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Narrowed it down to Prius C, Accent, or Focus - Help me choose!

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by Farfle, Dec 16, 2012.

  1. yogipaolo

    yogipaolo Junior Member

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    Yes. This is a great community. I've learned a lot here. I don't have much to contribute to your decision besides cheerleading.

    My decision was based on the high-MPG rating in my price range and styling. The high-reliability of Toyota also played heavily in the decision.

    To me, the interior doesn't look cheap and I like the exterior styling a great deal. I used to buy 10 year old beaters on principle and literally drive them into the ground. This is the fist new car I've owned. I'm 43.

    The previous posts offer many objective vectors for making a rational decision, so I'll just saunter into the dialogue with some cheerleading...

    I just got back from a 400-mile round trip up the NJ Turnpike where I got about 50mpg up and 48mpg back. My highway cruising average speed was 70mpg with quite a few 80mpg sprints to get around trucks and annoying drivers (who don't use cruise control and vary their speed 10-15mph constantly ... arg!). Anyway, without competitive merging and using the middle lane, I had no issues keeping up with traffic.

    I bought the PCII because I couldn't justify 5k more for navigation that can't compete with my smartphone and some extra sparkly bits and a push button start. All the pushbuttony thingies on the steering wheel make me feel enough like speed racer to satisfy and the integrated bluetooth works seamlessly.

    So the whole package makes up for any deficits real or perceived.

    Hope that helps.


     
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  2. Rob.au

    Rob.au Active Member

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    Agreed. FWIW the c version of the "instructional videos" are here:




    Even though the maps in my c's navigation are two years old and I generally dislike the system, I'll also still use it over other GPSes I have most of the time because it's convenient and accessible. If I'm going to defer to something else (going to a new suburb or something), I'll take my TomTom and it's windscreen suction mount.
     
  3. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

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    This has been good reading, even though I have had my car since August. I like the 50 mpg. I see nothing wrong with "flooring" the car when needed. I like to keep it blown out. The little sucker makes a nice vehicle for us. We customized it to suit our desires. Hey, life is good.
    Dan
     
  4. cooperator

    cooperator New Member

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    I plan to buy a Prius C asap for eco reason and really enjoy reading so many helpful information/knowledge in this chat site. I have been driving 80 - 100 miles daily between office and home for the past 15 years. In average I gas up my Accord every 4 days in S.F. bay area. Farfle, may I know which dealer you went to purchase your Prius C three? I like to ask if they still have 2012 Prius C one. Thank you.
     
  5. cooperator

    cooperator New Member

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    Falfle,

    Could you tell me which dealer, around 10 days ago, offered you the OTD $18,800 (or $18,600) for C2, and adding $700 for C3? I sent email to dealers for C1 two days ago, so far only one dealer responds to me with OTD $20,300. Maybe their Prius inventory is low so they do not want to lower the price. Thank you. (12/26/12)


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  6. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Smart choice going with the Prius. You will have many years of just routine maintenance. The car is very reliable, economical to operate, and your doing the ecology good by reducing pollution. Enjoy.
     
  7. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I don't own a Prius c but I did buy my 06 Prius (new in January 06) from Toyota Sunnyvale. I was satisfied w/the buying experience and wouldn't hesitate to consider them again.

    I did help a friend buy a new '11 Prius at the end of Dec '11. We did go to Toyota Sunnyvale but she ended up buying from Piercey because they were more willing to budge on price. Do be careful about their F&I folks. Just be prepared for their high pressure and psychological sales tactics in F&I.

    For your driving, if you have a lot of opportunities to use cruise control, I don't recommend you buy a model One, as it doesn't have it. (I wouldn't buy a car w/o CC in this day and age.) Get a Two at min. Make sure you're ok w/the ride, size, interior quality and noise level. Since you spend so much time in the car, I do recommend looking at the regular Prius (aka liftback) or '12-'13 Camry Hybrid as well.
     
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  8. cooperator

    cooperator New Member

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    Thanks, Cwerdna. I will check the regular Prius and Camry Hybrid with Toyota at Sunnyvale and Piercey. ( I drive mostly in highway, but barely use cruise control since it is easy to run into mild or heavy traffic jam in bay area.
     
  9. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Cool. BTW, but F&I, I'm talking about them trying to push extended warranties, service plans, etc.
     
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  11. Rob.au

    Rob.au Active Member

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    Oh no, not the dreaded Consumer Reports again. :eek:
     
  12. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    LOL! They like the Prius liftback. They just don't like the c.
     
  13. Farfle

    Farfle Member

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    I suppose I should have followed up with a response to this thread; I've been neglectful! At any rate, I ended up purchasing a Prius C2 for $18,096 (after a $1k military rebate). The dealer had been mistaken when he said I could get the C3 for only $700 more. I initially went in to take him up on that offer, and it wasn't until near the very end when he presented me with paperwork and final price that I noticed he was asking $1700, not $700 more! When I told him of the glaring price difference, he apologized for his error and told me he couldn't sell me the C3 for that cheap. I understood, and didn't argue, because I knew that really was too good a price to be true. At any rate, out-the-door price of $18,096 (no sales tax in Oregon) for a C2 was still incredibly good, and I was for sure going to take that deal if the C3 didn't go through.

    I had the money to buy it outright, but in order to get the $1000 rebate, I had to finance it through Toyota Financial. It's been over 40 days since I bought the car, and just today did all the paperwork go through, and I was able to create my account on the website and submit my first month's payment. That part of it has been a bit of a headache, mostly due to me having to have my parents cosign the loan, being as I don't currently have a job (but have good credit). It's been nothing but back and forth with the dealer, local bank, and Toyota Financial proving to them I'm loan worthy!

    Which brings me to my next issue. Like I mentioned earlier, I have the $$ to buy it outright, and I intended to all along, if it wasn't for the need to finance to get the $1000 rebate. Everything I've read says I can turn around and pay off the loan early with no penalty from Toyota Financial. I plan on doing that, but I also read somewhere that you should wait 3 months before paying it off to allow dealerships to get a small kickback from the parent auto companies' financing arms. I was planning on waiting until end of March to pay off the loan, but does anyone know if this is in any way true with Toyota Financing? I don't want to unneccesarily screw the dealership out of whatever small profit they might make off my financing (plus, I don't want to risk pissing them off as I'll be returning my car there for servicing!). Yeah, I know it's an obscure question, just thought i'd probe the community to see if anyone knows the inner workings of the beast that is Toyota Financing before taking advice I've read elsewhere.

    As for the car itself...I love it! Here I am more than a month later, and i'm still finding excuses to drive somewhere..anywhere! At first I was worried about the Summer Rain color, that it would be too bright and flashy. But I really enjoy it now, and am glad I was "forced" to go with it, as I never would have picked that color had I been given the choice initially.

    As for all the negative reviews, I just don't understand 'em! Maybe it's just because its the first real modern car I've owned, but it's night and day different than any 90s vehicle I've driven, in terms of luxury. It's ultra smooth, and on new pavement incredibly quiet. I have noticed it's kind of loud on rough pavement, but I honestly I don't know if that's just because of the negative influence the Consumer Reports had on me, or what. At any rate, it's hardly noticeable when the radio is turned on.

    The most surpising feature had to be the Bluetooth handsfree phone system, even on the C2 version. It's so seamless! After I initially paired my phone, the car now recognizes it automatically every time I turn it on. When a call comes in and the radio is playing, it IMMEDIATLY mutes the radio and rings on the car speakers. With a push of a steering wheel button, I can easily answer the call and proceed to have a normal conversation as if I was talking to a passenger. The microphone and speakers provide better audio then the phone itself, and all this without me having to even touch the phone! Ok, so obviously this may not seem too impressive to people who are used to this modern amenity, but trust me, for those who've never experienced this type of phone integration in cars yet, it's quite awesome!

    I'm really digging the HSI and ECO Score display screens. I'm not able to consistently get good stop and cruise scores, though. I think i'm trying to hard, and need to research more on how to improve them. I think I might be babying the car too much! I just now learned about this "pulse and glide" method, and am eager to try it out on my next spin. But at any rate, at least my MPGs are where they're supposed to be: high 40s to mid 50s.

    The only problem I've had with it is the steering. I don't know why, but I feel i'm having a hard time keeping the darn thing going in a perfectly straight line. When i'm in my lane, I feel i'm constantly having to perform micro adjustments to keep it going straight. I'm talking very small adjustments, but enough to where i'm still consciously thinking about it. Has anyone else had this issue? It's hardly to the point where I feel I should take it in and have it looked at (because, frankly, I think it may just be me) but I'd like to see if others have reported similiar experience. Maybe it's the electric steering i'm not used to? Seems like that wouldn't matter.
     
  14. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    Anyone else thinking bait and switch? "Oh you're looking for 2? I can give you a 3 for only $700 more than the 2. Come on in. Whoops, my bad. Must've been a typo. You wanted a 2 anyway, right?"

    Just remember, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and yada yada." I put up with these dealer shenanigans when I was young and thought they were doing me a favor by approving me the loan on the car.

    For example: Paperwork had a $200 higher price than agreed. "Oh that's because you wanted a white one and we need to ship it from another dealer, we quoted you a black one." I paid it.

    For my next car:
    They said, "That $300 charge is for the security system."
    "Take it out. I don't want it.
    They replied, "But sir, it's already installed we'd have to charge you to remove it."
    "I'm not paying you to remove something I didn't want in the first place."
    They counter, "What if we charged you $250?"
    "I don't want it. No one is going to want to steal a minivan!"
    They removed the charge.

    I don't know about the 3 months thing but I've heard the same thing from Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai. Same as you I finance to get the rebate even though I could pay cash. I just split the payment three lump sums. I didn't ask if it was true or whether they get additional profit or not.
     
  15. mkwan723

    mkwan723 Junior Member

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    PriusC is an obvious winner compare to Ford Focus or Hyundai Accent or any non-Hybrids. No comparison. Case closed. If you are comparing to Honda CRZ, PriusC is still a winner by a little bit.
     
  16. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    I'm not a mechanic but it Sounds like the alignment is off if the car pulls left or right. The 5K service they will do the alignment.
     
  17. DJDP23

    DJDP23 eat my voltage

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    When I was car shopping [I think I might have posted this before], I test drove a Fiesta and a Focus the day before I bought the Prius. That new Ford automatic transmission is...weird. Kinda laggy. The whole car felt a bit bulkier than the Honda Fit I'd been driving for 5 years.

    The road noise complaint in some reviews of the C is kind of a non-issue; you're not going to find too many subcompact cars with less road noise. That said, you won't find too many that are noisier than a Fit's cabin.
     
  18. koipond

    koipond Member

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    I also feel that the steering of tbe Prius C is a little too loose on the highway... but I can live with it. Don't worry about any issues from paying your loan off early... the finance company and the mechanics are probably in different time zones and don't communicate. I also love the bluetooth phone features... its like star trek. :)