Anyone want to talk me out of it?

We've only had our 2009 Pkg 6 for a few weeks but we love it. However, I only discovered after buying the cost (from a dealer) of replacing a headlight ~$300 and replacing the 12 volt battery when it goes ~$125 plus labor. Of course if you are handy you can save on these costs but you might want to consider if this is a factor for you. We do not regret our decision.

 

i think the 2010's will only be very slightly more expensive but have more features.

but the 2009 will have buyer incentives, the 2010 is mostly like not. so you will most likely save a few grand i would be guessing by buying now.

you say you are paying $22,000??? what pkg is that?

 

The dealer I bought my Prius from just a few weeks ago is now offering an additional $2k off of in-stock 09 Prius. That's $3000 off with the $1000 off from Toyota.

I'd find a dealer that has some inventory and decide on a color/package and haggle. With the '10 models out soon, they may be afraid that people will wait for those... so they'll want to get rid of their inventory.

 

Wait for the 2010 to come out. Test drive both. Compare ride,cost and all the little things that you either like or dislike. Only then will you feel that you made the right decision.

 

Wife and I just purchased an 08 with 15K miles on it for $19K. Dealership also gave us double what the KBB trade in value was for her car (Mitsubishi lancer with 150K miles).
On the day of negotiations we left the dealership selling the Prius and test drove a 2010 Insight which they would not budge on the price, would not give us anything for our trade in, and it was only getting 27-30mpg on our city drive.
Dealership also stated "We have people lining up to buy this car" to which I replied "Is that why there's four of them in your parking lot?"
We returned to the other dealership and purchased the slightly used Prius.
I'm so thankfull we did:cheer2:
We're averaging 56mpg on the four of so tanks we've used and we saved at least $4k by not buying the new Insight (Down payment, trade in value, increase in montly payment).
I like Fred's train of though.
Test drive both, weight the difference in price vs wants, do some comparison shopping online and around town, then pull the trigger. I took me a week of research and 8 hours of haggling between two dealerships but I got what my family wanted.

 

Do you want people to accuse you of being a smug? If not then don't get the Prius.

If you are extremely satisfy with your ownership experience of the Prius and take pride of owning this unique car that offers so much of the technological, environmental and social benefits, people will say you have smug. If you are not ready to face this, I suggest you look away from the Prius.

 

The dealer in Asheville has a bunch of 09's sitting on his lot and more arriving. Don't know how that compares with your area, but I can't imagine prices won't fall even further when the new ones arrive. Jim Barkley Toyota advertises his selling prices on the internet, so it may be worth a look. Some have said that he doesn't bargain from stated prices, although I find that difficult to believe in this market.

So, basically it's a question of a bargain on an 09, or the higher price of the newest and greatest. Discounts on the new ones may be negligible for as long as the demand lasts.

 

The first year of a new model always has some bugs. The 2009 is thoroughly de-bugged. If you hate expensive repairs get the lowest option package, and don't get HID headlights.

 

If I were willing to spend in the neighborhood of the MSRP of a new `09 Prius, then I would prefer to wait and enjoy the superior G3 for that kind of money. For those of us who don't see our way clear to pay that much, what will prove interesting is the perfect storm of conditions that will depress the prices of new and used G2s in the months to come:

• The spike and subsequent collapse of oil prices killed public interest in very economical cars.
• Toyota ramped up `09 G2 production during the gasoline price spike. That has led to a big standing inventory for the first time since the G2 came out. Just about every dealer has a full stock of G2s. Toyota only knows how many more of them are standing behind chain link fence in Long Beach.
• Toyota has long-range aspirations for its flagship product. It will not create any artificial scarcity of the G3 or otherwise render it uncompetitive for the sake of moving excess G2 inventory at full or nearly full price.
• Joe Sixpack (or Joe the Plumber if you prefer) still thinks that the Prius has expensive battery replacement or other exceptional problems. He doesn't realize how dependable the Prius has proved to be. Those misconceptions hang onto the Prius like some sort of urban legend.

These factors will cause new `09s and used G2s in general to be very undervalued in the months to come. There will be big bargains for whoever shows up at the right place at the right time.

 

haha... yep, I've been in discussions on other sites (relating to my conservative, gun-owning side) where hybrids get trashed... but there are always a few of us that throw some rational thought into the discussions.

I am not concerned at all how my peers see me. I'll drive up to the range with my trunk full of boomsticks and canned noise in my Prius without a second thought.

If the vehicle does what you need it to do, and you like it, then that's all that matters.

 

Also ...

• The new federal incentives for new car purchases may apply only to domestic (really North American) production. Prius (G2 and G3) and Insight will not qualify, so they will have to lower their average selling price to compete with domestics.
  

 

Unless they resume with the plan in Mississippi for building Priuses.

 

Not in time for this calendar year.