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Recently bought a Prius, confused on price

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Shreyman, Apr 25, 2010.

  1. Shreyman

    Shreyman New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    We bought a silver 2010 Prius III with Navigation yesterday. However the one we bought had an MSRP of $26,180 while all of the identical, silver 2010 Prius IIIs with Navigation had an MSRP of $26,580.

    We were charged $23,818, apparently $1,000 under invoice. But, this priced is based off of a Prius with MSRP $26,580. The discount was due to a program we used called CarBargains in which the sales manager agreed to give us $1,000 below any prius model we chose to purchase. However, our calculations showed that the invoice should have been $24,050 for our vehicle with MSRP $26,180, giving us a price of $23,050.

    Is there a difference between our prius and the other, identical priuses based on the $400 difference in MSRP. If so, should we demand one of the priuses with MSRP 26,580? Could there have been a pricing change and our prius is old? I am really confused.:confused:
     
    #1 Shreyman, Apr 25, 2010
  2. vday

    vday Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2010
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    Location:
    Israel
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    How did the original diff of $400 grew to $800 after discounts - I don't get the arithmatic
     
    #2 vday, Apr 25, 2010
  3. richard13

    richard13 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2010
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    Location:
    Mill Creek, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    How are you calculating invoice price? There's no formula for that. If you are in some car buying program it should include the condition that you get to see the actual invoice. I think this might be where you are getting confused.

    Regarding slightly different prices of the same model, I would guess that something minor is being overlooked. Maybe the more expensive one had floor mats or first aid kit or rear bumper sticker, etc. or some combination of these.

    Have you already purchased and taken possession of the car? If so, the deal is done. I don't think they would be willing to take your car back for the same price, much less over a $400 difference.

    It's always best to talk with the salesman before you sign anything if you have questions. This is sometimes hard because the buying experience seems like a flurry of activity and things get overlooked while you are trying to get the deal done. Heck, it even happens to me.
     
    #3 richard13, Apr 25, 2010
  4. Shreyman

    Shreyman New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    3
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    According to a sheet the dealer gave us, the invoice price of our MSRP $26,180 prius is $23,818 and thus he gave it to us for $1000 less at $23,718. However, looking online, the MSRP for a silver, Prius III with nav is $26,580 and invoice of $25,129 which means our car should have really costed us $24,129. This makes me think that there may be some difference between our prius and the rest of the Prius III with navigation and we want to make sure that this is not detrimental.

    P.S. The other number, $24,450 is an incorrect invoice price for our prius.
     
    #4 Shreyman, Apr 25, 2010
  5. cossie1600

    cossie1600 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2009
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    Location:
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Build date difference, different shipping cost?
     
    #5 cossie1600, Apr 25, 2010
  6. Shreyman

    Shreyman New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    3
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Let me try again.
    These are the complete details of what actually happened. We went to the dealership with price information for the Prius III. We were offered one with the navigation package. We made the following calculations:
    MSRP Invoice
    Base $23,800 $22,156
    Destination charge $ 750 $ 750
    Navigation package $ 2,030 $ 1,732
    Total $26,580 $24,638
    We figured $1,000 less than the invoice price, i.e. $23,638.
    We were made an offer for $24,718, i.e. for $80 more. We decided to accept the offer. After delivery and analyzing the numbers at home, we found that the base MSRP for the car was actually $23,400, not $23,800. We researched the web and found that apparently there was a price adjustment in the last quarter of 2009. It looks like the old price applied to older shipment and the newer price was for a newer shipment.

    So now we find ourselves having a 2010 Prius III for a price we are satisfied with if the December 2010 price is assumed, but not if the September 2010 price is assumed.
    Our question is, is there any difference in the 2010 Prius III cars shipped with the September 2010 price and the December 2010 price?

    Our dealer told us that there is a 3-Day no questions asked money back guarantee so if there is a difference between the two vehicles, should we be able to trade ours in for a "correctly configured" prius?
     
    #6 Shreyman, Apr 25, 2010
  7. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Aug 30, 2009
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    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    There is no difference between the cars. Toyota had at least two different $400 price increases during 2009 depending on manufacturing dates.
     
    #7 jdcollins5, Apr 25, 2010
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Are you sure the other one is not blizzard white? That paint color cost extra $400.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, Apr 25, 2010
  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
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    Without searching for dates, I believe one price increase was in October, another in mid to late February. If the dealer's stock straddles either date, the stickers will show different MSRPs.
     
    #9 fuzzy1, Apr 25, 2010
  10. New_Yorker

    New_Yorker New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2007
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    You purchased a New Car and the Dealer did his job, he took your money, left you befuddled by the whole experience, and probably made a lot more on the car than you hoped he would. Sounds pretty typical for a new car purchase.
     
    #10 New_Yorker, Apr 25, 2010
  11. Codyroo

    Codyroo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2007
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    Location:
    Pleasanton, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I was coming across something similiar, when I got my car. It had to with the build dates and the price increases (as has been mentioned twice in this thread).
     
    #11 Codyroo, Apr 26, 2010
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i think you got a great deal and are overthinking this. many people paid a lot more for their cars when there were no discounts to be had. if you paid a little more because of a price increase, at least you got some nice discounts off sticker. you did your homework but missed a price increase detail. if you had seen it, you would have had to shop around for one that had been on the lot a little longer.
    forget about it and enjoy the ride!;)
     
    #12 bisco, Apr 26, 2010
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