally came out and said that the standard Prius is not a car that she wants. She seems to have narrowed her choices to a Rav4/Rav4 hybrid or a Prius v. She prefers the form factor of the compact suv and also wants a hybrid. I warned her that the Rav4 hybrid's fuel savings return may not cover the higher costs over a conventional Rav4. Prius v seems to be her compromise vehicle only bc of the better gas mileage. She has also stated that she wishes to restrict her choices to Toyotas bc of the brand reputation in terms of reliability.

    I also warned her that getting a vehicle based solely on purpose and practicality may not be a good purchase if she doesn't like driving or riding in it. I believe she is starting to come around. This makes it a lot easier to search for her vehicle.
     
  9. BethPet

    BethPet Junior Member

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    I have no problem getting a full-sized running stroller in my trunk! In fact the three of us, stroller, 80lb dog, (and his kennel, folded) plus our luggage took the Prius on vacation last summer. We had plenty of room! We folded the "60" side down, put the stroller on top of the folded kennel. The dog shared the hatch with our luggage. It was great! Plus 1300 miles on less than two and a half tanks was amazing!

    SM-N910V ?
     
  10. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    For sure, the Prius can fit my sister's needs. In fact that is the vehicle that I personally thought she should get in terms of value and use.

    But after test driving, she has narrowed down her options to the Rav 4 hybrid and Prius V according to overall space while maintaining good fuel consumption. Her first choice, the Rav 4 hybrid is new and in high demand, so it is a little bit out of her budget and stubborn in price. The Prius V sounds like a better option financially considering lower msrp and flexible pricing, as well as higher mpg.

    I have a feeling she will walk out with a Prius V.
     
  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Sure, as I said in my post, The Gen 4 leaves dealerships wanting to exit the remaining Gen 3 Prius, BUT...
    Given low gas prices, and sluggish hybrid sales as a whole, I'd think good deals on Prius v's would be possible, even if NOT at quite the desperation discount of a departing Gen 3.

    Also I don't know your sister lifestyle, but it's been my observation as a whole that often people get an SUV, for purely emotional reasons. Unless she does a LOT of rough unpaved road driving and camping I'd think a Prius v would fit daily needs as well or better than a Hybrid Rav 4.

    And yeah, it's going to be a lot cheaper right now, as well as offer better gas mileage.
     
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  12. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    I agree that the Rav 4 or any SUV would be for emotional reasons. To her, the v is kind of an awkward looking car, especially compared to the more stylish Rav 4. That may be the reason why the v hasn't completely won her over yet.

    I also told her that for less than the price of the Rav 4 hybrid, she can get an nicely loaded Prius v Four with softex, heated seats, etc...Of course that's not being practical in choosing unnecessary features, but just to put things in perspective.
     
  13. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I suppose the bottom line also, is if you can afford it? People should get what is going to make them the happiest.

    But personally? I'm NOT that impressed with the Hybrid Rav 4 gas mileage, a combined number of 33 mpg?

    I think I'd rather buy a Honda HRV, it might not quite reach those numbers but it's close.

    I'll watch with interest how the sales numbers with the Hybrid Rav 4 go...
    If I'm buying a Hybrid, I'd want better fuel efficiency than the Hybrid Rav 4 offers.
     
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  14. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    In the end she has to drive it and like it. What ever she chooses, the fact that she is leaning toward a Toyota is a plus because of the reliability factor. I helped my Mother-in law buy a RAV4 because of that. She was still looking at GM and Ford small SUVs...and trusted me...being the Mechanic in the family.
     
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  15. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    Update: My sister walked out with a Prius v this past weekend. The more she sat in it, the more it made sense to her vs. the Rav 4 hybrid and the 3rd gen Prius. The back seat is very spacious, and we believe it is even more spacious than the Rav 4. Although both the Prius v and Rav 4's rear seats recline, the seats on the Prius v does a better job at sliding back and forth. It generally felt roomier inside. Besides, she said that the wagon look was starting to grow on her.

    Dianne and her salesman were able to get us a great price with absolutely NO HASSLE. Glad I went with her. My sister initially wanted to get the Two for cost reasons, but the offer Dianne made on the Four was able to sway her. My sister believes the Softex and 3-door SKS would be beneficial in hauling around her little 1.y.o. monster, and thus was worth it...She managed to squeeze in those features along with the Blizzard Pearl option at well under what she would have paid for a base Rav 4 hybrid.

    As for commission, my sister paid for Valentine's dinner for my wife and I ;-)
     
  16. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    Congrats to your Sis and I'm sure she appreciated your help.
     
  17. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Good job and good for her...and it's not used or CPO either...so you won't be helping her with "those" car problems anytime soon. ;)