Questions about Prius.. prices, dealer vs. private sale warranty, end of year sales, etc.

Hello! I am a newbie!! I've been thinking about getting a Prius as my next car for a long time. I think I am finally ready to get a new car after 10 years of driving mine! I test drove a 12' Prius Three yesterday and it was almost $26k AFTER my trade in of $2500 (includes 6% tax and dealer fee). I think I am looking for a pre-owned however.. new ones seem a bit pricey. I was going to look at one tomorrow morning but it's sold already! It was a 2010 with just under 10k miles for $18999. It was toyota certified, had a clean carfax, except one accident which was a minor rear-end back up (which I've done myself in the past.. oops) I was disappointed it was sold because I am seeing nothing as good of a deal as this!

I am not sure how I want to go about this purchase, but for me to be happy with the payment, I think I need to buy pre-owned. However, I am weary of buying something that already has 30-40k miles on it, which most of the 2010 and 2011s I am seeing have. See, I would be keeping this car for about 10 years, so the lower the miles- the better!

This brings me into the warranty. It's normally 8 years/100k miles, right? But I've read that if you live in a California Emissions state, that that warranty becomes 10 years/150k miles. So, if this is true, and I live in Florida (which I read has adopted California Emissions, please correct me if I am wrong), then any 2010 I'd buy is warrantied until 2020 or 150k miles. Any 2011 is warrantied until 2021 or 150k miles. The saleswoman didn't know anything about this- which has made me doubt that it is true, however. If CE policy applies then I'd be more comfortable buying a 2010 with 30k miles. Any information or experience with this, in Florida?

Next, I have seen some private sales with better prices, but have the seemingly average 30-40k miles. One, buying as private sale irks me a little. Two, I cannot use my trade to get my payment down (worth to them, a (sarcastic) whopping $2500 ). There is also a 2010 Prius Three private sale, for $23k which has the solar roof, jbl stereo, navi, etc., with 18-19k miles. I think it's overpriced for private sale.

The next one I've seen for sale at a local dealer is also a 2010, Prius Two. Toyota Certified. It's basic, no fancy features. It has JUST under 29k miles (except looking at the photos I think the mileage may show a tad under 34k! ugh!) and it seems they are asking either $21,271 or $19,852 (not sure which yet, website info is not clear). Again, not sure if this is a good price, and I am weary of buying a 2010 because it won't be warrantied for as long, and already has 30k miles.

Then there's a 2011 Two for $19988 with 36k miles. Then there's a 2011 for $23998 with 5k miles.

Prices are all over the place and are confusing me. I can't grasp what would be a good price and what is overpriced because prices are all over the place. Perhaps I am an unrealistic newbie. I want a low mileage Prius for under $20k basically. I don't need the fancy features, and don't care whether its a Two, Three, Four or Five.
Now that we are nearing the end of the year, buying a 2010 means the car will be considered 3 years old on January 1. Less warranty. Which brings me to my next question- should I wait until the end of this year, or beginning of next year to see if there are any better prices on 2011s versus the 2010s? Am I logical to believe that once another year hits that the 2 year old model's prices would drop a little? Or maybe there will be some unbelievable sale on 2012s that will make them affordable to me? It's like that with many other model cars, but maybe not this one since it's.. popular.

Resale value doesn't matter as much to me since I will be keeping it for a long time.
Thanks in advance!!!

 

Thanks! I am glad I came here, because I very well may have wound up spending way too much otherwise! I am located in Northwest Florida, if that helps. I also joined Truecar.com and in my zipcode to +75mi, it has an average price paid on a Prius (Base I am sure) of $23,771. If I could get a brand new for $22k, I'd do it in a heart beat!

....maybe I should go to Atlanta to get one. I am willing to travel for a great price!

 

World Toyota, by chance? Just did some google'ing.. and they have great "e-prices". Enticing. However the ones I am seeing are Prius II for the price you paid. Not sure how that would work living in Florida though. I'd have to pay FL sales tax... but do I ALSO have to pay GA sales tax??

 

Thank you for replying Yes, I do know that.

 

Thanks JimN!
I thought a little more about it, and I have decided to try and sell my current car privately and then look into getting a new Prius. Thanks to Joshua above, I looked into prices in Georgia, because it's not that far from me and they definitely have good prices there! Cheaper than here.. so I will most likely buy brand new because I am able to get a discount through TrueCar which makes a brand new 2012 in Georgia just over $22k. Although I am not completely sure about how the taxes work, I did have a friend that bought a car (I believe) in Georgia so I can ask him how it worked. It just doesn't make sense to me to spend $19k or $20k on a used Prius with already 30k+ miles on it. Unless I can find one that is a 2011 with abnormally low mileage for around 20k.. I am not sure it makes sense. Especially since I will keep the car for at least 10 years, it makes more sense to buy brand new albeit there is significant depreciation. I bought my current car brand new and I always loved the fact that I know exactly where it's been

So now it's a matter of hopefully selling mine soon. If I do, then I will get a 2012 very soon. Otherwise I will wind up having to decide whether or not I will monitor for any special "deals" on 2012s once the 2013s roll out- or wait for a 2013, but I have no idea if it'd be worth waiting since I don't know when or what these "deals" on leftovers would be.

 

I went back to the dealership where I test drove the 2012 Prius Three. That one's MSRP was about $27.8k. The one they showed me this time had an MSRP of $27,503 because they've added mats, cargo mat and ToyoGuard Elite (much to my dismay.. they say it's already done so it comes with the car). I no longer have a trade, I sold it for more than they were offering me (much quicker than I expected so now we're sharing a car until I find what I want). I brought them a True Car quote for a dealer in Tampa which was for $22528 for a Prius Three. I could easily fly into Tampa on my way back from vacation and drive home... but it's 7.5 hrs away.

The sales manager told me flat out that they cannot meet that price as they'd lose $3500 on the sale. I told them I knew it was aggressive, but it's an option for me. So, they came at me with $24,500 for this Prius Three with MSRP of $27503. And before I walked out he asked me if another $500 off would help me make a decision that day. I said it would help, but I was not making a decision that day... so he was really nice and not too pushy and said just to talk to him when I go back or call his cell. So chances are I can get this for $24000 (+ttl).

However, I've received MANY quotes and only one other in the ballpark from one of their competitors. Others were from other areas of FL and one a couple in Georgia.

The one from one of their area competitors is $23499 for a Three, base- no options. No mats, nothing and they'd pull it from port so it's had nothing added to it. Just standard- which isn't that bad since the Prius is well equipped standard. I can choose a color, having to pay extra for Blizzard Pearl if I want that. But their "dealer/doc fee" is about $300 more than the other dealer my offer came from, plus a $41 title fee. All in all, it's still slightly cheaper but it's also 1.5 hours away.

Is $24k a good price for the Prius Three with the mats and ToyoGuard elite? I am having a hard time because I am paying extra for that toyoguard that I don't really care much about. I was thinking of going in tomorrow and telling them I got the other offer from another area dealer for $23500 and see what they can do. If they can come closer to that and throw in a cargo net then I will give them a deposit/ Bbecause I will be out of town till the 29th, I'd give some $$ to hold then finalize before the end of the month. But I have a feeling they're already going under invoice and can't really go under that $24k mark.. but I really have no idea.

 

I spoke with the dealer... and they sold the one they were offering me originally. So, I told them what the other competitor dealer had offered me, and they almost matched it. They were $3 more ... however, with mats AND ToyoGuard Elite. $25543.01 OTD. Car price is $23503.00. I think I did well! I will be putting a deposit down this evening and it will be ordered from Port, arriving just before I get back from vacation.
My salesperson did call me back after and asked me how I was financing (I am putting about 32% down the OTD) I told her through my bank. She told me that they can match the rate, and if I finance through them then it would really help her out- I think she's losing her commission or getting much less. I kind of feel a little guilty .. yet proud at my negotiation skills this time around.

 

They are going to match it, and it's through Toyota Financial. I don't see a problem with doing the financing through them. Or is there? This is only my second car purchase and the first one, I depended on my Mom to do everything so there may be something I am not aware of!

 

Thanks I am going to have notes of what the payment should be. I will not need GAP because the amount we're financing is significantly less than value/price. I am nervous because who knows if they try to throw something in there. I just need to be cautious and go over with as fine a comb as I have

 

Ohh, sneaky! I need to be on the lookout for that. And that happened when I signed on my last car. As I said, I was depending on Mom but she didn't pay attention either! I know my payment should be a couple cents under $270. If it's any more than that then I know they snuck something in there! Thanks for the heads up all!

 

We always pay extra on stuff.. so is it typically a problem to pay off a loan early with Toyota Financial??? I asked the salesperson and she said no. And I would imagine that's not a problem, and no penalty.