Just placed my order yesterday at a dealership. I told the sales guy I wanted it for Jan 2006. Very professional dealer Geis, in Peekskill NY

I am very nervous about this.. I almost went for a conventional car (a 2005 Civis LX or a Scion Xb).... but once I took a test drive, I was hooked. I was going back & forth bewteen the 2006 HCH & the Prius & the 2 'conventional cars, but ultimately went Prius for these reasons:

1. Traction control on the Prius vs n/a on the HCH (no Side airbags on Scion Xb)

2. The price, after the tax credit was nearly identical in my shopping....
HCH 2006 quotes @ $22,700
Prius @$23,101
Both include destination.. Toyota dealer didn't charges anything else.. got quotes for 'dealer prep' fees, from a few Honda Dealers.

3. The Prius was roomier (I am 6'2", 275+.. I know, I should lose weight, which will help my MPG... Hey, how's that for another incentive to lose!!)

4. More cargo room in Prius, with the split fold down rear seat in back.

5. Better warranty on Prius vs HCH... both the standard warranty & on the batteries & Pollution control equip.

6. This one I think... HCH is ULEV, while Prius is PZEV (I could be recalling the regular Civic)

7. Mileage over regular ICE

PLEASE TELL ME I MADE A GOOD DECISION!!

SIGNED,
Nuerotic in NY

Great choice!

for #6 you are thinking of the current HCH, rather than the 2006 that will be PZEV, like the Prius.

2001 Prius Photos       2005 Prius Photos
'97 Prius Simulation Prius inner workings

Hi Catskillguy:

___You made a good choice …

___ # 5 is equivalent no matter which one you would have chosen since you live in NY where the PZEV is sold. All PZEV’s in the clean fuel states receive the 15 year/150,000 mile on all those expensive parts people are always concerned about

___# 6 is also equivalent no matter which you would have chosen as they are both PZEV’s.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Sounds wonderful! Post post post away once you're driving it; we wanna know!

Congratulations!

I was as nervous and apprehensive as you when I bought mine back in April but it was the best decision I have made in years. I love my Prius! I do a tremendous amount of highway driving so it is important to love my car and that is why I was nervous at first. With my XM satellite radio and great gas mileage, I couldn't be happier! My average is now up to 48.7 so I can't complain.

Good luck!

Hi,
I placed my order a week ago, and it feels like a month since I cannot wait for my Prius to get here.
I have a question for recent buyers. I see that earlier in this thread that Catskillguy mentioned not getting a "dealer prep fee", I did have a 190.00 "Vehicle Administration fee" added onto my price of $22,915.00 for a 2005 Prius with package 3(BI). I am wondering if I could get a better deal. It seems like with the long waiting list, dealers probably wouldnt be willing to knock fee's off since they could just give my Prius to the next person on the list.
Anyone have an opinion if this is a good/bad deal that I am getting ? Unfortunately I also have to add on more than $1000.00 for sales tax, ouch, no way around that one.
On vehix, a package 3 is listed as MSRP = $22,375.00 , so I know they are already tacking on about 6 hundred bucks before this 190.00$ admin fee.
Think I should look for a better deal or try to haggle ?
Thanks for any opinion,
Kim

Kim,

That is hard to say, since I bought mine at MSRP over a year ago. Before Katrina/Rita I heard of many stories of people getting MSRP or $500 less on them. Now that demand is back up I am not sure about how feasible MSRP is. If there are several dealers nearby, then you could try talking to a few and seeing if you can get MSRP.

If it were me, I would probably try and haggle it down some, but it all depends on how willing you are/how easy it would be to buy from another dealer. The worst the salesmen could say is no.

Hi Catskill Guy,

Congratulations! I used to live in the Catskills and Wappingers Falls, so I know where the dealership is that you're talking about.

I just purchased my Prius from a dealership here in Florida. One dealership wanted $5000 over MSRP. The dealership I purchased mine from sold it to me for MSRP, no dealer fees! I bought a white one with Package #5 and then added leather to it. It didn't have the leather package in it. I was glad, because I have a Rottie, so I put a charcoal gray in it.

I think you made the right decision!

A.J.

For those looking for the best deal, I suggest going online, to cars.com, carsdirect.com or some other search site. Most dealers now have salesmen dedicated to Internet sales, and they know anyone going that route likely has several other price quotes in hand; therefore, they're more likely to offer a good deal.

Here is a webpage with pictures of some of the 2006 headlight, brake light changes/enhancements.

http://www.sigmaauto.com/jdm/prius/prius0405.php