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Hello! Car shopping.

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by JKMimi, Aug 5, 2014.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    corolla, see post #2, can't help you with color. :)
     
  2. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Relax. The Prius is just a car and granted there are 3 sizes and such but they are all over now so no longer a curiosity. You won't stick out or be forced to answer any detailed questions like the early owners were. The advantage is the technology is proven. The reliability known.

    My son bought the hatchback as his second car. I suppose he has maybe 4 years and 60k miles on it as he commutes 50 miles each way to work. I bought the v 2 years ago since I wanted a small station wagon for its utility to get packages home and trash to the dump. Came from a CRV and a Porsche. I keep my cars 10 years. I was fortunate that I could choose a car with long term ownership in mind. After 2 years the only time I've been to the dealers for other than scheduled free maintenance is to have them install DRLs. Boringly perfect. Not that I couldn't name a dozen little things that could be better in my mind but the important things are so right with it I'm glad I made the buy...mileage, reliability, utility, even fun.

    Why did I buy it? The honest answer is because it was a bit of fun because it was different. The differences make a longer trip in it fun.

    Many places/countries I travel I see them being used as taxis. Those guys buy vehicles for long term cost of use reasons. Nice recommendation.

    I've never found its power lacking but then I'm reasonably cautious at my age. I don't drive it in any special way to try and achieve maximum mileage, though I suppose I don't push it like I did the Porsches. It is a wagon, not a sports car. My typical trip is 10 miles to town with a weekly 60 mile one way to the grandkids and every six months a 250 one way trip mixed in. I live in a 4-seasons area, 8 to 100 degrees. I get EPA mileage.
     
  3. JKMimi

    JKMimi New Member

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    Nor Cal
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
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    N/A
    So, I decided to run back out and see about test driving a couple cars. I drove a Prius and a Corolla. (Gotta say I find the Toyota Dealership where I am to be the most low pressure and least 'dealer-like' of all the dealerships.) Both were nice to drive. The Prius I think I went a little farther with, and actually took on a couple roads that I actually drive regularly. After the guy seemed to 'encourage' me to stay closer and just loop around the back road and bit of highway nearest the dealership so didn't get to really experience the 'my normal roads' with the Corolla, but it seemed good. The Corolla has more kick than I expected. lol I expected it to respond more like my Civic. The Prius didn't have that kick the Corolla did, but it didn't feel like it was less responsive or kicky than my old Civic. It got up to 70 on the highway with ease. I know there's that split in the window because of the hatch, but over all, I almost feel like I had more visibility with the Prius than the Corolla or my Civic.

    The color on the Prius is not my favorite, actually my most disliked car color, but I'm still tempted because it's a couple thousand less than the other Priuses (Prii) ? on the lot (the cheaper is a 2011, vs the rest are 2013s). But I keep thinking maybe I can get some kind of cute vinyl decals or something to put on it and then it'll feel 'more fun' despite the color. The Corolla is an 'ideal' color, has a couple nice 'bells and whistles', but I think I'm less excited for it, but it still felt nice enough on the drive. Like I think I like the Prius more for all the multitude of things the Prius has going for it. But I probably wouldn't hate having the Corolla. I'm not sure the drives really put a big sway one way or the other. I still like the idea of not having to smog my car. And I like what I keep hearing about the lack of big fixes most Prius seem to have. I like the sound of 5000 mile oil changes, and some tire rotation, and other than some new tires somewhere along the way, not much else to do for like the first 100,000 miles.

    I haven't gotten to do a better test drive yet on the Civic, so I can't quite rank it with the rest yet.

    I'm also kind of wondering if there's colors I should avoid as someone who tends to subscribe to the notion that Mother Nature will wash my car when she wants to. (And remember, I live in drought stricken California. My Civic hasn't really been washed even mother nature style in quite some time. It is very dirty. lol)
     
    #23 JKMimi, Aug 17, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2014
  4. Fuu

    Fuu New Member

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    2014 Prius c
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    Two
    Costs are important, no doubt. But ultimately you should get the car that you want, not the car that you can justify. It's not like we're talking about a Lamborghini, none of these cars are going to break the bank. If you go for your second choice car because it's a bit more affordable, then you might end up kicking yourself every time your first choice car passes you in the street. I'd suggest to go with your gut, go with whichever car makes you happy.
     
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    I think I like the idea of a new or used eg; 2012 PiP. Sounds like you don't need the green HOV sticker, so you can time the market, when the green stickers start to run out in a couple months, there will be a price premium on PiP's with the HOV stickers, and that's when you strike to get a great deal on a non-stickered new or used PiP. Don't forget a new PiP you get $2500 tax credit and $1500 from Ca. We had some Ca. folks netting out I think $21-22k after PiP rebates recently, before taxes and tags.

    You're right about one thing: it's nice to not have to get the smog inspections...In Va. that's the one bone they throw us for getting a Prius.

    It has already been said, but perhaps not strongly enough, if you're just doing a ton of really short 2 and 5 miles drives, you might get lower MPG (not 50). This is becuase it takes Prius about 5-min to warm up. The Plug-In solves this problem in your case. It would appeal to me to get a charging cable that charged more slowly than 12 amps, and I think you can get one that was made for Leaf or Volt that allows a slower charge rate. Of course, PiP is a "plug-in lite" so no harm done if you don't Plug-In at all some days.

    Your case (low miles per year) is a case where the extra cost of a fuel efficient car is hard to pay off in fuel savings. So that argues for Corolla, but then you gotta get annual smog checks...no way! But I think you might like the Prius. We do.
     
    #25 wjtracy, Aug 21, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2014
  6. JKMimi

    JKMimi New Member

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    I went test driving again and I've arrived back at my first two options anyway, Prius or Civic. After another test drive on the Corolla I found I wasn't overly fond of what seems like a jumpy or something gas pedal. I test drove two different models of Corolla just to make sure it wasn't the one car. I probably would eventually get used to that, but it's a lot of money for 'hopefully' eventually get used to. Prius obviously feels different to drive than a lot of 'standard' cars, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. More certain I'd quickly get used to the subtle differences between it and my current car. That was the big plus though for my test drive of a newer Civic, was by the end of the test drive, chatting with the sales gal, I almost forgot I wasn't driving my car. So I guess the Civic hasn't changed all that much in like 20 years. lol I may test the Prius-C again. I had discounted it not on test drive merits, but because it seems to have a sort of low front bumper, lower than the regular Prius and lower than my old Civic. But maybe worth testing again, especially if i can find a driveway near the car lots that is kind of sharp and see how it does. I'm used to pulling in at an angle already as I do so with my car.

    I have heard that with the short drives the MPGs likely won't be as good as the stickers say. Gas money savings isn't my biggest motivator. But it adds into a bigger picture where I'm trying to figure if Prius is maybe the better choice than Civic. It's a little more up front, but between a little less money on gas, not having to smog it every two years, and what sounds like some less things to potentially go wrong/bad (like the Prius doesn't have belts and with the regenerative breaking the break pads last like forever(ish) ). And since I am looking for my next long term car (I want a car that will take me into like 2030 and beyond), I'm trying to be 'farsighted' and 'future considerations' with this car. And I'm trying to figure out if another Civic would work just dandy, or if a Prius would be a better choice (and worth a little bit extra initial cost).
     
  7. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    Two
    No petrol car will reach EPA fuel economy on short drives. The engine has to warm up.
     
  8. robtco99

    robtco99 Junior Member

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    I've seen some very good deals on used prius c's. Like 2012's with low miles for 13k. The fit's are very nice, but hard to find like you said. What about a toyota matrix or pontiac vibe? We have a vibe, and my sister has a vibe and we absolutely love them.
     
  9. Ashlem

    Ashlem Senior Member

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    Isn't Pontiac a dead brand now? Meaning it's going to be hard to find parts for it when you have to do any repairs on them, and the depreciation is going to drop like a rock as well.

    I would still recommend a prius c if you're looking for a car that you plan to keep for years. You may not get the most gas savings out of them based on the driving times you mentioned, but you'll still be saving more than if you had a civic, and prius reliability so far has been pretty outstanding overall compared to a lot of other cars, especially hybrids.

    Sure, breakdowns happen, but with the c you have less things that are likely to go bad, such as no belts in the engine. In my old civic I had to replace the belts in them twice in the six years (and pricey head gasket repairs twice) I owned it and they made an annoying chirping noise when cracks developed in them. Granted it was a 93 so kind of old, but still, that's what I liked about the c and gen 3 prius's beltless engine. If the hybrid battery system goes out (and out of the 8 year/100k warranty), the cost of replacing them has come down too, and if you have to replace an engine in a non-hybrid it's about the same cost anyway, if not more.
     
  10. JKMimi

    JKMimi New Member

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    I've had a busy week, less time for car shopping. But Prius (regular) and Civic are still tops, with the C as the only other contender. Though I'm now unfortunately finding myself very put off by one particular sales person at the Toyota dealership. He's really aggressive about I should ask for him, and why didn't I ask for him. He's like the 4th person I'd talked to at that dealership and none of the others responded that way. Nor does the two sales people at another dealership (not Toyota) with my contact info call me every week to ask if I've found a car. I'm finding it kind of uncomfortable and is making me want to avoid the local Toyota dealership due to this one very pushy salesman.
     
  11. minnyprius

    minnyprius Member

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    Plug-in Advanced
    Good morning! I'm new to your conversation, but it's a great one! I've been debating for years what my next car would be... as I want to keep over-all ownership costs down, while having it be insanely reliable, good on gas, and usable space.

    I've been driving a 2008 smart fortwo since new, with 97000 miles on it, and it's been surprisingly cheap to own, trouble free, and far more usable than I expected (with the hatch design, and passenger side seat being able to fold flat, I've hauled full-size base and wall cabinets, 250 sq ft of wood flooring, ladders, etc.... it's been great!). BUT... I wouldn't buy it again. I love it, and I've found it really hard to justify replacing it, but Iwon't buy another one. I want something slightly bigger/quieter/smoother.

    One car that has stayed in my selection stable is the Scion xD. It's based on the Yaris, but has the Corolla's motor. The interior is slightly more usable than the Yaris, and it's slightly better looking, even if the dashboard is kinda funny lookin'. Plus, you can buy a 2010 for around $11000. Screams bargain to me...

    I keep upgrading myself to a Prius C, then give in and convince myself I should just get a regular Prius... then Subaru XV Crosstrex... then back to the Scion xD. hehehe.. it's painful for my friends to listen to, but I love the constant debate with myself.

    Anyway.. Hope you're enjoying the process!
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like the definition of insanity.