I bought a regular Prius last week.
I had been shopping for a Prius V, which would actually be an ideal car for me but only if I could find one in my right price point.
I drove one for the first time about 6 months ago but was not ready to commit. I probably should have. That one may have been a good deal. Just not the right time.
The V seems to be the right size. Most of the extra volume is in the rear seat. Big improvements in rear leg room. Also big improvement in rear headroom. The cargo is only bigger in the sense that the rear window is not slopped but it is a big improvement.
We have owned a Mazda5 for more than 5 years now, Still when I see Prius V's on the road from the rear quarter the cars seem nearly identical. In actual usability, and after living with the Mazda, I could get more real world use out the 5 person seating of the V over the "6 person" seating of the 5.
I came across a autotrader type site and a close by Chevy dealership showed a Prius V but had no picture in the ad. I was in the area one day so I figured I check in. Sure enough, in the very back lot, behind the building, I found the Prius. Completely unwashed and un-prepped. I went in, got a salesman and ultimately took it for a drive.
The "Chevy" salesman sort of spoke down about the cars like, "I don't know anything about them." I took this as an opportunity to tell him that the car seemed to be running oddly, etc.
The car was "family dirty". The tan seats had some staining (it would come out.) It was a smoker's car. Oddly, every wheel was missing the little center cap and other little oddities. Most glaring was a swipe on top of the rear wheel well that had taken off paint and replaced that with rust.
2012 model, 126k miles, asking $10,500.
Along with the junk, the glove compartment was still full of paper and most of that paper was Toyota oil change receipts. I swiped a page and left the dealership stating I was "unsure."
The car was wearing the name of the local Toyota dealership.
With the paperwork I also had the owners name!
A stop at the Toyota dealership confirmed that the car had gotten all the required services and all on time.
A day latter I got ahold of the rightful owner who was more than happy to talk about the car. She said it was a good car and that she had bought it for her one hour commute. She had recently had neck surgery and afterwords felt that she could never get the driver's seat to a perfectly straight position that she needed. She traded it for a new Chevy Equinox, ugh! She spoke as if she was regretting it.
She did tell me that they gave her $7,000 as trade in.
It was not the perfect car (dent, smoke, higher miles, dirt) but if I could get it for the right price, I'd do it. I set my max at $8k, as is, no prep, no warranty, etc.
I revised the dealership and opened at $7,750. They countered at $9k...and would not budge. I walked. That was more than a week ago. I did not get a call back. I figure they sent the car off to auction.
Maybe not. I just checked and here it is, now with pictures and cleaned interior
Oh, well. Could have spent $9k for the '12 larger version with 126k but instead I spent $5.8k on the '07 regular version with 78k.
