Most dealers don't like the idea of doing a free alignment especially on a new car, so on your test drive bring up any concerns about the alignment and they'll fix it because it is how you are supposed to take care of the customer.

No , it was in some place called Starkey this morning.
I'm down to my last pip on the Prius' gas gauge, and I hope it comes tomorrow.

 

Pawed through one this weekend... Blue on tan, as pictured.

Nicer, well appointed interior, but had a 28K sticker on it...

Things I noted "new" in 2009...

- I love the new front bumper cover... much sportier looking. I'm actually considering getting one as a replacement.

- Rear chrome plated license plate bezel... i'll likely add that for $30 later

- Leather heated seats felt great. Not $3500 great though

- Didn't see blue tooth, but i added a well integrated Parrot3200 for $160... no question there.

- i'm glad they got rid of the all brown dash... black and tan looks so much better. I bet the black on blue looks even nicer.

- 3 point leather steering wheel was nice too... sporty. guess what? The $75 2008 EX-L leather steering wheel installs on 06-08 in 15 minutes.

- All civic have VSA, now they have the ability to disable it for what reason? I only turn it off on my TL to do burnouts...

That said, paying near $5K more for the ammenities added seems a bit... EXHORBITANT... but it's a step in the right direction. $2K more tops in value...

 

Yeah, it wasn't a cheap car. But for me the $3200 difference was worth it to me for the navigation, hands-free, and leather. I came from a TL and, as you know, once you've gotten used to a pretty nice luxury sport sedan it's hard to drive anything else. Having just sold my TL with navi, I can tell you that there are a lot more buyers out there for top of the line navi cars than non-navi. Resale is always something I keep in mind when buying a new car and the options can make all the difference. I guess it may seem exorbitant for some, but the non-leather HCH just felt really rental-car-ish to me. Nothing against the other models, but I'm absolutely happy with paying for the extras.

 

I hear ya... I kept my 06 TL for Sunday driving, but it's so rigged out (Supercharger, sport suspension, etc...), it's a toy car... and I'm too lazy to part it out.

I can't get passed a 28K civic. That's $2K more than i paid fro my TL 2 years ago... granted it has many of the same features the TL has (tehcnology wise)... Still not in the same league.

that, and when I bought my 08 HCHII with nav, I paid invoice... That made almost $5K price difference in the 09. Yikes... resale or not, $20 chrome trim, $120 bluetooth, $500 VSA system, and leather seats does not = $5000 price increase.

 

The transport it was on today broke down
My inventory manager called the transport company and they told him sometime tomorrow 9/24, lets hope. (And that it arrives undamaged too)

 

Ugh! How frustrating. It'll be worth it. Have you thought of a name for her/him/it yet?

 

no, Only two of my cars have had names, one I can't speak in public (related to the fact that every time I'd fill the tank it'd die) The other "Beast" a '98 Mazda MPV All-Sport.

Technically the Prius is called "recycled Prius". I'm curious to see if anything strikes my fancy and if it is something I can speak aka "Beast" or just plain descriptive aka "Recycled Prius" and the other car.

 

Good job getting yours at invoice. Right now, here in L.A., that's not happening and I don't expect it to. Hybrid sales are skyrocketing here and the going "good deal" rate is MSRP for the 09's. There's just too much demand. I got a few hundred under that and I think it's about the best deal I could have gotten at the moment. I had many dealers give me 2k above MSRP and that's through their internet sales departments. Considering the market, I was willing to pay close to sticker but not over.

And the market for the TL's is not the best. Although I think it's an amazing car, with their terrible gas mileage in the city there just aren't a lot of people looking for them in my neck of the woods. It's a great time to buy one.

 

It came in today!
They will finish installing accessories and wash it tomorrow. I have pics but I'll just post something when its all cleaned and ready.

 

Congrats! Can't wait to hear what you think of it. I've never been inside a Prius so the HCH is all I know.