A year of research, sleepless nights,and futile trips to car dealerships are over. We have the family vehicle we wanted from day 1; a Prius.
When we started searching the Prius was out of our price range. We debated saving for an extended period of time. The pros outweighted the cons (primarily safety) so we began searching again.
At one time or another the VW Jetta, and updated Corolla, Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe, Scion xB, Honda CR-V, and Subaru Forester were all in the mix. The Kia Rondo became the one I was sure we would end up with. We both test drove it. Other than gas milage it seemed perfect.
I test drove one at CarMax with low miles, took a trip to Columbus GA only to be told the car they assured me they had 3 hours previous (I have the email to prove it!!!) had been sold the previous day, and drove a third which the dealership swore had a clean interior. (Come on guys, I’m right here, these aren’t pictures of dirty seats I’m looking at online! I see the stains. My 11 year old car is cleaner!!). If the right deal had come up we would be driving it right now. As JOB Bluth would say “COME ON!”
Last Friday I decided to search for Prius again, reviewing the 2005 models. I was plesantly surprised at the prices and the milage. After more reading and Consumer Report Red Dot Hunting, I learned the 2010 3rd generation redesign was the way to go. After factoring the gas savings I realized we could swing the payment and we started searching that night. Saturday morning we test drove one at the Toyota dealership. They were asking 20K for a 2010 with 42K miles. That afternoon I drove to Duluth and drove one with 27K miles and listed for 18900. I asked them to lower the price to no avail.
Once home I was once again scouring my new favorite sites, Cars.com, Cargurus, and Autotrader. A friend of mine started checking Craigslist and found several possibilities. Finally I found “the one”. Behold, a 2010 with 8K miles listed for 18,993 was in Cumming Ga. I checked the Autocheck score (93!), contacted the dealer, and the rest is history. Monday afternoon we were driving home in our new car.
Jenn and Penelope can now get me back. I can go to bed before midnight. Some of the tension in my shoulders has dissipated.
There is that sticking point of paying for it of course.
“Yay daddy, curtain airbags all around!” – Penelope’s exact words as we drove off the lot.
