Nissan Certified Sales Consultant Buying a New 2014 Prius tomorrow... I have a few questions?

At those miles per year, Prius should pay off like a slot machine.
1. Be sure to use A/S tires rated excellent for snow ice or winter tires and you'll be OK
2. do not know but I think 3 gives you back up cam; PiP Plug_in are in excess
Quote: "I've been selling the cars (Plug-Ins) without HOV stickers at about $1300-1500 UNDER invoice.
Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/has-anyone-received-a-ca-green-hov-sticker-yet.104322/page-59#ixzz31AuJsMvX
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3. Drive as usual
4. They say no need to change oil early
5. Synthetic preferred
6. Your miles/per year is yelling Prius unless your fuel is on expense
7. Contact Dianne Whitmire the High Priustess here and she'll ship you a PiP
8. Who needs it?

 

all the best!

 

I'd keep driving the Juke. Prius isn't bad in the snow but it's still a two wheel drive vehicle that is low to the ground. The savings you get on fuel economy would be offset by the depreciation of two brand new vehicles.

I would amortize your sunk costs on the Juke a couple more years and wait for the next version of the Prius. There is rumor on an AWD option for next gen.

Wasn't it a little over a year or 2 ago where there was that freak storm and people were stuck in their cars on lake shore drive in Chicago?


iPhone ?

 

1) my prius c handles fine in normal snow conditions, I would expect the same from the regular prius. keep good tires and you should do better than most people
2) I got the prius c2 because I didn't like the gps in my wife's camry XLE hybrid. I do wish it had the backup camera that comes with the 3 but other than that I like my car fine. I think if you get the higher level of options you end up with nicer wheels that are larger and weigh more and cost you on mpg.
3) just don't take a long trip with the car for the first 500 miles and don't slam on the breaks for the same 500 miles.
4) I am about to change the oil for the first time at 5000, the engine only runs about half the time so its similar to 2500 miles on a regular car. my oil is still almost clear so 5000 is fine.
5) yes synthetic 0-20 is the best and oil service interval is 10k, I can't bring myself to go that long so I change it at 5k
6) run the numbers if you drive 40K a year then it will be obvious if you are trying to save money.
7) no
8) I don't buy service contracts. it comes with good enough warranty. the traction battery is coverd in CARB states for I think 150K and the hybrid components were coverd for 80K if I remember correctly.

I would not buy the prius c driving 40k a year and especially if you drive on bumpy highways. The plug in may make sence so I would consider it. it comes with a higher level of options so if you are going to get the options anyway the price is not that different.

 

Here is my list of people who should not own a Prius
considering a Prius | PriusChat
If you do decide to own a Prius, and I see no reason not to, make customizing it part of the sales agreement. Here are some customizations, making it beep just once in reverse is a great idea.
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47857U/pdf/sec_06-02.pdf

(I have my headlights set to turn off after 0 seconds and my doors set so grabbing the drivers side handle unlocks all doors, but your neighborhood may be different)

 

You need to be clear about your priorities.

1. Save money?
2. AWD for snow?
3. Freedom to drive anywhere?

Which one is more important? If you have an Expedition to borrow on snow days, then AWD is not as important. A Nissan Leaf lease will not work for you due to the distances you have to drive. But what about a 2011 Leaf trade-in from your customers? You should be able to pick one up for a little over $10k with your employee discount. As a someone who sells Nissans, you should know better than to say battery SOC falls to 85% at 25k miles. Fully charge one of those cars and see how it is not true. You work at a Nissan Dealer so you have access to free L2 and maybe even free L3 charging.

Or you can get a Prius for the freedom while paying $330 extra a month. Or drive the Expedition when you want to go long distances.

My sister got herself a Leaf last year. She kept the minivan because of range anxiety in case she needs to go over 100 miles a day. The minivan sat all year and she finally sold it last month. Her husband drives the Prius.

 

If your going to be dealing with snow how about the Subaru crosstrek hybrid? I know you won't get that 50+ mpg but that 4wd will sure come in handy especially in northern states where the snow can get a little too much for our prius to handle.

 

The Gen III Prius is excellent in snow when equipped with proper winter tires. I made it through two NY winters with the Prius. Make sure you put snows on all four corners.
It's a low slung car- once the snow gets over 6" of so, you'll start plowing it with the Prius and that's not good.

Between the traction control/anti-slip and ABS brakes the Prius is very sure footed in snow.

 

Rain? Im sure any car can handle that.

 

In that weather/traffic, it will get 48+ mpgs.

 

Easily.


I've got 65,000 miles in type.
I've only had to leave my G3 in the lot twice over the last three years and replace it with a pickup truck during and after tropical cyclones.
No.
I'm not one of the morons that don't leave when they're told to.
I work for a utility company, and so I'm one of the morons that have to stay during the storm.

The Prius is competent enough in the rain, although some drivers complain of twitchiness on the interstate or in high winds. I personally believe that these are overblown (pun almost unintended.) I've encountered rain and wind alike and driven in each with no problem.
The one major drawback with the car during inclimate weather is its diminutive ground clearance, which is usually not a problem for urbanites who do not have to drive in or after cyclones and who do not try to prove that Darwin was right by fording streams with a car.

Generally speaking, on paved roads and perhaps with a set of snow tires if you're not able to drive a Prius to your intended destination then you probably don't need to be driving anything.
Usually during a snow event, the first idiots that auger into a ditch are those driving 4x4s, AWD's, and other vehicles that give people a false sense of security.

Good Luck!

 

Without even crossing its eyes hard. There are posters here from Milwaukee and Maine who drive Priuses around during the winter with no particular problems. I drive in New Jersey and tend to get through sans problems.

The Prius has low body clearance and will have problems once the snow gets up to 5-6" or so; but, if there's that much snow on the road, everybody not driving 4WD and high body clearance is going to get stuck, anyway. And even if one is driving a 4WD/high body clearance car, one'll not be going anywhere, anyway, because all those other cars will be stuck and one'll not be able to get through.

As far as driving in snow/packed snow/glare ice, the Prius is as good as any other modern front-drive 2WD car and maybe slightly better than others. Because it uses regen braking extensively to save on gas, it has really aggressive stability control, the better not to swap ends with when the brakes are hit. I attempted to donuts in a freshly snow-covered parking lot shortly after I got the thing; no luck, it just wouldn't go there. (Not to say that some kind of expert driver couldn't make it happen on ice, but there you are.) By all reports, Toyota went over the top in this direction on the Gen II Priuses, to the point where if the front wheels got slightly buried in snow, one had to call for a tow truck: The fly-by-wire power to the front wheels would get cut so one couldn't jazz the car back and forth to get out. That's not the case with Gen III where they dialed it back some.

If you're planning to drive the Prius like they drive the Juke on the TV ads, forget it. It's not the best handling car in the world. It's not bad, per se, one can go around corners well enough and such without feeling like one's losing control, but a race car it's not. My son's 2002 Civic (and my ex-car) handles corners a bit better; but the ride in the Prius is (a) tons quieter and (b) a bit softer. And the Prius seats people in the rear better than the Civic ever did.

And lets get down to the facts. A car is pretty much a way of getting from point A to point B, four tires on the ground, seats, and it shouldn't be a death trap. Car makers know this: They sell the sizzle, not the steak. So, you go out and get the latest, sparkliest, fastest sport/SUV car that can go like Indy/climb mountains/roll around bluffs in New Mexico (never figured out why they do that) and all that: Exactly what is that going to do for 95% of your driving in rush hour on the loop? And the 5% of the time when you're plugging down the interstate watching bugs hit the window? Having a car that can hit 150 mph in 2nd gear isn't going to do you any good since you'll either hit some person going a lot slower or some cop will (rightly) nab you in order to prevent same.

The Prius is an upscale, comfortable, econo box of the first water, with superb gas mileage and, despite the occasional failures, outstanding reliability, and decent handling. If that's what you want, go for it.

KBeck

 

My 2010 is a little twitchy as well, the dealer and others say its normal with Electric Steering vehicles. Yet, some people don't have the issue. So, make sure to get the *specific/particular* car that doesn't have the issue. Otherwise your highway commute could get very tiring.