Nissan Certified Sales Consultant Buying a New 2014 Prius tomorrow... I have a few questions?

The 3 is worth the extra money and you do get a backup camera, if you were in a state that sold Pips, you could probably get one for about the same price as a Prius 3. Since you are not I'd ditch that idea, but you are going to save a lot of dough compared to the Juke. Ever considered a late model Altima Hybrid?

 

To each their own. I didn't want the navi but wanted the backup camera and solar panel which are only available on the Three so I went with that. Congrats on the new purchase! I love mine already, had her for a week now.

 

I didn't opt for the extended warranty either, didn't on the Mustang I sold for the Prius as well. I had a 2000 Contour that was only 3 years old when I got it and I didn't have anything go wrong that would have been covered under warranty.

Interestingly enough the more I kept declining the warranties the better of a deal I got. The F&I guy gave me a rate of 2.99 at first and when I kept declining he ended up giving me a rate of 2.59. When I asked about the 0% he said that was only if you didn't take the rebate. So right there I went online and compared rebate vs low APR and the rebate was better. I wonder why declining the warranties got me a better rate?

 

Personally, since you drive so far to work, and are driving into the city of chicago, i would run a dedicated set of snow tires in the winter. You're going to take a hit in MPG in the cold anyways, and most people with snows are still getting 42-48mpg. The prius will be fine then.

For me, i'm so used to driving AWD in the snow, i have a dedicated winter subaru for my snow days. I commute about 3.5hours a day total, so without AWD it would take me forever to get home on a snow day.

As for putting on 20k miles on your juke in only about 8 months. Electric motors are nothing new and are bulletproof, most of the time, the only thing that can really go wrong as the bearings, which are supposed to last the life of the vehicle. The transmission(PSD) is all inline and has a planetary gearset which does not shift, it uses electrical current to vary output, which makes it near bulletproof as well. Since the engine doesn't work very hard, it should last a long time too. Normally i trade my cars in over 200k miles, but i think i'll try for 300k miles on the prius. The simple design nature of the drivetrain should make it very reliable. I estimate i'm saving about $150-$200 a month on fuel alone, so the car will pay for itself over twice before i trade it in. Even then, i think when it hits 300k miles, i'll keep it and add a plug-out inverter to it, and use it as a super quiet portable generator for the house, camping etc..

 

Why didn't you go for the Three then?

 

The Toyota dealer didn't want to give me anything for my 2012 Mustang. They offered $14,000 but we got $16,500 from the Ford dealer we bought it from new. We were happy with that as it gave us a decent amount over what we owe that we can put towards the Prius.

I don't mind dealerships getting profit, they need some in order to stay open. What I don't want is them making an insane profit off each sale.

I never negotiate on payment and this deal wasn't either. Unfortunately they say that they "already discounted the car" so they couldn't go lower. Turns out the discount was with the rebate worked in and they didn't disclose that until F&I. I could have switched to 0% and lose the rebate but it worked out about the same after they lowered the interest rate. The sales price we agreed to (after the $1,200 rebate) was $23,892 and TrueCar had the car around $23,500. They did have to do a trade to get this car and we didn't have to pay for that, normally they charge $500.

Thanks! That feels good to hear from someone in the business.

 

Tax in my state is capped at $300 for vehicle sales.

One Ford dealer offered $16,000 over the phone. When I told the Toyota dealer they said they do wholesale to wholesale and can't do $16,000. I called bs on it because I saw a 2013 Mustang v6 on their used lot for 1 week and then it was gone.

Thanks, that makes me feel good that I got a deal. $1,800 how though? It wasn't far from TrueCar? I know I can't beat the house but I don't want them to rob me blind.

Pay for a dealer trade meaning you pay the fee to get it there?

 

Wow! That much? I would have thought $1,000 is a good profit for them on each car.

 

Interesting. I did not realize that. For some reason we got a much better deal on our '14 than some friends did on their '13 they got in October. I know they added leather upholstery and window tinting. I purchased from the same dealer and priced window tinting at $170 from the local shop they use (which I used for my Mustang as well) and leather at $1,100 from the local shop they use. They paid $1,800 for leather and $300 for window tinting. In all I think they got $27,000 for their car and we have $24,800 after taxes, tag, etc. They purchased a warranty and maintenance plan too and got a Prius Two. I think we came out ahead on that one.

 

How many miles were on your mustang?? What trim level and any certain options?? I'm looking online, and i can find a ton of 2012 mustangs with about 40k miles on them for $16k, optioned as base level as it can get. Higher trim levels go for more obviously. If yours was a base model, them offering you $14k sounds reasonable. The ford dealer can offer you $16k because it's their brand and can sell it higher because of that.

 

She's a 2012 Mustang v6 Premium with 26,400 miles, 6spd, comfort package and security package. We ended up taking the $16,500 as that was fair. That's the best price I was offered for her from anyone. One Toyota dealership offered $17,000 but they wouldn't come down further on their car so it balanced.

They've got her listed for $19,880. I tried pasting the listing but it didn't work. :/

Also, what area are you looking in? I've heard that Mustangs sell very well in some parts around the middle of the country. Here they're very plentiful so that will effect the value. We like our sports/muscle cars around here.