Welcome. I think you will highly enjoy the Prius when you finally get one. Sounds like you are thinking about buying used. I have this bad feeling that when you do go out and buy used the prices will be rather high. I suspect a pretty strong resale value which means high used prices. Depending on the mileage of the prospects you encounter in your purchase quest, you might be better of purchasing new.

Vouching for the Prius, it is a wonderful car. Mileage varies with use and driving technique, however you get excellent mileage no matter how you drive it, it is just a matter of how close you come to EPA estimates, which don't seem to reflect real driving conditions most of the time. The controlled state of EPA tests is very good, however the lead to numbers in hybrids which are hard to achieve in real life, except for the hypermilers. I'm not one of them.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say I look forward to any questions you have regarding the Prius.

It has been said:
Hybrid drivers come in 3 flavors, greenie, techie and cheapie. Pick any 2.
2005 Prius, Melinium Silver over gray, package 5 (AI)