Will Inventories Normalize in the Fall of 2011?

My dealer in Moline, Illinois has about thirty in stock with a $500 discount in last weeks ads.

I got retail on my trade the last three times that bought from them.

It sounds like you could take four days off and drive out here and be ahead of the game by a couple thousand.

This area is depressed and the dealership built a huge new store two years ago with the agreement that their annual allotment would increase 1,500 cars. They are packed with cars that they can't sell.

If you want, pm me and I will give you their phone number and the name of their best sales rep.

 

I really can't see this happening. I think pricing will stay right where it is. Without the panic buying that the gas crisis has inspired, Prii pretty much sat on the lots from last summer all the way to april/may or so when gas prices skyrocketed. That is why they were discounting all the way to invoice or less, AND offering $1500 rebates and 0% financing .... and they STILL sat on the lots.

Prii are great cars and I love mine, but I love it at < $21K brand new ... no more than that. If people do the math, they'll quickly begin to see that it takes about 10 years to pay back the price premium against cars like the new Hyundai Elantra or Ford Focus, which BOTH get right around 40 mpg highway, and about 35 mpg combined. Although we hear occasional fantastic MPG claims here on the forum, the reality is that the Prius gets about 47 MPG on AVERAGE for most people, as is born out by sites like fuelly, the govt site, and consumer reports. Personally I've gotten 48.X mpg on average over 8000+ miles and that's good enough for me. If Prii cost $25K+ ... I'd be driving an Elantra or Focus at $7-10K less.

Toyota should be careful not to get too big for their britches with the Prius family, because if gas goes back to $2-2.50 per gallon, they'll have lots full of them again and have to incentivize them to move them.

As I've said in the past ... the Prius is NOT a $25K+ car, IMO, and loading them up with glitzy high tech options doesn't change that fact, nor does the fact that they're in high demand right now because of gas prices. Most people don't WANT to drive a Prius ... they do it out of financial necessity, and if that financial necessity goes away .... so does their desire for a Prius, as evidenced by the glut of Prii on the lots prior to gas spiking significantly.

If more people understood how the Prius worked, they would appreciate them far more. I talk to so many people who ask where I plug it in, and how far it will go on electric ... the general public just has no idea. Most also don't REALLY BELIEVE that they get the mileage that they do either .... most people I talk to about them make statements like ... 'yeah, but I heard they don't get anywhere near the mileage that they're rated at', which of course can be the case if the drivers are foolish, and it's the middle of winter.

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If optioned out like a Prius, the Elantra and Focus close that monetary gap so the savings become smaller even though you are buying a smaller car with less utility and much reduced MPG. The Elantra is closer to $17-18k so the savings on the car is not so huge although $6,000 buys A LOT of fuel. Maybe you meant the Accent which is much cheaper with a base MSRP of $12.5k?

IMO the Prius would not have been so successful had it been a sedan style vehicle. The MPG, the utility and uniqueness is what pushed the Prius to the top. So when you make comparisons keep in mind that many of us need that hatchback!

 

I agree F8L, on the hatchback ... not so much on the 'optioned out' part. I drove a Hyundai Elantra that listed at $17.8 with the auto, and could have bought it for about $16.8 ... considering that Prii today are around $25K ... that's $8.2 K for fuel, which ... when comparing real world MPG's ... is about 35 to 47. At 15K miles per year, that's 10+ years to 'recoup' the difference. The base Elantra is a very nicely equipped vehicle, and the 6 speed trans is a thing of delight. Now I know it's a smaller car, AND it's not a hatchback, but I would have foregone the Prius if it hadn't been $21K.

The hatchback certainly is a huge plus. I've hauled a metal 10X12 shed, and floor kit, and two 12 foot pieces of indoor outdoor carpeting and a pressure washer with mine. I love the hatchback ... but as I said ... If the Prius had been $25K like they seem to be now ... I'd be driving and loving an Elantra, and pulling a little trailer (when I needed to) instead of using the hatchback like I do now.

I have to admit though .... after averaging mid 48's ... it would be damn hard to go to 35 ever again .... but .... if I had never experienced mid 48's ... 35 would have been OK I guess.

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I hear ya.

Personally I will not pay over $26k for a Prius. I paid $28k for mine but that was in 2005 when there were almost no cars available let alone finding a deal on one. I even settled for red with tan/white interior and I hate both of those colors! I once searched for my perfect Corvette in blue with gray interior. It took me 4 months to find one because nearly all the blue ones had tan/camel interior. I was suckered into the Prius. lol

 

HAHA !! I set the bar even lower !! Right at $21K this January when they couldn't GIVE the poor things away ! I got top dollar for my 08 RAV4 trade (since it was winter here in PA and snowy), and stole the Prius for roughly $3k off sticker. I figured it would have been about a $6K different deal today with the gas prices where they are.

Did you finally find and buy your Vette ??

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Damn you! You got a great deal and I got taken to the cleaners! lol

I did get the Vette but that was back in 2002.MSRP on a new one was $55k but I bought it used in mint condition with like 18k miles on it and paid $36k. I sold it in 2004 though.



Not before enjoying it for a couple of years! Muahahaha

 

That car is hot F8L !! If only it got 50 mpg and was a hatchback !! LOL

Too bad the Prius doesn't sound like that too !

Never owned a Corvette ... always kinda wanted one.


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It actually was a hatchback! It only got 30mpg Hwy and 26mpg average though. With the targa top (big sheet of glass roof) off it could only haul a 11"x8" piece of paper. Hahaha

 

Oh yeah ... that's right !! It is a hatchback !

The paper was folded ... right ?

Great vids ! I watched them all. My 93 Mustang GT wasn't very good in the snow either. It just stood still.

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My Prius does all that too, but someone was chasing me...

 

Back on topic, I ordered a 2011 III for $300 under MSRP. The majority of the dealers in my area are asking for sticker, while the others have marked up the cars by way of extremely overpriced add-ons. I am guessing that the supply issues caused me to pay around $500 more; if I recall correctly, the Prius normally sells for a few hundred over invoice even when the supply is "plentiful."

MB860 ?

 

I'm sure this will work out nicely for you. I'm assuming your dealer has a reputation for integrity and not try to bump price when its time for delivery. You make sound as if the car had some add-ons. Best wishes...