So I've Joined the Prius Family...

Hi folks!

I've been a member of Prius Chat for about a week now, and have finally decided to take the plunge and tell my story about me getting my 2010 Prius.

I commute 20 miles one-way to my job as a middle school life science teacher. The trip is about a mile of city driving to get on the highway, 15 miles of 65-70 mph highway, and 4 miles of 55 mph rural highway to my school. I had been spending the previous three years doing my commute in my 2005 Chevy Equinox. I loved the car and the way it rode, but unlike my parents' Equinox (They bought their after they saw how much I loved mine), I didn't get anywhere near the mileage they got. They live in a very rural area, and get almost 30 mpg. No matter how or where I drove, I got 18-20 mpg. There was that and it handled like a pregnant whale. Comfortable to ride in and haul stuff on occasion, but was a complete and total petrol hog.

So over the previous month or so I was kicking around the idea of getting a new car. My dream car had been a Subaru Outback, and with my Equinox over 85k miles now, it was a good time to trade it in. Because I live in south Louisiana, Subarus are ridiculously cheap because there's no demand for them. Unfortunately, there are almost none for sale either. I poked at the idea of getting a Jetta TDI wagon too, but the concept of driving a German car gave me shivers (My grandparents are German, and my family over there drives German cars... and they are always in the shop for one stupid thing or another.) since once again, dealerships are few and far between.

In looking at my budget, I was spending $200 on fuel, and my driving was almost exclusively commuting because it was so inefficient. A drive to Houston to watch a soccer game? Try a tank going there and a tank going back. Go see friends in Baton Rouge or Alexandria? That's a take of fuel round trip. I was simply stupid trying to drive a car with this kind of mileage, and driving a car that goes 30 mpg was nice, but I could do better.

As I looked at what I needed my new car to so, I came to the conclusion that I didn't need all that much of a car. I got the Equinox for the times I went backpacking, but 90%+ of the time my driving consisted of the 20 mile commute with just me in the car. Why on earth would I need another big car again when something small could do. Of course, I wanted something with some size because I do need the extra space because I bring 4 students to a TV studio to record a local quiz bowl competition 4-6 times a year.

So I was reading on the auto blog Jalopnik an article that was a polemic against the current crop of electric cars. Now, the populace there is pretty much frothing anti-Toyota because of the reputation of Toyotas by and large being beige people movers. As I read people shoot at each other back and forth over Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) and Chevy Volts, the Prius was hit with a little rhetorical shrapnel. The article got me thinking if a hybrid might be what I needed. My need for a car was sadly a beige people mover, and maybe one was right for me.

A couple of evenings of crunching numbers and reading reliability reports on the Prius told me it might be the best option for me. The problem was finding one to buy. I could best afford a decent used one, but in a 100 mile radius I found exactly three used ones for sale. Oddly enough there was one here in New Iberia for sale--a 2007 Touring edition with 50k miles. I called the dealership and scheduled an appointment, cringing the entire time because the place is the king of high-pressure sales.

I got there and was relieved to meet an old gentleman who took my warning that I was there just to look, and we went to look at the car. The poor fellow knew nothing about Priuses, and we sat in the car with the manual trying to figure out how to start it (The fob needed to be put in the slot in order to start--oops!) Once that was figured out, we took it on a 20-mile test drive which sold me on a Prius. It was zippy, handled well, and it was just fun to drive. I got back to the dealership and the salesman went to get me a price, but the Toyota guys said $18k firm, since it was certified and all. I shook the salesman's hand and told him I would keep him in mind, but was in no mood for shenanigans--especially ones he had no control over.

The next morning I tanked up my Equinox ($42!) and drove an hour to look at a 2010 with 40k miles. It was at a small town Toyota dealer, and I dealt with the founder of the dealership's granddaughter. She knew the Prius inside and out and instantly told me everything I wanted to know about the car and then some. We took it for a test drive, and she went on for a couple of minutes telling me how the Prius III improved on the Prius II models (All of which I had read online, so I knew she wasn't blowing smoke). She told me the car was traded in in April and had sat on the lot and had been looked at by exactly one person. Where I live, hopped up diesel trucks are king, and people who drive Priuses are very rare. They keep a couple in stock and they are rarely sold. When she asked me if I wanted to go home with one that day, I told her that she would have to do something special in order to do so. Since I was one of the very few people who come to a dealership actually looking specifically for a Prius, she said she could do something special for me.

Two hours later, I left the dealership with my new Prius. They gave me the 2010 Prius for the cost of the 2007 at the other dealership, Kelly Blue Book value for my Equinox (They only sell Toyota/Scion, so that was very nice!), and half price on the bumper-to-bumper extended warranty ($900 for 5 years 50k miles). Add to that an unbeatable APR on my loan (It pays to have little debt you manage efficiently!), and I left the dealership paying less per month for my car than I did for my Equinox, with a warranty, and now paying 70% less a month for petrol. All in all I felt pretty smart.

In the week I've had it I've fallen in love with the car even more. It rides smooth, the hybrid drive offers a unique driving experience, the MPG meter provides me with something to keep my lead foot from getting too leaden, and even provided some laughs when a hopped up diesel truck met me at the light giving me a dirty look, I engaged Power Mode, and dusted the guy off the line. A half mile later I was passed up by said truck pouring black smoke. Sure he flipped me off then cut me off in order to pour smoke all over me, but it sure didn't make me feeling any less smug for emasculating a moron in my Prius... and doing so at 47 mpg.:bounce:

Hopefully this won't be my last post. Reading through the forums has found me a wealth of information that I'm constantly digesting, as well as finding a member base that is far more diverse than any outsider would ever consider. Thanks for your time!