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Hello!!!

Hi I am a COX subscriber, and I just joined the group. I gather from reading the rest of the posts that this group has just been added. Just in time for me!!! :)

Anyway,

I live in San Diego, CA and I am sick of the refills costing me over $30.00 each week. And I really want a hybrid. I have been waiting for the Highlander, but I am now leaning toward the Prius. For two reasons. 1. It guts record setting mileage. Much greater than the Highlander or the Lexus H will get. And 2. It probably has enough room in it.

I currently have a '98 4 door 2WD Blazer that is comfortable enough for all of us. But I frequently load the back with a LOT of stuff. And when we all take off for a weekend. We have enough stuff to cram the whole vehicle with people and gear. And it has over 70K miles on it and it has already stranded us twice.

Anyway, this group has already provided me with some answers to questions like:

Q. How long do the batteries last? A. "Could be between 250K and 400K miles", and the warrantee is 8 years and

100K.

Q. How much will replacement batteries cost? A. I guess between $3K and $10K. But there isn't much reported on the Internet on this.

Q. Is the $1,000 non-refundable deposit standard. A. It seems to be but this could go away as more hybrids are offered. And some dealers don't require them.

Q. How long is the actual waiting period? A. 6 months is reported. But it is frequently much less.

I am fond of buying used cars because I prefer not to depreciate my investment so quickly. And I have found some interesting options on e-Bay Motors. The '05's are coming out without major changes, and this makes the '04's a better value, but I may not have much selection on NEW '04's.

I have not read many posts on complaints of any generation of Prius's. And I am curious about any unknown costs that any of you have experienced in owning your hybrids. Outside of the right wing radicals that respond to Michelle's informative responses. I was interested in the Jetta Diesel until I found that it didn't qualify for the Low Emitions Tax Rebate.

Speaking of the Rebates... Can any of you respond with ACTUAL rebates that you have received either federally or by state? How much do us Californian's get? Is this for just the year of purchase? Or does it extend into following years too.

Thanks for reading. Thanks in advance for any responses. Thanks for polluting less!

-John

Reply to
John DeGrazia
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Cox added it about two months ago after they got tired of me pestering them for it.

In California, it's ten years and 150K.

So far no batteries have failed on the classic Prius or the 2004-05 Prius. But your estimate is in the ball park; expect it to go down in the future, though.

No; some dealers ask for less, and some don't ask for any. I paid $1,000 to one dealer (and got it back when I cancelled my order), and nothing to another dealer.

It varies; some people have been waiting ten months and haven't got theirs yet. Some dealers stopped taking orders because their waiting lists were over a year. I got mine in about 10 weeks. Some people lately have been getting theirs within a few weeks. Check with dealers in smaller cities and towns. Also, Toyota just announced that they're increasing allocations from 47,000 a year to 100,000 a year for the US, starting in calendar year 2005. That should help reduce the waiting time.

The only changes in the 05s are that the rear wiper is now standard, and there's a $400 price increase. There's a rumor that there may be a change in available colors next Summer.

None that I know of.

*blush* That was before Cox started carrying the newsgroup and we were crossposting to the main Toyota newsgroup. Once I got access to this group, I stopped crossposting, and they stopped responding.

I believe that it's not available in California; I think that no diesels are available there.

The state and federal governments do not give rebates; they give tax incentives. The federal government will let you take a $1500 deduction if you purchase a Prius this year ($1000 next year, and $500 in 2006). However, there is a bill that will restore the full $2000 deduction. All it needs is for congress to pass it and the president to sign it. It's not a stand-alone bill, but part of other legislation.

Because it's a deduction and not a credit, you save the amount multiplied by your tax bracket. So, if you're in the 15% bracket, the tax savings this year would be 15% of $1500, or $225.

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

I think it existed for about a month prior to that. Does that sound right, Michelle?

I got on three waiting lists. One asked for a $500 refundable deposit but when I gave them my credit card they didn't charge me anything at all. The second asked for $500 refundable but charged $100, and the third just put me on the list with no mention at all of a deposit. Another wanted $1000 non-refundable. I passed.

I got on the first list in early May, haven't heard back. I got on the other two at the end of July and got my white package 9 Prius from one of them exactly three weeks ago.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

Yeah, that's about it.

So, what are your impressions of it thus far?

Oh, it looks as if I'll have my first 50(+) MPG tank soon; I have about

240 miles on the tank, and currently am at 50.6 MPG.

-- Michelle

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

I absolutely love it! It's a HUGE step up from my old Prizm (a Corolla in disguise)--a lot roomier, with lots more bells and whistles, and a lot more pep. I don't understand why some people claim that the Prius is underpowered, because I don't find that to be the case at all.

Cool! My best so far is just over 46 MPG.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

Me neither; it's not as powerful as my Acura was (225 HP V6), but it's got more than enough to do the job.

After today's tooling around, it's down to 50.2.

That's about where I was when mine was as old as yours is now.

-- Michelle

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

All those many weeks ago! :-)

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

Hi Michelle,

As always, you are on top of the latest. Don't you Californians get an additional state tax incentive, besides the free parking in L.A and the right to drive in the diamond lane?

Bill in North Carolina, '04 White BC '04 Black BC

Reply to
Bill McCalla

I'm not a Californian. However, Californian Prius drivers don't get the right to drive in the diamond lane. Although the governor signed legislation to allow it, federal law prohibits it, so until the federal law is changed or amended to exempt California, that lane is not open to single-passenger hybrid vehicles.

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

NEW (not leased or used or previously owned, financing is OK, though) Prius do qualify for the US Federal Income Tax DEDUCTION for Clean Fueled Vehicles. It's a

1-time deduction taken in the tax year that you purchased your vehicle. Amount will either be $2000 or $1500, depends on what the IRS publication 535 "Business Expenses" chapter 12 (Clean fueled Vehicle deduction) says when the new tax year edition is out.

Some states have no or reduced sales tax (MD, CT, ME, NY?). Some states have grant programs that you can apply for before purchasing your hybrid (PA, TX?). Some states let you carry over the Federal deduction onto your state taxes (MA does this until the end of tax/calendar year

2004). A few states have state tax CREDITS for hybrids (OR, KS?, NY?) Then in VA you can get the Clean Fueled Vehicle license plates that allow you into the VA HOV lanes (other states are waiting for federal approval to allow HOV use - CA, FL, AZ, CO, etc.)

more links for US information (US federal, state, local/county), Canada, and UK:

formatting link
(which is by no means complete or orderly!)

Reply to
Michelle Vadeboncoeur

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