Prius as a first car

The Prius bug will get you if you don't watch out.

If possible, I suggest you rent one for a day or two. I have no problems with the seats, but some people are in pain after only an hour.

 

As for the seats, whenever I change desk chairs or vehicles, I have seating problems. I am 44, and this did not start until a few years ago. I suspect that maybe you will not suffer a similar fate at your age, so discount the bad seat discussions. I am 6'1" and am always interested in legroom, which in the Prius is sufficient for me in the front seat, and surprisingly abundant in the back seat.

As for the Prius, you will be more than satisfied with it as a first car. Not sure what your income level is, it might be a little pricey for you? You will be paying a slight premium to buy a "statement car" but if giving the finger to hummers and suvs is part of your agenda (it was part of mine) then you need to adjust the economics to reflect that.

As for color, I can only suggest that you fly to Southern California (santa monica), stand on the edge of the coastal freeways there and watch all of the Prii go by. I bought blue, but after coming back from there on vacation, and having the opportunity to see between 50-100 of them on the roads, the salsa red has become my new favorite color. Don't know how many Prii there are in your area, but get acquainted with the colors in real life and not in brochures / web if you can.

And oh yeah, try to get your prius as early as you can in 2006 to capitalize on the tax advantages. I suspect that if you are looking to buy a car next summer, you are probably graduating and will have some sort of income. There is a *substantial* tax credit available to the folks who buy a prius next year, and the credit is not going to be around long (dwindling away in 3rd and 4th qtr of next year).

 

The tax credit won't help if you're buying used.

You might get lucky and find a reasonable used one if people are trading in for the new 2006 with the new colors and improvements.

But more likely you'll have to hunt around, as with the price of gas going up and up, people are going to be looking for a 'bargain' Prius.

You may need to compromise on what color you get if you go used.

On the plus side, the Prius probably keeps its resale value well enough you might be able to swing a loan even for a used Prius.

Good luck.

 

Used... I missed that in the original post. Yep, no tax credits for used.

I looked at Carmax site and they have about half a dozen or so used Priuses, 03 and earlier, upper teens, some in the low 20's. They also have associated transportation charge of approximately $700 if they have to be transported from some other place in the country (non of them were in the Atlanta area for me). That should give you some sort of indication of what retailers are charging for used.

 

perhaps you would like to by mine? I want to get 2006 model. My car is only 1 month old. Actually, celebrating his b-day today

 

I rented one at Enterprise. It was a bit of serendipity, my wife had an accident (nobody hurt) and we needed a rental. They asked what we wanted and we said it didn't matter. Then they said they had a Prius. I'd been wanting to rent one for months. That was back in January and we rented it for 2 weeks. It was kinda strange, I rented a #1 and bought a #6. I had to get used to all the differences, especially the Smart Key.

 

Ya I "think" Enterprise is the only one that rents them.
I got one for a weekend and loved it. I would look them up and see.

 

Just a note: Apparently, Tideland Pearl (Green) will no longer be available for the Prius in the 2006 models. (You may already know that -- just wanted to be sure.)

 

Hello hv74656, congratulations on your considering a Prius as your vehicle of choice to commute to UCF. Aside from the many technical, safety and economical benefits to this vehicle, what a wonderful statement you will be making regarding less pollution, less dependence on foreign oil and support of new technologies. That said, the rising price of gas will certainly help offset the price difference between the Prius and any comparable vehicle but you will be looking at financing a car, depending on the package you choose, of between 22 and 30 K, thats a pretty hefty car payment on a college budget. If your parents are helping foot the bill, more power to you.
As you can see from my avatar, I'm from your area and in fact bought mine from Central Fl. Toyota. They are a very reputable dealership and sell the Prius at msr. Be warned they will try to sell you extended warranties, lo-jack (do not buy into this one at all, if you search my earlier posts you will understand why) and several other high profit for the dealer goodies, but if you just tell them your not interested they seem to let go.
By next summer your selection choices will have increased considerably, what with other makes and model hybrids coming to market, but just remember the Prius is a pure hybrid, designed from the ground up to be one, not an existing model that has been converted, also you will find hardly any depreciation in value, if any, when you drive it off the lot.
Good luck.

 

I live in a TND also, Habersham, in South Carolina. I am tired of seeing all those huge suv's too. But I have to admit, the number of hybrids in town is increasing. I have been to Celebration, and loved it.

 

My commute is 62 miles round trip. I really like my car. The Prius is not for everyone, but from your posts, it sounds like you would do well with one. I concur with others that you might rent one for a weekend, to really get a feel for it. I'm coming up on 45,000 miles, and I've had no problems.

 

[font=Tahoma:1a0b5e9e00]I was also thinking about the Matrix when I was car shopping since I did want something with more room in the back and I really liked the hatchback look.[/font:1a0b5e9e00]

 

hv74656 welcome to the forum. sounds like you dont need convincing and i have to say, for the commute you are talking about, imm, a Prius is a no brainer. even at 70 mph, you will be getting near 50 mpg.

the constant driving speeds, no use of the brakes and driving times of over 20 minutes at a stretch are what the Prius was made for. it will thrive under those conditions. but the best part is with practice and anticipation of traffic, mileage in the mid to upper 50's can be done and has been done by several people here and you will be happy you got a Prius because gas ain't stopping below $3.00 a gallon.

 

I commute nearly 100 miles a day, mostly up and down US19. I get mid to upper 50's unless I happen to do a lot of highway or local short trip driving in which case it is closer to 50. The Prius would be a good choice gaswise, but total cost per mile, even used, might be too much for you right now.

As for red being a no-no, I don't think its the kind of red that gets penalized. I have salsa red, and I don't see a surcharge for that. Then again, I am a bit older than you, that could be a factor.

 

I'm a grad student. I think buying the Prius was about the smartest thing I've done in this time period of my life, short of accepting the fellowship I was offered in grad school.

(although some days I question my choice of schools)

good luck!

 

I have done the math out over and over, and assuming that I pay MSRP on a new prius in 2006 (guestimating, of course) vs blue book on a <36k 2003, so i can purchase an extended warranty, it is honestly just as cheap to buy new - and i will get more for a very gently treated one owner prius than i will an older, multiple owner car. That tax break really makes it an easy choice for me. i think you should definately consider buying new.

On that topic, depending on how your finances are, that tax credit may do you no good at all. if i had to post it against this tax year (with student finances) i wouldn't get all 3000 back, because thats more than i pay in taxes. although, from what i know of celebration, you could even be just studying your way through grad school, without working at all, and still be just fine handling that credit...