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John DeGrazia - 04 Oct 2004 06:01 GMT

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 this Message

Michelle Steiner - 04 Oct 2004 07:07 GMT

> 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!!! :)

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

> Q. How long do the batteries last?
> A. "Could be between 250K and 400K miles", and the warrantee is 8
> years and 100K.

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

> 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.

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.

> Q. Is the $1,000 non-refundable deposit standard.

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.

> Q. How long is the actual waiting period?

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 '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.

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.

> 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.

None that I know of.

> Outside of the right wing radicals that respond to Michelle's
> informative responses.

*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. <G>

> I was interested in the Jetta Diesel until I found that it didn't
> qualify for the Low Emitions Tax Rebate.

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

> 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.

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.

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Reply to this Message

Mike Rosenberg - 04 Oct 2004 13:48 GMT

> > I gather from reading the rest of the posts that this group has just
> > been added.
>
> Cox added it about two months ago after they got tired of me pestering
> them for it.

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

> > Q. How long do the batteries last?
> > A. "Could be between 250K and 400K miles", and the warrantee is 8
> > years and 100K.

> > Q. Is the $1,000 non-refundable deposit standard.
>
> 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.

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.

> > Q. How long is the actual waiting period?
>
> It varies;

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.

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Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
<http://bogart-tribute.net> Tribute to Humphrey Bogart

Reply to this Message

Michelle Steiner - 04 Oct 2004 17:23 GMT

> > > I gather from reading the rest of the posts that this group has
> > > just been added.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I think it existed for about a month prior to that. Does that sound
> right, Michelle?

Yeah, that's about it.

> 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.

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

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Mike Rosenberg - 04 Oct 2004 23:00 GMT

> So, what are your impressions of it thus far?

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.

> 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.

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

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Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
<http://bogart-tribute.net> Tribute to Humphrey Bogart

Reply to this Message

Michelle Steiner - 05 Oct 2004 01:48 GMT

> > So, what are your impressions of it thus far?
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> claim that the Prius is underpowered, because I don't find that to be
> the case at all.

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.

> > 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.

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

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

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

-- Michelle

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Reply to this Message

Mike Rosenberg - 05 Oct 2004 12:24 GMT

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

All those many weeks ago! :-)

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Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
<http://bogart-tribute.net> Tribute to Humphrey Bogart

Reply to this Message

Bill McCalla - 10 Oct 2004 22:57 GMT

<clipped for brevity>

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

>> 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
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> 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 this Message

Michelle Steiner - 11 Oct 2004 06:27 GMT

In article
<Oeiad.685230$Gx4.480895@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,

> 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?

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.

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Michelle Vadeboncoeur - 11 Oct 2004 19:22 GMT

> 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
[quoted text clipped - 47 lines]
> get? Is this for just the year of purchase? Or does it extend into following
> years too.

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: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-prius/links/Financial_000963256550/
(which is by no means complete or orderly!)

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