Shopping with many questions

For buying advice see the Consumer Reports website
ConsumerReports.org - Car buying guide for new and used cars by Consumer Reports
or their April car buying issue in most libraries. I had negotiated for a car only once before this. Using their advice I shopped and bought mine entirely by phone, email and fax, and used dealers against each other to get the best price. It was not hard or stressful.

 

After shopping around on the internet, I was contacted by several dealers. These dealers had an Internet Dept, which was staffed by some sharp people. Before I ever went to a dealer I had a starting price that was below invoice.......not the sticker plus somewhere between $2k and 7k that the stickers on the cars showed.

I was looking for a touring with package 6....tough to find right now in my area. I bought a non-touring package 6. Very happy with it. One of the Internet managers told me she had sold many of each model, and she personally did not think (and had gotten feedback from her customers) that the two models handled pretty much the same. My package 6 standard has the touring headlights and fog lamps. I decided to buy a Prius after having rented them a few times over the past few months. They were so much fun to drive, and got such good mileage, I couldn't resist.

 

I have the non-touring model, and it's fine on the highway. Think of the touring model as sort of a GT: It has stiffer suspension and bigger wheels. Some people buy it because they drive hard and take corners fast, others because the wheels look cool. The normal model will give you a softer ride, the touring model has less body roll on corners. Either one is a great car.

As for features, make sure you get VSC and side air bags. Optional features that I like are SKS (the smart key system - you never need to take your keys out of your purse), bluetooth (for hands-free use of your cell phone), and NAV (GPS navigation). With the better packages you will also get the JBL sound system with a six disk changer and AUX IN for mp3 players.

Have fun shopping,
Tom

 

Go to SMART Toyota in Madison WI and ask to speak to Mike Diggman. Tell him his only Prius Customer in Rochester MN sent you. He'll give you a smiking deal.

 

The touring model comes with HID headlights standard. If you get the non-touring, the HID headlights are available as part of several of the option packages.

 

Don't know if you've found your Prius yet, but check out the Madison (or Milwaukee) Hybrid groups. You can talk to owners of both Touring & Base models & get some input there. Google them to get their websites & go from there. The groups meet in alternating months - March meeting is in Madison. Date, time & place on their website.

 

My advice, is do your actual negotiating the last week of the month. Dealers get a bit softer at the end of the month, to get their sales up.

Do contact several dealers via their Internet sales departments (if you go to toyota.com, and do the "build your own prius" thing, they will use your zip code to give you dealers to contact), and let them know what you are looking for. Don't hesitate to let them know that you are shopping around. They will get competitive!

Figure out what you want, for you. We are very happy with a standard, base model. Others MUST have the Nav, the Bluetooth, and the SKS. It's your choice, and this car really should last you as long as you want it to... if you like to trade up every few years, or if you plan to drive it into the ground... be aware that, with proper maintenance, into the ground could be a half-million miles, seriously.

 

Nothing is free on a car. Pay the dealer for it here, or pay them there.

Mud guards require drilling holes through the factory-applied paint and corrosion protection. I wouldn't do it.

 

Take a look at my posts on the "Dealer Profit Margin" thread in the main forum. As I said, the only way to be a smart negotiator is to know the EXACT cost to the dealer (including the exact cost of each option) including his rebates from Toyota. That is easily obtainable for $14 from Consumer Reports and other sources.

Once you know his cost, you negotiate from the bottom up -- not the top down from the artificial MSRP.

 

Lots of good advice already given my forum members. I agree 100% to do more internet shopping for your Prius online. Almost all dealerships have their own website and also lists their current inventory online. Driving around and spending too much time from one dealership to the next is not my cup of tes. I personally have not used consumer reports, but it may help in your negotiating strategies. Have fun shopping.

 

I just purchased my silver pkg #6 in Morgantown, WV... I paid $25,892 for the car + tax, title, fees.. no extras..

As for the touring after I drove a Prius pkg #6 I felt the ride was great (from my 00 jeep wrangler).. didn't worry about touring.. then again I couldn't wait to get my color of choice so I just took the sliver off the lot because he looked like he needed a good home.

 

I have the Spectra Blue and love the color more each day. You will have to see one to see if you like it (and you will). It shows dirt like any dark color. Right now, due to the snow melting, mine is clean on the top and dirty on the bottom, if you catch my drift. The top half looks very good.

 

I installed the mud guards on my Prius. The holes are drilled through plastic pieces (inner fenderwell) only, so there is not a corrosion issue.

I only installed the front pair because there is not that much car body to protect after the rear wheels.

The mud guards are a Canadian OEM part; most of the US dealers do not carry it, but you can buy through the PriusChat store or on Ebay.

 

Unless you are really into "sporty" driving, i.e. good handling in tight curves and a stiffer, more controlled ride, you might wish to reconsider the Touring package. The stiffer suspension and larger wheels will give you a noticeably stiffer (harsher over bumps and pavement irregularities) ride. The larger "spoiler" in the back is a bit of an absurdity on a Prius, IMHO. You can get the HID lights and fog lights as an option on a non-Touring Prius if you want them.

Bob N.