Where are the various options available?

All,

I live in Maryland, and it seems that packages 2,6,7, and 8 are available. The "mid" level package 6 in '06 is approximately $2000 more then the "mid" level package in '05, which is package 4. Well, I'm NOT paying over $28000 for a car after tax and tags, no way no how. I'ts just a damned car, and even though i could afford the car, I refuse to just out of principle. Plus, package 6 has much more stuff in it than is nessasary. Some of this junk like bluetooth, homelink, etc is just crap. Tech geeks aside, who NEEDS that stuff in a car, especially since the Prius doesn't have the basics like electric seat adjustment, which is damned near standard in most cars in its class.

BUT...

Package #4 in 2006 is about $2000 less, and is just under what I would be willing to pay for a car without loosing all vestiges of my already fragile sanity. So the question is, does anyone know where Toyota is planning on selling package #4? I'd like to see if a dealer is willing to dx it for me, or if worst comes to worst, let's say it's available in the south or midwest, I may consider taking a bit of a road trip to get it...

Sorry for my rant, but I'm angry that that first available package in my region with VSC, which is a significant safety feature is $2000 more then last years, especially since several dealerst insinuated that the differnce in cost between an '05 #4 and an #06 #6 would be minimal.

I'd like to get a Prius; besides the fact that it is a well made car, I'm an environmentalist, and between reduced pollution and CO2, as well as the need for the US to ween itself off of foreign oil, this could be the ideal car for me, cost notwithstanding. Package #4 is the only one that works for me.

Sorry for my longwinded rant,
Cosmo

 

mmurphy000,

Thank you, it seems that I'm not the only one that feels this way. To be honest, the only two features i see a need for over the base vehicle is the airbags and VSC. Ok, it would be nice to get a slightly better radio, especially since I've heard trying to replace the factory stereo with an aftermarket one is damned near impossible. If anyone know different on that one, please let me know as well.

Cosmo

 

All,

Thanks for all the replies, I don't think that heading to the Pacific Northwest or New Mexico to pick up a car is particularly feasable for me. The southeast or midwest would be more likely.

I spoke to a dealer last night, and her impression was that package #4 will only be available later in the year, around Sept, Oct '06. I don't know if she meant the entire country, or just in the mid atlantic region, but either way it was a depressing conversation. She very well may be wrong, but she has been quite helpfull in the past.

I propose a thread should be started that lists the options available by region, and that people should enter in what they know when they are POSITIVE there information is correct. As an example, I've spoken to four differnt dealers, and they all concur that packages 2,6,7 and 8 are the only packages available in the Mid-Atlantic region at this point in time. To be honest I do not know exactly which states fall into that region.

There seems to be at least a few Toyota salesmen that visit this site, I would think they would have better first hand knowledge, and with a little bit of effort could find out the exact distribution of option packages in varoius regions of the country.

Maybe pin that thread so it stays at the top of the forum page?

So does anyone know if it is possible to get an "aftermarket" VSC from Toyota? It seems like a wild idea, but after reading up on it abit, and I could be way off on this one, but it seems that the hardware necessary for such a change would be small, since traction control works similarly, and that most of the change is software. If that would be possible, I'd consider getting a package #2 and adding that later. I know, probably I'm crazy on this one, but if you don't ask...

Peace,
Cosmo