Prius for thought...Need some ADVICE!

Hi Brian,

I was able to drive off in a new 2011 Prius II for MSRP + Delivery and very little hassle from Toyota Carlsbad last Thursday. They do put on a few added things, but they where all things I wanted and so I did not have an issue (cargo net for hatch, floor mats, etc). I highly recommend them if that is not to far from where you are in OC.

If you are interested I will send you the contact info from the salesperson I worked with. Can't believe I am saying this about a car salesperson, but she was very cool. I did have to wait a couple of weeks, but I was expecting to have to wait a month or more so I was not disappointed by the two week wait.

Hope this helps & let me know if you want that info.

 

it was a great time to buy last fall. when gas was reasonable and the tsunami hadn't hit japan. why not buy a junk suv on the cheap and wait until gas comes down a little? looks like it is heading in that direction, and might coincide with the tsunami recovery within the next year. all the best!

 

I say wait until gas prices come down and production gets back to normal. Based on those criteria, I'm guessing that late fall or winter will be a better time to buy. Also, it is possible that there might be some end of year clearance deals, and the Prius v should be out, providing sales competition to the standard Prius. With your burgeoning family, you might find the Prius v to be a better fit for you.

 

My advice is this, and this is what we just did recently when we purchased our new 2011 Prius cars. Because of the market, to get a fair priced Prius, Sticker Price appears to be the best deal going currently, might take a little more effort. . Do not and I repeat do not pay over sticker price. Because of the market you might have to call many or even 10's of dealers and might even have to consider a small trip to get one. I had to drive 3 hours each way, to get mine 3 weeks ago and even then it was a 3 week wait before we could pick it up.

Another option , would be to call Toyota directly and explain that you have been to several local dealers and they all want OVER sticker price, which you find unfair and to expensive for your budget. Several people on this forum have stated that toyota set up a sale for them with another dealers for sticker Price.

This is just what I would try. It takes effort, however they are out there to be bought and at sticker too. Oh, and so far it has been worth the effort we had to put in to get ours.

BEST OF LUCK

 

What problem are you solving? Do you want to minimize total cost of ownership? Minimize air pollution? Minimize petroleum use? You Just Gotta Hava Prius? Or something else?

 

Now isn't the time to buy a Prius, hate to say it. If you must have a car, your better off exploring other options right now.

Say you bought a Prius II at the sticker price which is MSRP mid $24k now if I believe. Add the usual 10-11% in taxes, fee, dmv, etc., commonly found in California for car sales and you are looking at $27k for a Prius II . Folks were buying Prius III with Navigation at that price just a few months back.

At the current market price, I would run FAR AWAY from a Prius as possible. You are better off exploring other options like the new Civic, Elentra, Cruz, etc., Not exactely Prius gas mileage but you save THOUSANDS and still get 40mpg highway.

 

Nope. MSRP for the 2011 Prius Two at The 3rd Generation Toyota Prius Hybrid models and prices is $23,520.

Interesting, when I got mine three weeks ago MSRP was $23,050 (I have the sticker right here), so it has gone up about $500 since the beginning of May.

Additional charges not included in the $23,050 figure: $200 for floormats and cargo area mat (no choice, it came with them), $760 delivery fee, $175 dealer paperwork fee.

 

Go to Toyota.com and expand your Prius hunt just for research purposes. You may find an honest dealer.

 

With a baby on the way, the Prius makes more sense than the Lexus CT, it has quite a bit more room inside, gets better mileage, and has the same power. The CT handles a little better. But, as others said, the best you'll probably be able to do right now is sticker, a lot of dealers are charging over sticker. It's simple supply and demand.

 

Greetings and Welcome Aboard!!
:welcome:

I hope all goes well with the pregnancy.
I wish I could offer some sage advice, but you're going to have to do some pencil work for yourself and determine what you want to put into your next car and what you want out of it.
I wore out some pencils last fall when you could get a G3-II for 19,999 OTD. The math didn't work out for me, and it's really not the time to be a Prius purchaser right now!!
That was me.
This is you.
If you decide that you juuuuust gotta have a new (or used) Prius then I'd shop around. If now isn't the time to buy, SOCAL also isn't the place to buy one.
Shop around.

The G3 is a pretty decent car for a young family. There's plenty of room for the crumb-cruncher, and it doesn't have the worst crash rating around. It's also a pretty good commuting car. You live in a CARB state. This means that the battery is covered for a longer period of time (150K if memory serves) if you're worried about the battery thing...and you really don't need to be.
Finally...I would rent and drive one for a weekend before deciding to put one in my driveway. Have your intended drive it a bunch as well for reasons that are, or soon will be, very obvious
This is especially true for Priuses, since there are certain aspects of Prius ownership that should be fully explored before you pull the trigger on a purchase---especially at today's inflated prices.
The kid may be a little more expensive than you think. You may want to work that into your arithmetic gymnastics.

Good Luck!

 

Don't buy one now, it's a waste of money. If you HAVE to buy a car now buy something like an Elantra. I am dead serious, yes. The price premium on Priuses now is ridiculous, don't be a sucker. They'll cheapen up eventually. Elantra is highly rated and gas is 29/40. More standard options than a base prius and $8k or more cheaper right now vs the silly rates people are quoting you.

It may be worth driving a couple hundred miles to buy one at sticker, but don't pay over.

 

If you add the ~$750 destination charge and $200 floor mat fee, it brings the sticker price up to roughly $24.5k and yes, Toyota raise the prices of all their cars roughly 3% due to the Tsunami.

 

I'd say buy, but only for sticker if the prius is what you want. As others have said the v will be out soon so you might check that out. Personally, I think gas is on the way up over the next few years and I think prii will continue to bring near sticker price. JMO.

 

Totally agree. Or a 2012 Focus. The new Elantras are spectacular. You can buy a real nice one for about $17.5K. I've driven both and they're both nice tight cars. The Prius is bigger inside, but you can probably live with the Hyundai or Ford if you take a look at them.

I bought my Prius for $21K in January, but as good a car as it is, and I love it, I'd never pay $25K for one.

REV

 

I have a new 2011 Four base model on order but I'm in a little different position. I am trading in a 2010 III with Navigation on my new one and the 2010 is currently worth more than I paid for it in Sep 2009 as a trade in. I've been told this is primarily due to the price of gas and the Prius shortage. My Four will be at MSRP and I really don't want any accessories. I am not happy with the factory Nav system although I did like the backup camera. But for the price they want now for that I've bought a new Garmin nuvi 1350 which comes with life time free map upgrades and cost $148 from Amazon, plus another $20 off special deal rather than $2300 like Toyota wants, and then an arm & a leg for updates.

Our reason for trading is that my wife builds up a static charge and always gets zapped when getting out of the cloth seats of the III. We don't think that will happen with the leather seats in the Four and the butt warmers will also be nice. It has been on order a week now- the salesman thought it might take a month to get here. I hope the gas prices don't go down much in the next three weeks or so!

 

You may be right, the prices Priuses were in the past year were unusual. But still, nobody should be paying over sticker because this shortage right now is definitely temporary.

Sounds like a great time to change up. i recall another thread where somebody was given the option to trade up by their dealership on a pretty new one actually for a small per month cost.

I do this and have for years, maybe forever. I long ago figured out how to stop making it bug me, though. I close the doors with my elbow or my hand--it's the finger tips that suck when you lose that electric charge

 

Now is not a great, nor even good, time to buy a Prius. Supply and demand are way out of balance, due to the tsunami and high gas prices. Even without the supply constraints, I suspect they'd be in short supply due to gas prices. Most dealers are not discounting below MSRP, and many are asking for mark ups.

Here's a link to a press release outlining production capacity:
Toyota USA Newsroom | Toyota Outlines Timeline for Restoring Normal Production

Quote from the release:
After an in-depth analysis of its suppliers affected by the earthquake and tsunami, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today that global production will begin to ramp up as soon as July in Japan and August in North America, with all models back to normal production by November or December 2011.

Currently, manufacturing plants in Japan are working at 50 percent of capacity due to parts availability, while those in North America are operating at 30 percent of capacity because of the parts supply situation.

I know of 2 high volume Prius dealers in the bay area who had some in stock last time I checked, and who have a policy of not selling above MSRP: Toyota Sunnyvale, and San Francisco Toyota. Might be worth it to buy one over the phone, get a Southwest one way ticket, and drive back home.

Regarding the 2012 Prius, new model year cars typically start arriving at dealers around September, but this not being a typical year, who knows.

 

I got a Prius III with navigation for 25500.00 and o% financing one year ago in Kennewick WA. Look around a little bit, I have head some dealers are NOT selling their cars above MSRP. I hope you can locate one because I am getting 53 miles ave. & it is well worth the effort to find one.:heh:

 

You got rid of the ITR??? NOOOOO!!! Its so hard to find one in socal. I would love an ITR to be my next car. How much did you sell it for if you dont mind me asking?

Ok, back to OP.

Congrats! When is the baby due? If you don't have to get a Prius right now, wait until fall. Prices should drop and incentives will be back. If you need a family car RIGHT NOW, get a cheap used car to hold you off until Prius prices are back to normal. Maybe you shouldn't have sold the ITR just yet. Btw, the CT does NOT have enough room for a stroller. My wife and I looked. We ended up getting an RX350 for her. The Prius will fit a stroller easily. I can fit two 26" bikes without taking the front tires off with the back seat down. If you really want a Prius, just wait a few more months. Good luck!