blackmoondog

In our driveway sits a pretty blue Prius.





After I got off work, I picked up Mark and we went down to Toyota, armed with the knowledge of what we wanted and what we didn't and how much it should cost. It turned out we had little to worry about. I already knew that I could get the Platinum Extended Warranty (6yr/100,000mi) for $990 through a Prius web forum so I told them we weren't interested in getting it today (they wanted $1995 for it!!!) but might do it later (you can add it anytime during the standard 3yr/36,000mi warranty). They didn't pimp the paint/fabric protectant packages. I asked about a pet net but they don't make one for the Prius specifically.

I noticed that our salesguy (who we met today for the first time, since our original guy left in December--pity that, we really liked him a lot) rarely made eye contact with me and was basically talking to Mark the whole time. Whatever. The finance guy was pretty even with the eye contact but even mentioned that he kept thinking the car was for Mark. That partly might have been because Mark was sitting on the left side and that is the side of the purchase agreement where the primary buyer signs. The salesguy introduced us to the person at the parts counter and someone in the service department and gave us their business cards. I got a quick tour of the car and was set loose.

First stop was AAA. Which turns out to be next door to the dealership. :) I had already forgotten how to use the Smart Key when I arrived at AAA so I think I left the car unlocked while I was inside. After AAA, I headed a mile down the road to my credit union where we were getting our car loan. It was pretty easy since we were pre-approved. Normally they mail the check to the dealer but since we only have 5 days to pay before Toyota's financing would kick in (at 6.9% rather than the credit union's 5%), I convinced her to let me drop it off at Toyota. She gave me an envelope for Toyota and two insulated commuter mugs with the credit union's logo and I was on my way.

When I got back to the car, I tried to start it and couldn't. I tried furiously for another 2-3 times and then was flustered enough that I almost called the salesguy thinking my car was dead. Instead, I took a deep breath, turned everything off, hit the manual cutoff switch to disable the Smart Key, put the key in, and grabbed the pad of valet cards from the glove box. I followed the instructions, it started right up, and I dropped the check at Toyota and drove home.

Here are the pics that I took when I got home. I'm sure I'll have more to say in the coming days. :)