I paid MSRP for the first time in my life

Okay, well, I've only ever bought one other car from a dealer. So now half of all cars I've bought were sticker price!

I got my Tideland BI from Carson Toyota. I ordered ages ago and I was really, really surprised that I got it this year. I think it helped that I didn't want the BC/#9 package and was flexible on the color (though Tideland was my first pick after I saw that it was much richer than the chip in the brochure). I originally wanted the AF/#3 package, but once they started shipping to SoCal, it turned out that wasn't available here.

So I bought something I didn't really want, the Smart Start/Entry. But I'm not unhappy at all with that. It's one of those WOW items that I think the public is going to expect when you tell them that you have a Prius. I'm just one of those people who doesn't by something she doesn't need - I don't need the smart start & entry (I can see it actually being a great idea for parents so they don't have to fumble with keys and kids or for someone who travels to dodgy neighborhoods and want to be able to just get in a go.)

I've been wanting a hybrid for years. I signed up for the test pilot program with the Prius when they were still being sold only in Japan and they were shipping a few models to test in the states and they were the Japanese models. When I finally test drove it I was more than disappointed in the peppiness of the car. It was rather cramped and I just couldn't spend 20K for a car that was less than the little Subaru I had. So I waited until I heard about the 2004 model and hopped on that as soon as a dealer would even talk to me. I ended up finding Dianne through the Yahoo!Group.

The only additions I got were the floormats (I like the cargo mat, you can turn it over for the rubberized side when you carry around dirty things like plants and then hose it off carefully before putting it back) and the cargo net.

I have to say, most of all, that the experience of buying at Carson was rather dreamy. They were ready for me and there was minimal paperwork, they were able to meet the terms of my pre-arranged financing (so why not give them the business) and they were expertly knowledgable about the car when they gave me my orientation. It's a bit of a drive to keep servicing it there (24 miles) but if I can find a reason to stop there on my way to visit family down that way, I'll try to keep going back.

I'll try to post some photos of the dash since it's a little different without the NAV and upgraded stereo, if anyone's interested.