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Prius went on sale next business day after I purchased my Prius III

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by qbui, Nov 30, 2009.

  1. qbui

    qbui Junior Member

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    I purchased my Prius the day before Thanksgiving and I paid MSRP for my Prius and did not think it would ever go on sale because I have never seen it on sale. The dealer that I found the Prius with the color/options I wanted was far but worth the drive to get what I wanted. I test drove and paid the car in cash and left. That Friday after Thanksgiving, the same dealer advertised all Prius $1000 off MSRP. I did not find out until Saturday so I called my salesman immediately and he told me that they are never told about any sales before they find out in the newspaper. I then called the assistant manager and was told the same thing and there was nothing they could do. I then called their relations manager and was told pretty much the same thing. She said once the contract goes through financing, it goes to the bank and I told her I paid cash. She said she would talk to an upper manager and get back to me. Have not heard from her yet. Will follow up later today.

    My question is once you buy a car and the dealer put it on sale the next day, is there anything you can do to get that sale price? This is literally the next business day.

    My second question is, do sales people know of the sales ahead of time?

    Thanks! Love my Prius! Would love it even more at $1000 less!
     
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I hate to say it but I think once its bought, its bought. But I wouldn't believe it is as simple as $1000 off MSRP. It may have said something like in stock or $1000 off with the purchase of extra stuff like extended maintenance packages etc.

    I'm not saying it's not worth it to try and recoup some money or get some free oil changes from them, but in the end enjoy your new car!
     
  3. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Nothing you can do, but the day before Thanksgiving isn't exactly the best day to buy a car irrespective of what it's selling for. You live in the LA area and many, many Prius have sold for under MSRP.
     
  4. Indyking

    Indyking Happy Hyundai owner...

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    I understand your frustration, but a sale has a day/time to start and day/time to end... otherwise it would not be called a sale. Sorry, but you will be very luck if you get the sale price... it's just like buying anything else, but this was aggravated by the high price tag…

    I once was in a major department store and they had some nice tennis shoes on sale “just until noonâ€â€¦ I spotted one I liked but came back after lunch for it because did not believe they would do that since there were many boxes of the same shoe available… sure they did… just half-hour later the same shoe was twice the price.
     
  5. equake

    equake Member

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    Under MSRP is plentiful in LA and at all different price points. I was surprised when I paid under MSRP for a Prius III without much hassle although there were Port Add ons but the discount was considerable at $1000+ off.

    As cars sit on the lot and the month-end comes closer it is more likely the that car would be discounted. The dealer still made plenty of money without going too deep.

    Remember the Prius is still a very popular car and is the only model that Toyota does not give any incentives on like rebates.
     
  6. leeb18c

    leeb18c Active Member

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    Once you sign on the dotted line and drive off you're done unless there is something wrong in the contract you signed. I do feel your pain as I paid MSRP after c4c. I'd be surprised if they continue talking to you about this as they already got the money.
     
  7. qbui

    qbui Junior Member

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    The reason I paid full MSRP was because I was looking for a silver Package III with solar which was hard to find. I went to many dealers locally and they did not have what I wanted. They did searches but told me they were not able to find anything nearby. Probably none of the dealers that had the car I wanted wanted to trade. I had to find the dealer myself. I was more than willing to pay MSRP but was disappointed that the salesman did not tell me it was going on sale because I would have put a deposit and came back on Friday. They just got the car in the day before with 10 miles on it. It wasn't sitting around costing them money.
     
  8. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    qbui, anything is worth what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. I don't believe the dealer owes you anything but everything is negotiable. Ask what a good customer satisfaction survey is worth. If you don't get your price or come to an agreement then submit it with the lowest possible score across the board. You may not be able to get $1000 but you may be able to cost the dealer or some employee $1000.
     
  9. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    Sorry. It just doesn't work like a department store where if they lie to you you can just return and rebuy the item at a lower price. Car sales is all about commissions, so even if your salesman knew a sale was coming, he'd never tell you. At best, he'd lose money on the deal he can close today. At worst, you'd come back during the sale and buy from another salesman.
     
  10. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    That's just blackmailing and an extremely dishonest thing for a customer to do.
     
    2 people like this.
  11. alohabailey

    alohabailey New Member

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    That stinks, dealers are so unscrupulous.
     
  12. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    I'm a bit more sympathetic to qbui than some folks here.
    I admit that if the dealership made an offer and qbui accepted, qbui is stuck with it (but doesn't have to be happy about it.
    HOWEVER,
    If qbui asked "are there any sales planned?" or "any other discounts soon?", and the answer was, "no," I would be outraged in qbui's position.
    And it wouldn't matter to me if the saleperson hadn't been told--that just would mean that the boss set the dealership up to lie.

    Here's my 1991 experience, with a Subaru Legacy: After asking whether there were any other discounts or rebates, and being told "No," I signed to buy the car and pick it up on Monday. I walked out to my car turned on the radio and the first thing I hear is "$200 to 1500 new cash back from Subaru on all new cars!!!"
    Well, you can imagine I was highly annoyed--but instead of charging back in, I drove away fuming. Eventually, when I got back to the dealership, I was told that the salespeople didn't know this new deal was on--and I said then that's the equivalent of a lie by management.
    The dealer offered to cancel the whole deal, but in the end we split the difference--it was the base model of their base car, so the rebate was low (the minimum $200) and I got $100 additional off. I still wasn't happy, but a bit calmed down.
    And it did turn out to be a good car. Surprisingly, the dealership even turned out to have reasonably good service--it was the only one in town, which is the only reason we went back there.
     
  13. Tech_Guy

    Tech_Guy Class Clown

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    Nothing "unscrupulous" with this deal....

    I've said it before and I'll say it again --- You never get the deal you deserve, you get the deal you negotiate.

    Good luck with your new car!!!

    Keith
     
  14. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    That sucks. I hate it when stuff like that happens. To bad it's not costco... just take that sucker back and buy it again.
     
  15. eyePod

    eyePod Classic Silver

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  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    How is it different from the salesman telling you to fill out a perfect survey on their behalf?
     
  17. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I bought a motorcycle in 2006, I paid $11,000 AU on the road. In under a month the recommended retail price fell by $1000!! I lost about 10% over night on my $10,000 motorbike.
    All you can do is suck it up, that's just how it goes sometimes. You were happy with the deal on the day you bought it, so no biggy is it?
     
  18. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    But you're not obligated to, unless they refuse to release your car until you do so. The dealer in the OP's case really did nothing wrong.
     
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    True but they are banking on human instincts and emotion.
     
  20. qbui

    qbui Junior Member

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    I finally resolved my issue with the dealer today. They ended giving me the 5yr/60K mile extended warranty for free. I'm satisfied. Wasn't expecting to get the money but something to make the pain go away. Persistence paid off! Thanks everyone who chimed in!