2010 Availability Questions.

[Vic Damone]

Hello, I've been shopping for a 2010 and I'm concerned by some of the things I've been told by sales staff and internet sales. Taking into consideration the high turnover in automobile sale staff in general I'm not going to be concerned by what is said by obviously new to the product sales staff. There are a few points I'm hoping can be answered here.

1. Is it true that as a result of the Federal "Cash For Clunkers" program most dealerships have a significantly reduced Prius inventory?

2. Prior to the "Clunkers" program was it possible to get a below MSRP price?

3. Has the manufactures output slowed in anticipation of a slow post Clunkers market?

4. Are more established dealers able to be allocated more units than newer or poor preforming dealerships regardless of pre orders?

5. Does anybody know the actual percentage markup between the dealers cost and MSRP? I was given a 6.75% figure.

[teamjdb]

Welcome to PriusChat! The availability of the 2010 Prius was zilch within hours of the start of the vehicular welfare program known as cash for clunkers. Any cars available went for ridiculous prices. Availability in my area is much better now. Rather than be gouged on the price I bought a used gen II and I don't regret my decision.

Take a look at TRUECAR - The Authority on New Car Pricing . You should be able to get a pretty good idea what you will have to pay from what you learn there.

[Midpack]

1. Is it true that as a result of the Federal "Cash For Clunkers" program most dealerships have a significantly reduced Prius inventory? Inventories of many models, including Prius, fell during/after C4C. Inventories are on the rise again including Prius, but the Prius is by no means in oversupply - yet. If gas prices stay relatively low Prius demand will be good but small discounts will be possible. If gas prices shoot up, there will be waiting lists and premiums on the Prius again. Anyone who tells you they bought a Prius at invoice is probably a) lying, b) not disclosing some other offsetting aspect of their deal (ie, got creamed on trade-in, etc.).

2. Prior to the "Clunkers" program was it possible to get a below MSRP price? Yes, more in some regions than others. In general, less discounting on the coasts and some in the midwest and other areas. The Prius will probably be one of the least discounted models for years to come.

3. Has the manufactures output slowed in anticipation of a slow post Clunkers market? Not for most models, in fact it increased for many. For the most part what sold off during C4C was the bloated inventories that most dealers had, dealers needed that. With that inventory finally off the lots, car manufacturers increased production of popular models, but not to anywhere near pre-2008 levels. IMO, it will be 3-5 years before we see former production highs, if then.

From what I've read here, Prius production levels are very high but there may be fewer Prius sent to the US because demand in Japan/Asia has been higher than expected (relative to the US).

4. Are more established dealers able to be allocated more units than newer or poor preforming dealerships regardless of pre orders? Yep, as it should be IMO.

5. Does anybody know the actual percentage markup between the dealers cost and MSRP? I was given a 6.75% figure. Easy to find for yourself, try edmunds.com for one.

[Jabber]

Midpack has it dead on. I'll add justa few points:

4. Toyota has a specific formula for how the distribute vehicles. It is solely based on the amount of that particular vehicle you sell in comparison to the other dealers in your region. If Dealer A does VERY well with Prius, but terrible with the Tundra, and Dealer B is the exact opposite, Toyota will give the trucks to dealer B and the Prius to dealer A.

5. It isn't an exact formula. Due to differerent regions charging different amounts for advertising, options having more markup than the base price, etc, will cause that figure to be between 3% and 8%.

[ToyotaFleetManager]

In the Gulf States Region the supply of IIs, IIIs and IVs is reasonable (i.e. occassionally avaliable out of stock) but Vs are very tight (i.e. presold)

Some dealers are adding on extras or selling above MSRP on Vs that they have avaliable. To recieve a Prius in the GST region without significant port installed options it will be necessary to preference one. My current delivery time on IIs, IIIs and IVs is anywhere from 2-8 weeks, depending on what options i.e. nav or solar roof on IIIs and IVs.

Jabber is quite correct in dealer markup. The more port installed options the markup maybe 8% the fewer options the markup is considerably less sometimes as low as 3%. GST's delivery and advertising is usually about $50 to $100 higher than other regions.

[DianneWhitmire]

I'm going to respond to your questions here in GREEN, and below the queries. Please know that I am in Southern CA and can really only answer based on my own region and what I know of business and issues here.

Originally Posted by Vic Damone

Hello, I've been shopping for a 2010 and I'm concerned by some of the things I've been told by sales staff and internet sales. Taking into consideration the high turnover in automobile sale staff in general I'm not going to be concerned by what is said by obviously new to the product sales staff. There are a few points I'm hoping can be answered here.

1. Is it true that as a result of the Federal "Cash For Clunkers" program most dealerships have a significantly reduced Prius inventory?

As a result of Cash4Clunkers, most dealerships have a huge reduction of inventory, period. Prius, Camry, Corolla, you name it. They can't build the cars fast enough to get them to us to refill the pipeline. Cars that arrive sell quick, and hardly anything gets left on lots to allow us to 'stock up'. Additionally, the typhoon a couple of weeks ago affected 8,000 cars. 550 of those were Japan built vehicles coming to Southern CA so they are also delayed because the cars need to be replaced. They were anything still Japan built, meaning many were Prius, Yaris, 4Runner, etc. That adds to the lack of product across the USA as well.

2. Prior to the "Clunkers" program was it possible to get a below MSRP price?

Yes, and it still is. Some models are sold at a discount by some dealerships. I am discounting some cars liberally, and some not at all. It depends on demand and what package you need.

3. Has the manufactures output slowed in anticipation of a slow post Clunkers market?

No, for the reasons above, it's actually been ramped up, but they sell quick so stocking the proverbial shelves isn't quite possible yet.

4. Are more established dealers able to be allocated more units than newer or poor preforming dealerships regardless of pre orders?

Regardless of pre-orders, the biggest Prius selling dealers will receive the most cars because their demand is greater - proven - by their sales to availability ratio. Dealers who have recently remodeled or re-built their stores also get more cars to help them pay back their investment in their building.

5. Does anybody know the actual percentage markup between the dealers cost and MSRP? I was given a 6.75% figure.

It averages between 5% and 7%, depending on model and options on that model.

Are you seeking anything specific or something hard to find? Your questions are interesting.

Dianne

[AndreSeattle]

Was at my Bob Bridge Toyota in Renton on Saturday and was surprised to see over 30 2010 Priuses on the lot.

Came back home and checked online - shows 39 in stock. Bellevue and Kirkland show 41 and 46 respectively. There is no shortage in WA anymore.

I bought my Package 2 in my choice of interior/exterior color at MSRP: $22,750 - $4500 = $18,250 + registration (no sales tax in WA until August 1st 2009) on July 30th (first week of CFC). There was no inventory at all on the lot, so it is almost shocking to see 3 long rows of Priuses and others scattered all over their lot.

[Rhino]

Deleted. Question answered

[Rhino]

Is there an easy way to figure out which Toyota dealers has the most inventory? I have been digging around in my neighborhood and the dealers where I am looking has like 5 new Priuses at a high price. The salesman refuses to negotiate or suggest a lower price - basically saying that if he will only talk if I am ready to take the car away the same day.

I got on the web and checked out another dealer 250 miles away, near some friends, and found out they have 23 Priuses of various colors and options, and at a lower price too, all printed on the web.

And the previous poster found a dealer with 39 Priuses.

So it is like, why should I mess around the the high price dealers? Is there a way to find the dealers with the biggest allocations in my neighborhood? Or are there internet dealers?

[jdcollins5]

You can go to any dealer's web site and select their New Vehicle Inventory. Then select the Prius. Some web sites will give you the complete listing. On others, you have to select each type individually, II, III, IV and V. When it comes to options, just skip over these so as not to limit the search.

If they have an inventory, it will usually show you their inventory but you have to watch out for them showing the region inventory. If it is truly their inventory, when you select on an individual car, it will have the complete VIN number. If it only has the last five digits or so, then it is the region's inventory.

Hope this helps.