Just thought I would say been thinking about getting a prius for sometime now, anything specific I should be looking for when searching for one?
:welcome: If you have over a 10 mile one way commute, I think a Prius is a very wise choice, the mileage in the first 5 minutes warming up is not spectacular. Your mileage will go down in the winter, and if you use A/C, down in the summer, but it is very possible to exceed a 45 MPG yearly average if you have a longish commute. 45 to 55 MPH roads produce higher mileage than Interstates if there are not frequent stops. If this sounds like you current driving, the Prius is ideal.
What will you be using the car for? What would be the typical commute? Like Jimbo is pointing out, if you can describe your drive, we will be able to recommend or not recommend the Prius.
Check out the stickies in this forum, that should be a good start. Avoid maintenance plans and extended warranty (at least in years past, they had a link somewhere here for warranty you could get online (same thing) for below the price most dealers were offering it for). That's assuming you're buying a new car. I should point out that Jimbo says, if your commute matches good driving conditions you should be able to exceed 45 mpg. Like 50 or 55, depending on if you like to hypermile, check tire pressure, etc. Some people get over 60. If you like to hotrod, forget it, 45 is the best you'll probably ever do.
I am by no means as knowledgeable as a lot of folks on here, but I would second the advice of looking at the links on here and educate yourself prior to going to the dealer. Why? What I experienced when I bought my '08 Prius in March '08 not long before gas prices went nuts the dealer wasn't interested in selling me the Prius...instead he wanted to sell me something else and kept trying to show me the Corolla or other car. As it turned out, at least at this location, a Prius never lasted more than 1-3 days on the lot and basically sold itself once it arrived. Probably had sales managers pushing the other cars. Anyway they tried convincing me the other cars would do better for my commute which is a lot of highway. Yet after two years I am averaging 47-53mpg depending on weather conditions so I for one am very glad I had talked to others and read lots from Priuschat before going! These guys on Priuschat know what they are talking about and are here to give you an honest answer with no hidden agendas. The sales guys are most often working an angle of some kind it seems.
