1997 was a year which had several "firsts" for me. Not only had I entered college for the first time, but I also first began to look for my own car to purchase. Years of saving birthday and Christmas money had finally paid off and I soon was to see the end of taking New Orleans public transportation everywhere. (although a tourist attraction, trust me, the streetcar was not a reliable way to get anywhere) In my occasional visits to my parents, my father and I went out searching for a car - my first car.
A used car was out of the question, as I had absolutely no car knowledge, and a 9 hour drive through barren land from South Carolina (where my parents lived) to New Orleans. No one car really caught my attention. I couldn't see paying $23,000 for a fully stocked Jetta (which I did like) and didn't like the dash or non-negotiable pricing of the Saturn LS2. Being an American car girl (I was never one for Asian cars - European cars, on the other hand, would work) none of the under $20,000 cars did it for me until I saw the Prizm. Redesigned for the 1998 year (due in part to Chevrolet dissolving the Geo division) the new style Prizm was something I liked. I'd always hated the Geo styling, but the Chevrolet styling brought the Prizm into the 90's (although late) with sleek curves and metallic colours.
I finally purchased a Chevrolet Prizm in January of 1998. LSi model, the metallic black colour, with an automatic transmission - I was *so* proud when the order to the plant went in. I was given a delivery date of mid February, which came and went. My father, in near constant contact with the Chevrolet dealer (who we purchased all of our cars from and had grown up with my father) was told at least 7 different delivery dates, due both to the Toyota/Chevrolet factory in California having a backlog of the new Corolla/Prizm as well as the factory well overstating the number of cars they could get out per month.
In late May, the Chevrolet dealership I'd purchased my car from (Woodruff Chevrolet) finally said enough was enough. They sent out calls all over the eastern US in order to find me a car with my specifications that was on the lot and could be picked up in order to be delivered to me. Unfortunately, they could not find a metallic black car in the LSi model. After some consideration, I did ask them to increase the search to the metallic green shade LSi model, which they did manage to find at a dealer in Georgia.
No thanks to Chevrolet factories, I finally had my Prizm. It drove very well, took tight curves at high speeds well, had comfortable seats, and a very good factory stereo system. The only drawback was the child safety seat, which I'd not ordered (but was given as a "free" option because it was the only Prizm LSi on the east coast in any of the two colours), which prevented the laying down of the seat backs in the back. This cut down on what fit in the trunk considerably.
The things I've liked about my Prizm in the past two years? There has been almost nothing that has needed repairs. Besides the normal air filter replacement, oil changes (which present hell to everyone, considering the engine is SO compact), not much has needed fixing.
At an average 31 MPG, this automatic car, still is better than most cars on the market today.
The problems I've had with my Prizm? The cruise control started messing up JUST after the warranty ended at 10,000 miles. (go figure) When going up a hill, the RPM's increase, which upshifts (like I said, I *don't* know much about cars, and what my boyfriend described was happening was complete Greek - and probably would be to anyone who didn't know lots about cars) the torque converter. This is all fine an dandy, but it does NOT go down unless the cruise control is manually de-activated. So, unless I want the car running constantly at about 4500 RPM, which isn't very good for it, the cruise control must be completely deactivated then reactivated.
As the miles go by (around 37,000 now) I notice the noise level increasing. The stereo, when played at about 1/4th the possible volume was completely audible when I first bought the car. Over the miles, the car is much noisier and that volume level (that has not changed, as evident when the car is not moving) must be higher to be audible. I also find myself increasing the volume on my cell phone, in order to hear conversations over the road noise.
The factory Goodyear tires had to be replaced at 20,000 miles. While they would have worked if you live in a dry climate, I had never found the tires decent when living in San Francisco and Detroit. The skid and took turns on even almost dry pavement.
At 25,000 miles the first squeaks began to appear. The air conditioning seems to be the worst producer of this and is ONLY cured when it is turned on the high setting.
On my 21st birthday, I had the unfortunate chance to sit in the backseat for two hours while driving from Detroit to Frankenmuth, MI. While I'm certainly not one to be car sick or even clausterphobic, I felt both, to a large extent, in the back seat of the Prizm. When a normal sized adult, the seats are so close to the backseat that legs have to go to the side (towards the middle of the car) in order to fit without having knees in your mouth. There is no way I'd put an adult worst enemy in the backseat of this car - it will work for small children only.
While the Prizm is a good first car, the size of those who require just a bit more room is lacking. I've often found that I've had to borrow a larger car to fit items in such as my mountain bike, a cage for my rats, and even a simple microwave. The problem is not in the general compact size of the Prizm, it's in the design of the trunk and the trunk hood, which can prevent something of square or large rectangle size from fitting in.
The only other problem I've had with the Prizm is the quality of metal and paint used in it's production. After almost two years, my front hood has been chipped horribly from normal driving conditions and dented from such items as a 1/4thinch branch falling from less than 10 feet above. In addition, in March of 2000, someone backed into the side back passenger door at about 2 miles per hour (they were backing out of a parking space and didn't look before moving) and completely and totally crushed the rear side passenger door. When a smallish Ford Taurus can do this to a car at such a low mileage, I would *hate* to think what would happen to me in a higher speed crash.
The price paid for my Prizm LSi, $15,500 ($17700 was the sticker price, brought down by GM Card discounts and paying the dealer only $500 over actual cost) was well worth it for a starter car. I will, however, be selling the car this year to buy a Tahoe - better suited to my personal needs, as well as to the heavy snows we face living in Michigan.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15,500
Condition: New Model Year: 1998 Model and Options: LSi
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