Me too, finally!!

I'm so excited, tomorrow I am heading to the dealership to finish all the paper work for my new Prius. My bank will send an official check to the dealership overnight and I should be picking her up Wednesday! :cheer2:

She's a 2008 Touring with package 6, loaded to the gills, Spectra Blue Mica. Dealer installed equipment is carpets and the truck edge guard. I won't be getting satellite radio yet, but she will be tinted the first week, with CA legal tints on the front doors and a 4" band over the front windshield. I'm also removing the hubcaps and getting the axle end covers, plus I might splurge and get the 2004 Avalon "touring" badge for the trunk... And since I'll be driving her cross country soon I think I might swing by Luscious Garage in SanFran and have the lockpick for the nav and mp3 systems installed.

Her name will probably be Seromi, which in Korean means "little new one", my wife's idea. She wanted Ddalgi, which means strawberry, but that's not a good name for a blue car... I thought about just Blueberry... we'll see...

Ron Cooper, the internet salesman at Concord Toyota has been wonderful, true no bullshit salesman, he's a Prius driver himself. I'm paying $400-some UNDER invoice ($25,118), delivery fee, $55 document fees, plus taxes, and registration. Finally I'll belong 100% here!! arty:

I am so happy that today I took the silver bullet Saturn Sky hot rod back to Budget Rent-A-Car and traded it for a Barcelona Red Base Prius rental, just to get used to pulsing and gliding! No more rentals for me after Wednesday!!

 

Have you red our vehicle code? There is legal tinting of the driver's and passenger's windows, according to section 26708, here is an excerpt:

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the front seat if the following conditions are met:

(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street address, ( . . . )

Here is the whole thing: V.C. Section 26708 - Material Obstructing or Reducing Driver’s View

After I tint them I'm going o print the whole thing, highlight the important bits and carry that in the glovebox just in case Barney Fife gives me a hard time some day... The tint shop I talked to said they will provide the certificate in accordance with the law.

 

That's why I said I'm going to keep a copy in the glove box... I haven't had many run ins with the popo but once I went to court and successfully fought a bogus ticket, hah! "I fought the law and I won." I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Alright, today was the day. I went to the dealership and finalized all the paperwork, signed a gazillion signatures and... still don't have my Prius! Tomorrow my bank will send the dealer the check for the full value of the car and then I can drive her out of the lot.

The salesman, Ron Cooper at Concord Toyota, was great, I had a really good experience with him. But the financial manager... the "closer", wow that dude was a piece of work! He told me he has a 2004 Prius that is always breaking, he has replaced two $5,000 CPUs, his paint is fading, etc etc etc. All he wanted was for me to buy all the extra crap he had ear marked for me. Extended warranty for $1600, prepaid maintenance for $1200, some super-duper car wax that lasts forever for $600, etc... I told him if his Prius sucked that bad he should switch brands... lol.

He didn't like it when I told him I knew I could buy the extended warranty for less than $1000 on the net. I spent almost one hour in his office being amazed at his salesmanship, trying to turn a $25000 car into a $32000 car... wow. Anyway, I declined all the stuff he threw at me.

So they gave me the manuals but not the keys, and I have been reading it, and this is quite amusing, there are some comical parts in the manual, wonders who writes this stuff: on pg 121, for example, says under "Breaking in your new Toyota":

- Do not drive continuously in the lower gears.

Which lower gears? This car has a CVT! lol Also on the page 131, on "Starting the hybrid system" it tells you to check that the parking brake is set, turn off lights and accessories, check that the shifter is on P, and THEN SIT IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT and firmly press the brake pedal. Wow, I didn't know I had to do all that before sitting down, you might short circuit your traction battery if you do not follow procedures, I guess...

Anyway, I am eagerly awaiting for the bank to send the cashier's check to the dealer so I can drive my blue Prius Touring! In the meantime I am slumming on a lowly Barcelona Red package #1 Base Prius I rented from Budget... (just kidding, I am enjoying it)

 

I finally got around to taking some pictures of my new baby, I present you Blueberry, with hubcaps removed, tint installed and the Touring badge on the trunk (a bit crooked, will have to reinstall later!):







The tint is 20% on rear windows and 70% on front windows, to include the 4" strip on the windshield.