CarBuyingTips.Com: Opinions?

[New Revelation]

I've been reading on this site for a few years now and have read alot of useful information and alot of the horror stories that some dealers out there are capable of. What do you guys think of this site?

I know that possibly some of the data on that site could be dated, but it mentions alot about getting different quotes from different places, and using the online loan centers like Capital One (which I hate) and E-Loan which im not familiar with. Can anyone shine any light about this?

Also, I highly doubt and don't think that it will be possible to even buy the Prius online right now since its a high-demand vehicle, so alot of the info on that site may be useless for the most part. And, alot of the scary ways dealers try to take advantage of folks would make one not want to be bothered with the salespeople at the dealerships at all (like the 'just buy the car outright with cash and drive away' choice).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Bill Merchant]

So you've been on here a few years, but decided to join just a few days ago? Hmmm, welcome to PriusChat.

Interesting site. Jess Ostroff has a whole section about buying "hybrids", and he does mention other models, but his hybrid "modes" are pure Prius. His general approach, know what you're buying, know the dealer cost, have financing lined up beforehand, etc., are sound, the same thing Consumer's Union (Consumer Reports) advocates. It doesn't sound like he really knows much about hybrids or the Prius from personal experience.

You can usually get better financing at your own bank, if you have good accounts, or at a local credit union, rather than an on-line lender. Sometimes the dealer can come up with better rates. As for buying a Prius online now, I don't see why not. The Internet Sales Manager you contact is probably at your local dealer. As you've probably read here, even since the 20th, don't pay more than MSRP and call around to get the best deal for the model you want. It's always good to go to Toyota.com and "Build your own car" to see the prices for options and availability in your region.

[New Revelation]

[quote=Bill Merchant @ Aug 27 2006, 02:05 AM) [snapback]310036[/snapback]</div>

So you've been on here a few years, but decided to join just a few days ago? Hmmm, welcome to PriusChat.

[/b]

I apologize, I meant that I was visiting the CarBuyingTips.Com site a few years before I found this forum (which was just last week). Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I did go to the Toyota site and did do the "Build your own car" link to customize my own Prius. And the list before the TT&L was about 28K.

The dealer I sent the request to is an Internet Sales Manager in my local area, so that's where I went when I visited the dealership last week. Of course the order on the website was for the 06 model, but I was told that the 07 models are now being ordered. The #7 package from the 06 model in my region had all options except leather. The 07 models with the same package I specified is now #5.

I will plan to get my financing from my credit union once the vehicle comes in and will work on a insurance quote once I can get the VIN number (since I have an existing policy I have to find out how much additional cost it will run me)

According to the Buyer Order sheet he printed out for me, he wrote down "Sold] MSRP upon delivery" for the exact model and colors that I specified which was also written down on the form. So I will definitely keep that in check.

[msmit002]

Carbuyingtips.com has some really good advice. Whether buying a hybid or a Kia or 2006 Mustang Saleen.

The bottom line is to segment your purchase of the vehicle from every other aspect of the car buying experience. And the best way to do that is to keep the dealer out of the other aspects of the car buying experience.

As for the Internet, that's how I did it. I visited all of the local dealer websites, and clicked the "get a quote" buttons after choosing a vehicle through their inventory. The dealer who responded with the best price was who I called on the phone. We only went to the dealer the night we took our Prius home.

With that said... I negotiated the price of the car. We didn't talk about Trade (when they asked, I said I wasn't sure I was trading anything at all) or financing. In fact, we obtained our preapproval for financing even before we got our quotes. We knew inventory was out there, and the loan is good for 60 days after approval.

So, when we showed up at the dealer, we had the price of the car settled beforehand. We walked in with a check from our lender and we didn't trade our vehicle (we decided to sell it to my neighbor's friend.) After that, the ONLY way the dealer could try to build in any additional profit was by selling after-market "stuff" which we politely declined.

So, all in all, we paid the price we negotiated. And we left no wiggle room for the dealer to play any games. Perhaps they're scratching their head right now wondering how the let a Prius out the door at $1200 off of MSRP without recouping any of that back. But oh well... unfortunately, there are plenty of Prius buyers out there who do not take advantage of the wealth of information Priuschat.com (and other sites) has to offer. And those folks is who the dealer will make the money on.