Did you order your first Prius Prime WITHOUT ever having seen one in person ?

It was not yet one year either.

 

KBB listed the 2017 PIRME of my trim (Premium with standard option) with my mileage (40K) and condition (VERY GOOD) at $18100 cash offer. But when I took it to the dealer, they lowered the ball. I got $16900 for it. I may have gotten better deal if I tried harder at different dealers, but I had to do the deal at a Toyota dealer in order to do trade-in for 2020 PRIME. That another Toyota dealer would have been a few hundred miles away. I decided not to risk loosing the offer I had on the table.

 

I had the ability to test drive one at a dealer, prior to purchasing at another. First dealer didn’t have the one I wanted. It would have been nice to test-drive a fully-charged Prime prior to purchasing. Love running in EV mode.


iPad ?

 

Even for those that did a test drive, since they never seem to keep the battery charged up on the lot... once you get it and fully charged up, pop it into Power Mode and see how satisfying it is to drive EV + Power!

Trunk space is pretty limited, but okay as long you have other cars if you need to haul bigget items. Fine for commuting though.

 

In my case, I scheduled the test drive ahead of time so they had the car charged and ready to drive in EV mode.

As for trunk space, I go camping in my Prime, carrying a pop-up canopy and a stand-up tent that hangs from that; a cot; camp stove; sleeping bag; two tables (a folding table and a roll-top); a medium size tote with the various camp kitchen implements and other camping items; a small ice chest; an 18-Ah 12-V battery to run lamps and radios and charge phones; a bag chair; and a suitcase of clothes etc.

Granted, I camp alone so the suitcase is usually in the front.

For tailgating I lose the tent, sleeping bag and suitcase but sometimes add a TV and a stand to mount it on as well as a small grill. I usually have a passenger, too.

Pretty much what I carried in my Gen3.

 

The first one I saw was one I hunted down, with some difficulty, for a test drive. The next and only other one I have seen is the one I ordered. I hate to admit, but I paid MSRP -$200, because there were no others available that I could find - and I did not feel like flying somewhere and dealing with registration issues. I used to haggle prices every car I purchased, but this dealership knew they had me boxed in and made it clear that giving me $200 off MSRP was all they’d do.
It boggles my mind why they aren’t more popular in my region.

 

My wife and I drove from Omaha NE to Fox Lake IL to purchase our 2020 Prius Prime Limited 11-2019. We had not driven any late model Prius and not see a Prime. We couldn't be more pleased with our purchase. These seem to be a difficult find in Nebraska. I committed to buy, over the phone, the first LTD I found in red.

SM-G960U ?

 

Hey @huskers!! Check out the above post. Another Nebraska Prime. Whoot!!

Never said it was. "I bought mine used 360 days ago. Or was it 361 since it's leap year?"

I got that same $18,100 when I checked KBB. So I wondered how it would translate at a dealership. Thanks.

 

In addition to everything else you expect me to READ?? !!

 

And do math at the same time.

 

I was told by the dealer salse person that KBB inflate used car value quite a bit. The dealer I visited tried hard to get the number close to the KBB offer, but they also said in my region where $9000 rebates and incentives are available, there is no market for the used PRIME. So they have to take into consideration of transporting the car to somewhere south as you found yours from NH. As hard to admit it on a car sales rep, I think he was being honest. lol

 

You'd be surprised how much actually fits inside the cargo area. We moved stuff out of grandpa's house, getting it ready for sale. Table, chairs, cabinet, lawn mower, etc... lots of paint, power-washer, ladder.

 

We used cargurus, dealer websites, and actual visits to Toyota sites within a reasonable radius but got the best deal via Costco. The dealer gave us $22,800 for our 2018 Prime Premium, which exceeded both the KBB and Edmunds trade in estimates. The car had 15.5K miles and was in excellent condition, but wow (the dealer where we bought our 2018 offered only $15,900).

The dealer was very easy to work with, going to the Boston area to fetch one of the few Blue Magnetism Limiteds in the region (we are about 2 hours away in CT). After taxes, rebates, and EV incentives (federal and state) the net difference to do the upgrade was insanely small. We met them on a Friday and they had our car by Monday afternoon.

As and aside, this is my first trade in. ever. With 4 kids and 3 grandchildren of driving age I was always either the "Oprah": you get a car, you get a car, you get... or donated them to charity. Heck, it sure was nice to lower the tax bite!

 

Yeah, after reading your comment on the price paid thread, I was motivated to trade in my 2017. I had 40K on mine and had normal dings and wears. I had to call it the "Very Good" category at best. I was hoping to get 18K for it, but I ended up with ~17K. But it was still a good trade. Unlike you, I downgraded to LE from Premium, so even with less trade-in value I am almost even after the tax credit next year and considering no need to buy a new set of tires and pay for maintenance for 2 years.