Buying a Demo Model...

[senectus]

I took a Prius for a test drive a few days ago.. and I'm very impressed.
The place I went to has a demo model for sale (the car we drove).
Its done 10,000 km's already and has burnt up a year of its warranty oh and its silver with grey interior 2004 model.
They're charging $36,490 (plus transfer fee of about $2200), which personally I think is a bit steep because they sell for $36,500 brand new (plus on road costs of about $4000).
What do you guys think?
Could they do better? Or should I go for NEW new..?

Also I noticed that the pop down clear dash bit in the middle just below the CD payer has a big scratch in it.. would it be hard/expensive to replace that?

[mikepaul]

If a new one were available, I doubt they'd be as high as they are. That must be where they think they 'have' you.

And the light in my US version must be bad, because my cubby-door looks smoked to me...

[Bob Allen]

I took a Prius for a test drive a few days ago.. and I'm very impressed.
The place I went to has a demo model for sale (the car we drove).
Its done 10,000 km's already and has burnt up a year of its warranty oh and its silver with grey interior 2004 model.
They're charging $36,490 (plus transfer fee of about $2200), which personally I think is a bit steep because they sell for $36,500 brand new (plus on road costs of about $4000).
What do you guys think?
Could they do better? Or should I go for NEW new..?

Also I noticed that the pop down clear dash bit in the middle just below the CD payer has a big scratch in it.. would it be hard/expensive to replace that?

Four thoughts: 1. Not sure what the Australian dollar is worth against the US dollar, so it's hard to determine how outrageous the asking price is.
2. Sounds like you aren't thrilled about this particular car, but want a Prius. I was in the same position and was offered the same color/low end option package demo and I did not like the silver color.....almost accepted it, but decided to wait. Next day, I found the exact car I wanted with no markup. I's say wait.
3. What worked here in Washington State might work for Austraila....go rural. Dealers in small towns often get Prii and don't have the demand for them I got my car from a dealer in an agricultural community where most of the buyers want trucks, not Prii. They get four or five a month and you can get them at retail. I would guess a similar situation exists where you are.
And, finally, 4. This is a huge expense and a major purchase. Try to imagine how you will feel a year from now driving this particular car; would you regret not having waited out for a better deal/color/option package? Try to sift through the adreneline rush enthusiasm to the reality.
Me? I'd wait.
Keep us posted.
Bob
Seattle

[Robert Taylor]

1. Tell them "that is a lot of money"

followed by:

2. You will have to do better than that!

(the proper response to which is "how much better"?)

3. Any response other than the proper response, repeat number 2. When they finally get around to how much better, you say 29,100. They should counter offer then. No matter what they come up with then use:

4. I would have to get that approved by: (fill in blank with authority figure, could be attorney, accountant, banker, personal friend, uncle fred, spouse, etc.) The proper response is: here is a phone, we will call them now) and you say: well, its actually a committee that insures that I make sound decisions, I do not move on anything without the committee's approval...

5. You call them back with the committee's decision which is: a little less than the counter offer or a great deal less. Because I am of the opinion that you should NOT pay more than 85% of new car price for this vehicle.

6. Make the counter counter offer and if they don't take it, walk.

[senectus]

wow.. great responses...

I think your mostly right..

only a couple of things you might not be aware off:

There is a three month wait for ANY Prius, unfortunately in Australia there is more demand than there is supply and the dealerships can't get the cars fast enough

The dealership made it very clear to me, _they do not do deals or drop the price on any prius_ ever. The reason being that every dealership in Australia has the same problem.. more demand than supply.

Also I am only after the base model (with exception of colour), as long as its not black white or green we'll be happy with the car,

I will reign back my enthusiasm though, as rushing into a 30k loan isn't a good way to do things.

thanks for the advice :-) Will update as I go.

[Robert Taylor]

I do not accept the "we do not do deals business".

Call around, I got mine ordered the way I wanted from a dealer 610 miles away.

Go and practice the negotiations with the present set of locals, take the walk. You need negotiation practice.

[victor]

Talk to other dealers. You will find deals.

I placed my order was quoted 10 months delivery. Other dealers quoted a year or more. After a couple of weeks, speaking to the dealer I changed my colour and got the car in 4 months. I also got a few hundred Euros of the price, a very good trade in and a very low credit %age.

This is the normal delivery wait in Europe for Toyotas "not so common" cars. My MR2 roadster also took 4 months 3 or 4 years ago.

[rick57]

wow.. great responses...

I think your mostly right..

only a couple of things you might not be aware off:

There is a three month wait for ANY Prius, unfortunately in Australia there is more demand than there is supply and the dealerships can't get the cars fast enough

The dealership made it very clear to me, _they do not do deals or drop the price on any prius_ ever. The reason being that every dealership in Australia has the same problem.. more demand than supply.

Also I am only after the base model (with exception of colour), as long as its not black white or green we'll be happy with the car,

I will reign back my enthusiasm though, as rushing into a 30k loan isn't a good way to do things.

thanks for the advice :-) Will update as I go.

Three months is average here to order a Prius and they go for MSRP. In my mind,at least I would get what I wanted. :wink: And what about black? Might look cool with flames 8)

[Tideland Prius]

Based on what you've said in the first post, it looks rather steep. A few dollar discount for a car that's a year old and with 10,000kms's worth of hard accelerations and braking as others test the vehicle. I'd wait for a new one. Here in Vancouver Canada, the dealers don't seem to want to negotiate as they adopt the "Access Toyota" prgm (which is basically a no haggle, upfront sales approach to allow fair pricing to everyone). So all I did was gave them the specifications of the car I want and then they would place an order. The car arrived 1mth and 10 days after placing the order.

In short, order what YOU want and not what the dealer wants you to have.

[senectus]

Three months is average here to order a Prius and they go for MSRP. In my mind,at least I would get what I wanted. :wink: And what about black? Might look cool with flames 8)

What is MSRP? Is it like RRP (Recommended Retail Price)?
heh.. our summers are long, with the average temp in the high 30's low 40's, black would not be a wise choice.

I'm not very good at screwing down prices.. I'm just not that agressive.. But I'll try.