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California Tire Fee

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Ct. Ken V, Dec 13, 2011.

  1. Ct. Ken V

    Ct. Ken V Active Member

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    *Post moved to it's own thread out of the Dealers Program thread
    Dianne & the rest of you guys & gals,

    Sorry for interrupting this thread since I'm not yet in the market for replacing my 2005 Prius & therefore will not be using this program (but thankfully for all of you guys Danny did a tremendous job of trying to make things a lot easier for you early adopters to get a good known deal locked in & with earlier delivery than the rest of the masses).

    My reason for this interruption is because I read way earlier in this thread (& was reminded again by greenleaf's post on this same page) that the tire fee charged in California should only be $7 (4 x $1.75) instead of $8.75 because (as the earlier post said) the new Prius comes without a spare tire. Is this true, Dianne? And is the state mandating that you charge each buyer for 5 tires even if it comes with only 4? Even though it is only $1.75 difference we're talking about here, I just don't like the principle of being forced to pay for something you don't have.

    Is it indeed true that the new Priuses don't get delivered with a spare tire? If so, is it a cost saving measure? Can you pay extra & buy/order a spare tire for inclusion in your delivery (& then, of course, pay the extra $1.75 then)? Or is there even storage space for a spare, or has that space been sacrificed for space for extra battery modules? If no spare tire or even space for one, just what does the new Prius get for its 4 tires? Low rolling resistance Run-Flat tires? I hope they don't just substitute a can of Fix-a-Flat (spray in liquid rubber---I hear that really messes up the $125 tire pressure sensors). Or am I just mis-informed?

    Dianne or somebody, please set me straight. Thanks. Sorry for the slightly off-topic interruption here.

    Ken (in Bolton,Ct.)
     
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  2. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Well I don't know what you earn but the time it's taken you to write this down has wiped out any savings you'd make for the next 5 years :)

    Don't worry about it. Life's too short. It does seem unfair but then so was my divorce settlement ;)
     
  3. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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  4. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    Good job, Grumpy!
     
  5. greenleaf

    greenleaf Member

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    The Nissan LEAF comes with 4 tires. I paid $7 which is what the dealership should charge, not $8.75.
     
  6. Ct. Ken V

    Ct. Ken V Active Member

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    GrumpyCabbie (I see how you got your nickname) & Allannde,

    Is there really any need to get testy here? You both usually are very good at making worthwhile contributions here with your posts. I didn't start a separate thread just to ask a question of little importance. It was part of a thread that agreeably was on a different topic (hence the moving of my post by a moderator), but I was just responding to some info I saw within that original thread & I thought that Dianne (or any other dealer seeing my question could answer it).

    I understand your comment about life being too short & also not always being fair, but if you haven't noticed, a lot of complaints both here & over at PriusOnLine are from members complaining how badly the dealers are ripping them off with the wide variation on parts prices, service charges (for some things that can't even be done on a Prius), extended warranties, & even the sale price of the new Prius itself. I don't believe anybody likes to get ripped off, so I was just questioning the principle of any dealer charging a fee for 5 tires if the car does indeed get delivered with only 4 of them---it's just the principle of it.

    I am retired by the way, so my time isn't as valuable as yours, but I was just curious about whether the car now comes without a spare or if it even has space for one under the floorboard (in case that space was needed for additional battery capacity for the "plug-in"). I remember the furor when they started putting the space saver "donuts" into our cars as a cost-saving/weight-reduction measure. People would insist on a full-size spare & have to order it extra & on some cars the size of the well for the spare was too small to even accommodate the standard full-size spare (so no room to even carry it underneath & thus sacrificing storage space in the above-floor cargo area next to your luggage or other personal effects).

    Also, I remember reading somewhere that some new cars were being delivered without spares, so I was wondering if they got the "run-flat" tires or only a can of "fix-a-flat" pressurized liquid rubber (which I had also read about some manufacturers supplying) that will ruin the $125 tire pressure sensor valve stems.

    So I thank you others for understanding me (xs650, for the link to the California Tire Fee site & greenleaf, for sharing that you only got charged the $7 you should have paid, instead of having to pay $8.75). By the way, greenleaf, what do you have on your Nissan Leaf for flat tire protection---"run-flat" tires or a can of "fix-a-flat"?

    Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
     
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  7. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    Ken

    Surely you know the saying "penny wise and pound foolish"? Perhaps Grumpy and I saw a bit of that in your post.

    PriusChat is a good place to come to understand a very lot about the Prius including how to purchase one. After all, the best protection we have is being informed. You apparently do that. I do and so do many others. We all do it because we are better off as a result.

    The Prius Plug in will not have a spare tire because the space where a spare tire was stored will be taken up with the larger traction battery. So far as I know, this is the only Toyota product which will be without a spare tire. The other issues which you mention either have been or are the topic of conversation on PC. If you don't have time to read PC regularly, there is a search function for topics of interest or concern to you.

    Allan
     
  8. greenleaf

    greenleaf Member

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    Nissan provided the "can of mess" but I understand better not to use it. Right now I don't have any better plan other than to call the free roadside assistance and get the car towed. This isn't such a disaster considering that the Leaf to me is an in-town car due to range limitations. For the PiP, I will probably think about getting a real spare for those longer trips.

    Regarding the original post,

    http://priuschat.com/forums/toyota-...m-launch-announcement-form-7.html#post1431402

    I am still left wondering if Carson Toyota is indeed going to charge $8.75 instead of $7 since there was no response to my post about the correct fee.
     
  9. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Indeed I did ;)
     
  10. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    It's not about $1.75. It's about the fact that nobody likes to get ripped off.
     
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  11. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Hear, hear as they say in jolly ole England, you have bought up a good point. It is more than penny wise and pound foolish. It is priciple! It is even maybe the reason immigrants came to America in the first place. We just want to know the facts and be charged appropriately. We are no longer paying a tax on King Georges TEA. And I too will probably go to the junkyard and get a rim for my extra prius tires in my storage shack ( for trips ) During warranty and locally, they can pay for a tow, so there! :cheer2:
     
  12. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    Your point is well made.

    We have all been ripped off, in my case for much more than $1.75 and none of us like it. When I was a kid and petrol cost 16 cents a gallon, $1.75 was real money. Now you can hardly get a candy bar for that.

    That fee is California State mandated according to another thread. And it apparently would not be charged for a spare tire that was missing in a delivered car. It supposedly goes into a fund for the disposal of worn out tires. It hardly seems like an evil or overwhelming cause.
     
  13. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    America is all about ripping people off. Ripping people off is the national religion. It's why the military pays private contractors $300 for a toilet seat. It's why we have leveraged buyouts of corporations, why we had the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. It's why lobbyists get to write the laws after they give buckets of money to legislators. It's why dishonest advertising is tolerated and why 90% of used car dealers are not in prison for fraud.

    We get ripped off every day. Depending on the state you're in, a car dealer adds $75 to $500 to the price you negotiated for a car, under the heading "document fee," which is just a legal way of saying "a bit of rip-off."

    If a man pick-pockets my wallet, removes $2, and gives me back my wallet with all the rest of the money and cards still in it, I'll thank him for having stolen so little. I'll even give him $20 reward for not having taken more.

    Just as I would not bend over to pick up a penny from the sidewalk, I couldn't care less about $1.75 that a car dealer rips me off for a non-existant spare tire. I'm more upset about the $150 document fee and the fact that the car does not have a spare tire (or just has a doughnut spare).
     
  14. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Blimey you've got a long and bitter memory. Let's hope the folks in many political hot spots around the world don't hold their anti American bitter memories as long or you folks are in trouble. :p

    I agree it is a principle and I personally would kick up a stink if someone tried to rip me off like that. Saying that, I doubt anyone would try a trick like that here either. Why risk losing a customer over such a small amount.

    But this issue is obviously causing the op significant pain and anguish that for $1.75 is just not worth it. Move on, chill out but next time you deal with that same place make sure you give them $175 worth of hassle instead. :D
     
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  15. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    I would suggest that in actual practice, finance folks at dealers simply err in charging for a spare tire that isn't actually with the car, because it has been the rule to charge the fee for five tires for so long. This is similar to the same people charging sales tax based on the county in which the dealership is located, even though they know the buyer is from another county with lower or higher sales tax rates. I have had to have the finance guy redo the whole contract after he forgot the tax rate despite having been told multiple times. (This tax situation is true in California, your tax situation may vary.) :D
    Kind of like when go for fast food and give the counter person your order, saying "to go," and they come back with the question "for here or to go" anyway. :confused:
     
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  16. car78412

    car78412 Member

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    California, Like New York will tax you when you poop if they could. Our lottery is supposed to go for education but the funds are put into the general fund. I doubt very much that the $1.75 is going for any noble cause.
     
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