Purchase timing advice for us clunkerless folks?

My wife and I are in the market for a 2010. We don't need one urgently (it will be our 2nd car and I walk/bike to work). But it would be nice to have

If we happened to own a qualifying clunker, buying now would be a no-brainer. But we don't. And my guess is that we're not alone in this situation.

So the question is: should we wait to buy?

Or, more precisely, how much are we likely to save by waiting a few months -- how much are prices currently inflated due to a combination of Cash For Clunkers and the fact that the Gen3 is still new and in limited supply?

I know this is all speculation, but would be interested to hear people's informed guesses.

My parents bought the Camry Hybrid in 06/2006 for MSRP when it first came out. About 8 months later, the same dealer sold one to my aunt for 3000 less than MSRP.
You should just wait.

As an informed guess:
There are already discounts in some areas, according to reports here. For instance, the Bay Area (one of your listed places) has plenty of stock and reports discounts. The Midwest, like Ann Arbor, seems to be reporting less.

The next week will be extremely rushed. The Cash for Clunkers horde will rush in and swoop up everything. The billion dollars won't last a month; as someone noted, that's only 220,000 - 250,000 cars. It might not last a week.

I assume Priuses will be in very short supply after the CARS horde rushes through the dealerships. After that, the lots will have to refill. That will take a while. I suspect it'll be 60-90 days.

In the fall, a lot of the initial demand will be satisfied. By November, I suspect Priuses will be in a more typical market. There still won't be large discounts on the II, because there's not a lot of stated invoice. And the Prius will never be a Cadillac Escalade. Of course, I wouldn't want that.

The first year for the Camry hybrid was a 2007. That car was introduced in spring 2006 when the 2007 Camry hybrids made their debut. One big difference about the Camry 2007 hybrid vs a Prius is the markup margin. There's damn near $3200 from cost to MSRP in a LOADED Camry hybrid ... and unless you get a VERY loaded V with AT and lots of PPO's,... here's nothing even close to having a markup like that in any Prius.

If these folks are striving for a II or a pretty basic III, why wait? We don't know what the future will hold, but I am already seeing our bi-monthly allocations drop. The large supply at the car's debut will start to taper off. I also worry that the demand for this car in Japan AND the start up of the 2010 Camry hybrid production will cause a drop in Prius to the US because they will need the batteries elsewhere! And, once the 2010 Highlander hybrids start being produced, again we will see less Prius for the same reason. These things impending are very real. And, you aren't talking huge profit margins in Prius anymore.

This was my justification. IMO, I can't see them being more than $400-500 cheaper than they are now. Currently, I think a lot of people are getting $200-$500 off, so in 4-5 months maybe $600-1000? To me, the wait just isn't worth a few hundred bucks - spread over 5 yrs of ownership you're talking about less than $100/year!

I put a down payment on a Prius last week. The dealer was waiting for the final paper work for CFC to come through. I got excited yestoday about CFC and did not want to wait because it sounded like a lot people got a head start on CFC. Called the dealership he suggested pay in full with a note for him to pay back 4500.00 when it finalized. I did not complete purchase just did all the paperwork I could to be first on the dealers CFC list. Turn in reg, insurance, copy of pink slip and left the car there. While I was there the phone calls coming in were all about CFC. The staff wanted to wait for verification from the program. On the CFC web site it show complete validation takes 10 days once you turn in paperwork. I think all the buzz is about how long will the program last. I did not get a purchase order. I got a sheet with Vin, price and the manager sign it. Did I do everything possible without sticking my neck out. He wanted to keep pink slip to my car but I got it back until deal is completed. I should have posted this message in another thread since I have a clunker, not sure how to move.

I do have a concern regarding that you paid in full with a note from him to pay you back the 4500. Should it deduct right there too?

John

I decided not to go along with the proposal of paying in full and waiting for 4500.00 back. I just wanted to know if I did all the paperwork needed for CFC and to lock deal.