Are dealers charging for "importing" the model you want from another dealer?

Since TrueCar didn't work very well for me--no specific price from any dealer--I'll be doing my own negotiating. It seems the Prius c Two in super-white I want is not very popular among suburban- Detroit dealers. (However, I've only communicated with 2 dealers so far.)

Let's say they locate one at a dealer in Ann Arbor--over 50 miles away. Should I expect them to charge me for the transfer? Would they likely hire a special auto-hauling truck (surely expensive)? Or do you think they'd let me go out there (my friend driving me) and bring the car back myself, if I offered to pay a healthy deposit? (I'd like to believe, "You can negotiate anything.") I've never bought a new car before.

You should negotiate directly with the dealer in Ann Arbor.

I bought my car from a dealer 50 miles away. I negotiated the price by email and phone, gave them a $500 credit card deposit over the phone, emailed the paperwork they needed, and picked up the car a couple of days later.

How did you find out that particular dealer had the car you wanted?

I checked inventory at cars.com - here's all the Cs within 150 miles of Detroit.

You can also check Auto Trader and Edmunds.

I don't know why, but Auto Trader is showing many more results than the other sites.

Modify the search as needed to get the trim level and color you're looking for.

This is good info--thanks very much. I'll check it out.

Let us know how you make out!

My C was destined for a dealership in Alabama. My dealership located it and it was not presold. So they asked the Alabama dealership if they could do a trade. I picked up the C four days later at my local dealership. No charge for transfer etc.

Not a C but it still should apply... my hatchback was located at a dealership about 50 miles away. My dealer traded another car for it. My sales guy drove the other car down, picked up my car, and drove it back. No charge.

I believe it depends on the dealer and the margin they are trying to maintain, as well as their relationaships with other dealers. One dealer I spoke to said that if they had to bring it from another dealer, I would be charged for the driver and mileage. Another dealer (the one I actually got the care from) said only that he had arranged a swap, and they drove it from the other dealer down to pick up the one they are taking (110 miles) - no charge.