Hoping to be an owner of a Prius

I have been wanting to purchase a Prius since they came on the market. But when I bought my current car, I ended up with a 2003 Corolla because it was more economical for me at the time. My corolla is a manual and I have been wanting to get an automatic due to getting stuck in traffic on steep hills. Not fun.

I was thinking about getting a new Corolla or Civic Hybrid. I was hesitant about the Prius because of a lack of trunk. I street park, so wasn't sure about keeping stuff in the back with a hatchback. But I have learned that the storage area of the Prius is fabulous and can be covered.

So I have spent much of today reading this forum and watching videos. I am really sold on the 2010. But I have no idea which model. I would love all the cool features of the V with the tech package. Especially since I am horrible at parallel parking and have to do it every day. But I do not know if I want to pay that much. Would all of the added safety features help keep my insurance down? Or would the extra cost of them make my insurance go way up?

Another concern is that we have a Sirius subscription that I believe is paid through the end of the year. I currently have a mount installed in the Corolla and I take the radio with me when parked. I really would love a built in tuner. But from the searches I have done, that does not seem to be very simple with the Prius. My husband has a portable Sirius, the first kind, not the one with the built in antenna, so I guess we could plug that into the aux and just throw the antenna on the dash until the subscription runs out. I am thinking it would be easier to just go ahead and get XM, but we would have to get the package with Howard and Martha because that is what we listen to the most. They merged so many of the stations, I don't know why they didn't just go all the way and merge them all.

We also have no interest in the Nav system. We have a Garmin Nuvi with the friction mount. Looking at the dash though, I am a bit concerned about where the Nuvi could go. Would love input from those with friction mounts. But I am guessing, if we got the tech package, we would have no choice but to get the Nav? Or did I read that wrong? my brain is overflowing with Prius info today.

How is the VIP security system?

I plan on trading in my Corolla. I have never traded in a car before. Any tips? Should I get it detailed or anything? There are a few minor scratches.

It may be a few months before I am ready to purchase. I want to save up for a nice big deposit and a really big one if we go all out.

I am so glad I found this forum! I hope I did not bore you with my ramblings.

 

Thank you!

I will definitely post pics.

I am almost thinking about getting a 2009 for the reasons you stated. I would love to have the backup camera, but really don't want the NAV system. I have a perfectly good Garmin portable that has a lifetime subscription to map updates.

I have been reading the "confessions" series on edmunds.com and it is a real eye opener. I fell for a few of the lines in the past that they talk about. Such as "we can give you this APR if you buy the extended warranty."

I've been researching the trade-in value vs. private sale. If I can get a certain amount for the trade-in I will do it just to not have to deal with it. I wanted to do that to help lower the costs, but if I sold it myself, I could put all the money towards the car payments and pay off earlier. We'll see. If I do sell it, I will have to remember to exercise it. With my last car, I was going to sell it, but it ended up sitting too long and no longer would start. Ended up donating it.

I had my Corolla serviced yesterday and they said it looks in very good shape. Just needs a new battery soon. sigh.

I am going to continue doing lots of research on which model to get as well as dealing with the dealership. I really want to be prepared.

And about the insurance, this is how clueless I am. I don't think my insurance has gone down at all since I got the car. Only when I changed how many miles I drive to work. And then it went up again when I started having a longer commute. Hmmm...

 

I got to test drive a spanking new '10 over the weekend. I loved it. Now to decide if I should get the NAV package or not and if I should wait until the fall batch.

 

I currently have USAA insurance and I don't know if I want to give them up. Last time I priced out Geico it was twice as much.

My new policy comes out in a month or so, will try and get USAA to bring it down until I get the new car.

I was thinking about financing through USAA as well.


I think I want everything with the NAV package but the NAV itself. LOL!

Does anyone here know when the updated models are supposed to hit the road in the fall?

 

Here's some pics from the test drive.



My nephew said it was the best car he has ever been in. It had 2 miles on it before we drove it around the neighborhood. My brother is also looking to get a Prius so we took turns driving it. Definitely more comfortable in the back than my Corolla.