Jennifer P bought the very first Prius ever sold at Rice Toyota and returned in 2014 to purchase a 2014 Toyota Prius, this is her story.-Mary Curry General Manager Rice Toyota
My Excellent Prius
Adventure©
After
13 years and 282,276 miles in the first Prius sold by Rice Toyota, I felt it
was time for me to get another car. I had not completely settled on another
Prius as my next vehicle, so I thoroughly researched ConsumerReports.com and
narrowed my choices to 3 cars. With a strict budget to follow, the criteria for
my next car were reliability, economy, and price. The top 3 finalists in this intense
Internet investigation were Honda CR-V, Ford Fusion hybrid, and Toyota Prius;
and all 3 had top scores by my strict research standards. Thus, many things
being equal, I chose Prius again for the relatively low initial cost plus the
highest MPG rating.
Now,
I have been told that I have difficulty with decisions – on a scale of 1-10,
how difficult is it for you to make a decision? I truly can never decide! And now
I was faced with a major decision ... which Prius was I to get? C? V? 2? 3? 4?
5? Too many choices!
When
I began looking at the first Prius model in 2000, there were no choices, there
was only 1 Prius. It was easy: with no feature or package options there were no
decisions to make! Select your color and you’re ready to go – but only after 6
months of waiting for it to arrive from Japan. Luckily, I was probably the only
person in the country who did not have to wait 6 months for my new Prius!
Early
in January 2001, having expressed initial interest in the car at Rice Toyota –
and remember, buyers then had to go online and order their car: there was no
test drive, there was not even a car on any lot to look at – I got a call that
an unordered Prius had been delivered to their dealership and was I interested.
Absolutely – no decision here!! It was light teal, so there was no color choice
to make! It came with 2 cup holders (hey, in Y2K, cup holders were a real
selling feature!), AC and a radio/cassette player – I did have a CD player
installed. Plus – and very important to me – it came with Rice Toyota’s
commitment to making me comfortable with this mysterious, inexplicable, scary, new-fangled,
hybrid technology. And Robert Kane and Rice Toyota’s Service Department were
instrumental in keeping that commitment.
Fast
forward 13 years and 282,276 miles: Having just selected another Prius via my arduous
online analysis, I was facing a daunting decision. Toyota now had 2 additional,
completely new Prius models along with innumerable, countless, and untold
numbers of packages, options and features for safety, comfort, and technology. At
this point, I was beginning to hyperventilate … I needed some help here!
So
I headed again to Rice Toyota and told the General Manager, Mary Curry, the
story behind my old, faithful, first-ever Prius from her dealership. She
introduced me to David Senkus – a truly awesome representative for Rice Toyota
and a Prius owner who understood and reveled in “Prius Speak”. We traded
stories and jokes and highlights and the green pride of Prius ownership.
So
with David’s assistance, I decided (yes, a decision!) that the C model was too
small for me. Then I decided the V model was too large … another one down! Now
I was facing the major part – do I get package Two, Three, Four, or Five – and
I was overwhelmed. That was way too many choices!
David
to the rescue again: with his knowledge, guidance and questions and my list of
preferred features, comforts and colors, we came to the conclusion that the
Prius 5-Door Three Liftback in Barcelona red with gray interior was the car for
me. And, with the Toyota incentives, I was able to upgrade to a leather
interior. Decision time was over! When everything was said and done, David told
me that I was again the Princess I was meant to be, and he took care of absolutely
every single detail for me.
Now
imagine my technology-shock at facing all the new gadgetry, features and
options invented since 2001! But, after some intense tutelage in the automotive,
creature-comfort, and technology improvements and upgrades, I was ready to go. I
got into my new, reliable, economical, affordable, spotless, shiny, luxurious,
safe, Barcelona red Prius … Ah, the indescribably wonderful fragrance of a new
car and leather … and I drove home … 52.8 miles per gallon ... and I was in
Green Heaven!
Am
I happy, am I satisfied? I believe you can make that decision!
Jennifer P
Concord,
NC
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