My Prius buying experience so far...

[neon tetra]

SUCKS!

There's 2 dealers in my area.

One has only 1 on the lot & says they won't even bother ordering any more, and that if they do it'll be OVER MSRP.

The other promised me 0% financing over the phone & also said they can get any configuration in 1-2 days.
...Then I go down there to find out that the 0% financing is NOT available on the Prius, and also that they could only locate one that matches my description. It's about 200 miles away, and that basically means that they have the upper hand. They won't budge on price at all, they know nothing about the car (as I expected), and they have 3 different people calling me constantly pressuring me to act now or I'll lose the car.


Luckily, I know someone that works for Toyota & he's trying to help me out. But as of now, I have a very sour taste in my mouth from these ppl.
Especially b/c it would be nice to have a local dealership to use for service, but at this point I can't see myself giving them the business.


Hopefully my luck will change soon on this matter.

[mingoglia]

Where are you located? I assume you're in a more rural area but most rural areas are at least within a couple hour drive of a city... If I was you I'd test drive the one the one dealer has... then hit the phone and talk to the fleet managers at a handful of the dealers in the closest city. Do all the negotiating on the phone and get a fax/email copy of their offer if you can. Tell them you're planning on driving "all the way there" to pick it up so you want something in writing. Use this to negotiate the price with the others. Then plan a day trip.... it's going to save you thousands in the long run so it'll be worth it.

Mike

[Rae Vynn]

Well, since you haven't told us what area you are in, it is hard for us to offer suggestions.

You might go to toyota.com and do the "build your Prius" there... you put in your zip code and then dealers will email you quotes. You might consider putting in a zip code for a larger metropolis area, and get quotes from more dealers. You could carpool/ride a bus/fly to the area, get your Prius, and drive it home.

[Sheepdog]

Ever take the family on vacation? maybe visit Central Florida since if it nice weather right now and lots of stuff to do here. We have many dealers here and lots and lots of cars available. There are so many here that the dealers fight each other to see who gets your business.

Just a thought!

[edvalencia]

When the 2nd Gen Prius came out, I went to a Toyota dealer in Riverside, CA. to trade my 1st Gen in for it. Long story short, I wanted a base model (having waited 3 Months for my first Prius to ship, I was willing to wait again). They wanted to sell me a loaded model. The sales manager came up to my sales guy and told him that I'm just wasting his time.
One email to Toyota and these guys were calling me willing to give me anything I wanted. I was so soured by the experience, though, that I decided to keep my 1st Gen (until it died last month).

[EJFB1029]

Thats been my experience with Toyota dealers, I have never encountered the outright lying experience from dealers like I have with Toyota dealers, they have really put a sour taste in my mouth about buying a Toyota. I love the car, but I'd seriously consider another brand over Toyota because of the dealers, and I dealt with 8 dealerships in 3 different cities.

[Flying White Dutchman]

from above post "I have never encountered the outright lying experience from dealers like I have with Toyota dealers"

same here

told mee that for mee there are enough people to buy so if i don't buy don't care kind off attitude!

and stil asking outrageous prices for models out off warranty do to age or miles driven

at the end i got my car form a different country all together! for really good price

i am so agry about it that i now also go abroad for my maintenance

[mingoglia]

Originally Posted by Flying White Dutchman

from above post "I have never encountered the outright lying experience from dealers like I have with Toyota dealers"

same here

told mee that for mee there are enough people to buy so if i don't buy don't care kind off attitude!

and stil asking outrageous prices for models out off warranty do to age or miles driven

at the end i got my car form a different country all together! for really good price

i am so agry about it that i now also go abroad for my maintenance

It's funny, I never really thought of this before until I read the last two posts. When I initially went into the local Toyota dealer the first time I asked for a car brochure. They replied, "we don't stock brochures because Toyota's sell themselves and therefore the literature is a wasted expense". I thought that was crappy but forgot about the incident until now. Those jerks.

[subarutoo]

I've seen 10-20 sitting at LA dealers. I got mine in Jan 06 thru carsdirect.com. The same day I filed with carsdirect, they found one at a dealer 50 miles away, I made the drive, wrote the check and was out of there in 45 minutes. Don't know where you are, but give it a try. Its free. Why wait and get all frustrated, there are lots of ways to buy a car.

[neon tetra]

Originally Posted by mingoglia

When I initially went into the local Toyota dealer the first time I asked for a car brochure. They replied, "we don't stock brochures because Toyota's sell themselves and therefore the literature is a wasted expense". I thought that was crappy but forgot about the incident until now. Those jerks.

That is a crappy reply, but in all honesty... it is 'greener'. Anyone can access the internet, and paper & ink are a waste.

So anyway... it looks like I'm gonna be getting $700 off of MSRP after all. Not such a great deal, but the car is in high demand so I guess it's better than nothing.
If I wanted a different trim level, I may have gotten a better deal, but my heart was set on an 08 touring w/ package #3 (or package 'A' in some locales) in magnetic gray.
Needless to say... I can hardly wait to drive it.
It's an adorable lil shuttlepod