Test Driving Tomorrow!

Hey all,

I've been lurking for a bit but let me explain a few things regarding my situation and how I decided to go with a hybrid.

I currently drive a 2007 Scion tC with ~30k miles. I had an agreement with my father that if I got a scholarship to school, he'd get me a car. I got the scholarship, and after graduation I was greeted with my "new" car. He bought it with 1500 miles on it, but we didn't realize it was salvaged. I've recently learned that salvaged vehicles mean I'm boned in the event of needing warranty repair, insurance payouts, etc. so I'm ditching it while it still has value.

This means I'm in the market to buy a car, and with the 2010's rotting on the lot, I feel ok buying one new. I'm looking for the 18-22k range, and it seemed that since I have no pressing needs for speed, cargo, etc. a hybrid would be a wonderful choice.

That being said, here's a bit about my driving habits:

• I park outside in a reserved space, live in MD (so some snow).
• I commute ~10 miles to work each way. 6 miles is highway, the rest is stop-and-go city traffic.
• I drove around 10k miles last year, but this is going up due to grad school commutes (~15 miles highway) and girlfriend going to school further away.
• My Scion currently gets ~25 mpg, and around 30 highway.
• I have a dog, so leather seats aren't ideal.
• Bluetooth is the only real option I get excited about, as MD laws make it illegal to talk on your phone without handsfree.

I think I'm going to look for a Prius III, or a Prius II with the bluetooth upgrade if possible. I don't have a preference for color, as long as it's not blue. Around here, a lot of II's and III's are listed at around 20k, so that's a good starting point.

I'm going to the dealership tomorrow to do some test drives...any suggestions on what to look out for? I'm a little fuzzy on how the warranties work out in terms of bumper to bumper, powertrain, batteries, etc.

I'm also going to a Honda dealer to check out the Insight. I'm not wild about the way the interior is set up, but at such a discount I can overlook the mileage and at least take it for a spin.

Still, I'm excited

 

Well, here's what happened.

We went to one Toyota dealer nearby and I test drove a II, and LOVED it. I told the saleswoman that I was also going to drive the Insight and wanted a bottomline price so that I could have an idea of what each was going to cost me. My father dealt with her before to buy a few Camries but their inventory came up short, so he had a relationship with this woman. She still jerked us around, her and her manager wouldn't budge from 21,500 for a Prius II. Despite showing them cheaper deals online and the USAA price, the manager was pretty rude and we walked out.

I went to the Honda dealer across town, and test drove the Insight. I don't want to knock it, by no means was it a bad car, it was just kind of "blah" in comparison. I was blown with how well the Prius handled, but the Insight had the same power and less cornering ability. Unfortunately, the dealer only had 2011, fully-loaded Insights so the price difference was basically non-existent.

Then I went to another Toyota dealer near the Honda guys. They had a silver III with dark gray interior that I just fell in love with. I showed them a comparison price online for a III listed at $20,639 and they said they couldn't go that low; the bracket they could settle on was $1500 below invoice. We walked away and called the dealer that listed the III at $20,639 and it turned out that he would have soaked me in fees, so we went back inside and compromised with the salesman for $23,500 OTD (stupid 6% MD tax).

I'm happy as a clam! I've yet to average under 51 mpg. I get around that on my commute to work, and around 60 mpg scooting around town.