New 2006 owner

Hello everyone! I'm a proud owner of a new Magnetic grey 2006 with Pkg #1. (Here in CA, apparently they only have #1, #3, #7, #8, at least according to some dealers.) I have been reading the forums ever since we got the car and couldn't wait any longer to post

Buying the thing was an adventure in itself. I recently read an article warning about the Sep 30 deadline for the federal tax credit. I talked things over with my wife for a little while and we decided to go for a Prius if we could actually find one locally. I called around, and sure enough most dealers had none to test drive and no one had any to sell. A couple reported that they had new stock coming in next week with some that were not spoken for yet. We were on our way down to test drive at one dealer when another one called and said a customer had not showed up to pick up their Prius - this one was now up for grabs! So we went to dealer #2 instead, and the salesman had us fill out the purchase paperwork (ie. credit application and agree to a final price) *before* the test drive! Someone was already wanting to buy the car at that very moment. (On the phone all dealers had said they would only sell at MSRP, some much more.) Someone else did end up buying that car before we could even drive it. It turned out they had *another* one of the exact same model that someone hadn't showed up to claim, so we ended up driving and buying that one. It had 6 miles on the odometer, so it was almost fresh off the truck as well. They took the sticker off the window so no one else could claim it while we filled out the remaining paperwork, even though there was another buyer in line by this time. Good grief! I know it's not this bad in all areas of the country. We drove it off the dealer lot a couple hours later.

This car is amazing! I'm coming from a 1992 BMW 325i that got about 20MPG in the city. Now I have a car that will get 40MPG on a bad day (ie. very hot sunny day.) After it gets broken in, I'm looking forward to some 50 MPG tanks. Overall, I don't feel like I've sacrificed *anything* in selecting this car. The price wasn't outrageous even if one doesn't consider the tax credit. With the tax credit it's a bargain. I will be saving $100/month in gas without a doubt. (Yes, I'm aware the tax credit might not actually happen for me.)

The oil level was about 0.25" above the top hole in the dipstick. If I can find some narrow tubing laying around in the garage, I might try to pull out the extra with a MityVac, but most likely I'll do nothing about it. (I didn't discover the forums until after we had the car, BTW, but I'll watch out for the level when I do oil changes.)

The tire pressures were 33 all around. I pumped them up to 42/40 this morning.

There are only 1000 HOV stickers left here in CA, and the dealer won't even submit my DMV paperwork until three weeks from now. So, I guess I won't get the stickers! They are somewhat ugly anyway, but I was going to get them. :mellow:

I find the climate controls easy to use. We also have a Honda Odyssey, and the controls are very similar. When it's hot, I make sure the AC is "on" and the system is in Auto mode. When it's cool outside, I just turn the AC to "off" (ie. just press the AC button once) and leave everything else untouched. Simple! Then I just get fresh air coming through the vents. I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Haven't done any cosmetic changes yet except ripping off the ugly plastic wheel guards. I never even noticed them before, but having them off is a good cheap upgrade! Some day I'll get window tint, seat covers and a leather steering wheel wrap.

I predict that in 10 years time every car will have Hybrid capability as an option. After driving a hybrid, I can see that there is an awful lot of FUD out there in the media. It's as if some people *want* to stop obvious progress!


That's it for now! Thanks for all the great articles and experiences you have shared.

- Ari