Please Help Me with some Basic Questions !!!

I would think the deposit just shows you are really interested. I am sure others would be too, so it would also save it for you.

Deposits are refundable if you dont take the car. I have never known a dealer to try to keep it. They might try to talk you into a car rather than give it back tho.

My car is the pkg 2 like yours would be. You should depending on your locale be able to get maybe a 1000 under msrp but again this is depending on a number of factors like how many cars are around and how many people want them, local market conditions, etc. It cannot hurt to try.

I cannot speak to tint. I didnt have it done. The car is a real hoot to drive. It is actually fun. I love the MFD (multi function display) and the stereo is pretty good too. I know you will love it.

 

I'm not much help but I can tell you that I've been emailing Dealers in the Midwest (IA, IL, MN, etc) and so far the only "deal" off of MSRP that I've got has been $375. Where are you located? In this area there aren't too many and the responses I've been getting is that they can't keep them on the lot. One guy actually told me he's been "selling one every 3 to 4 hours." I'm expanding my email request for quotes to other states to see what other areas have to say, might be an option for you.
I might end up waiting till fall. The '09 should be out around Aug/Sept I saw somewhere on a post and hope that some '08's will "magically" appear and the dealers will want to sell for less.

A girl can dream, right? =)

 

I dont think asking for a deposit is out of the ordinary. These are hot items.....no matter where you live. The dealer we bought from (Pappas Toyota in St Peters Missouri) had a bunch of Prii on the lot but they didnt have a Red #2. They found one from another dealer and we signed preliminary papers and left a $300 check. The next evening, they called and said the other dealer sold the red one and what did we want to do instead? my husband got them to take 300 off the price of our second choice, the seaside pearl package 3 and we had already received a 700 dollar discount through USAA, so we got ours for 1k less. that was march 15 and things (gas situation) has worsened. I think they must have had 15 or 20 Prii on the lot then. Havent checked what they have now.

 

down payment on this car ? Is it because it is in such hot demand that they are doing this?? Is the deposit refundable??...it should be

They have no prius in stock to let me (re)test drive, so I'm basically at a disadvantage right now....

And if they happen to find me "my" Prius, is this car such a hot commodity nowadays that no one is negotiating the MSRP ?? Just write out the check?? everything is negotiable

Is it really worth getting the touring model over the others ??
if you drive a lot YES

Is it cheaper to have tinting (dark) later, or as an option ??
after

 

Ask the dealer. If they say the deposit is not refundable, forget that dealer.

 

Check the True Market Value on Edmunds.com for your area. This will tell you what people in your area have been paying for the car/package you want. This should at least help some.

 

I don't know where you live, but one LA dealer boasted 50 Prius in stock. I've seen lots of them on dealer lots even with $4 LA gas. I went on carsdirect.com back in 06 when supplies were really tight, and got the car the same day. They found a dealer 50 miles away. I took the drive, drove "my" car, wrote the check, and I was out of there in 45 minutes. Unless you are really picky about color, options, or whatever, these days I can't see any reason to play the "deposit, then wait" game. Give one of the online services a try.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see your later post that you are in Florida. The online service should still apply. Believe me, Prius supply is much more plentiful now than when I bought mine.

 

+1 i used cars.com, not only did they find the color/pkg i want, but they also saved me about $1500 (advertise price) compared to what the actual dealer had it listed for...woohoo

 

I tend to agree with all the comments. It is a normal procedure to give the dealer a deposit but always make sure IN WRITING that IF they can not get the car delivered by a (date), deposit is refundable. In Florida, before I purchased my Prius in early April, there was a good supply on hand and in the pipeline. Having said that, many it seems were "pre-sold". Also, it appears that the division of Toyota that covers FL has an addon called something like "ToyoGuard" which adds about $699 to the price of each car. I didn't think it was worth the money. You can avoid having it added to the car if the dealer can "snatch" the car before final processing I believe in Jacksonville and have this so called option not applied. I looked today at inventories and they are way down so the Prius is a hot seller right now and dealers know hot sellers don't need to be discounted. I did get 5% off list price before gas hit $3.50 a gallon in Tampa. Before I bought down here, I checked with dealers in WI and MN and some had no Pruis models on hand and would have to trade for those models with dealers out of state. Prius not a popular car in states of snow and cold it seems.

 

I would not agree with that statement Maybe not as popular closer to Detroit? I went to Northampton, MA last Saturday (400 mile round trip) and saw literally DOZENS of Prii on the road. There are 6 in my neighborhood of ~80 homes.

Regarding the refundable deposit question. I agree with the poster who said "get it in writing". I think it is most commonly refundable, for any reason, but you don't want an unscrupulous dealer playing 'legal' games with you.

From the early days of this forum there were reports of the Southeast region ALWAYS adds high profit, low (for most) desirability "port options" before it gets to the dealer so you have no choice but to pay for them if you want a Prius. I don't think any other region does that and I'm not sure how the SE region gets away with it. Time for a customer uprising.

 

I just went through this in Central Texas. They asked for a $500.00 deposit, and I gave them my debit card information. They never even withdrew the money. I did ask if it was refundable and the dealer said if I didn't buy the car, for any reason, it was refundable.

When I went looking 8 weeks ago, they had about 7 on the lot. I didn't want any of the dealer options, so I ordered a base model with package 2. The dealer said it would take 3 weeks. They "claimed" just before those weeks were up that my car was held up in customs and it would take another 2-3 weeks. Well, it took closer to 7 weeks. I picked it up last Friday and they had no more on the lot, and were telling present buyers 7-8 weeks minimum.

I talked them down to $750 below MSRP. I'm happy with the level 2, except I do miss my 6 CD changer and the leather in my last car. The steering wheel is a rough plastic, and feels a little weird, but I didn't think the other packages were worth the price.

I love my Prius. I think they will get harder to find the more gas prices climb. I'd grab one as soon as you can unless you can wait till the end of the year, when sales are slower.

Oh, and I just got the windows tinted with a lifetime warranty for $139.95 +tax.

 

You should have negoatia the price first before put down any deposit. You dont want to wait 2-3 weeks than find out the price is too high. Also, depend on where you live, some places are hard to get Prius. I live in NYC, at least you get 500 less MSRP for a package 2. However, one dealer i went to said they can "order" the color/package i wanted but had to be MSRP. Some dealers told you everything you want to hear and want you come to the dealer, i never like that.

One dealer told me if oil keep raising, he may sell it couple hundreds OVER MSRP, what a BS. Prius has high demand but it isnt like couple years ago, I think buyer now should never pay MSRP unless you live in a city has no prius.