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Best place to buy a Prius in SF Bay Area

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mahaprana, May 2, 2008.

  1. mahaprana

    mahaprana New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2008
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    Location:
    berkeley, ca
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Hi All,

    I live in Berkeley, CA and am getting ready to buy an 08 Prius and I could use help in deciding a dealership to buy it from. I'm thinking a package #5 in green or perhaps gold. Anyway, I've researched all of the numbers and am now looking for the "best" dealer to buy it from (most honest, reliable, least amount of games, etc) Basically, I'd like the buying process to be as non-adversarial as possible.

    I did a bit of exploration at Toyota of Berkeley and it felt a bit sketchy....the salesman said a couple of things that were blatantly not true, etc. Also, Toyota of Berkeley has received some scathing reviews on Yelp and I ran into a woman at the local gas station who had a Prius and said that she had a nightmare experience at TOB. That doesn't inspire too much confidence. Toyota of Marin didn't fare much better on Yelp.

    I'd love any feedback and suggestions. I'm very excited to get myself behind the wheel of a new Prius.

    thanks!

    -Josh
     
    #1 mahaprana, May 2, 2008
  2. discoganya

    discoganya Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2006
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    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Step 1: Visit 2008 Prius BIG SALE ***** HUGE DISCOUNT *****
    Step 2: Call the Internet Sales Manager
    Step 3: Tell you saw his ad. Tell him you will buy a green or gold Prius in stock *today* if he can reduce price by $500
    Step 4: Go pick up car at that price. This will probably be one of the best prices around.
    Step 5: Refuse all extended warranties and maintenance contracts.
     
    #2 discoganya, May 2, 2008
  3. NorCal Rusty

    NorCal Rusty RatherBWakeboarding

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2008
    189
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    Location:
    Napa
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Hi Josh,
    I bought mine from Toyota Vallejo, talk to Jason Sangmaster. They had the best price period. Two of my friends have bought from the same salesman with no problems too. Their finance guy will try to get you to buy extra stuff, just don't do it. Get your extended warranty here. I did my deal over e-mail. I asked for the bottom line price and the out the door price. Shopping at the end of the month helps too. I heard from this forum that the 2008's are being bought pretty fast. Toyota Vallejo sells lots of cars so hopefully you won't have a problem. Let me know how it turns out.
    Rusty
     
    #3 NorCal Rusty, May 2, 2008
  4. kimgh

    kimgh Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2006
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    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Might be a little far away for you, but Capitol Toyota in San Jose has a pretty good reputation and salespeople who are knowledgeable about the car. I bought a Camry from them 11 years ago and a my Prius from them 2 years ago, and am thinking of replacing the Camry with another Prius soon, and will probably buy that from them also.

    I don't know anything about them, but Sunnyvale Toyota seems to be selling Prii like hotcakes: I've seen 2 brand new ones from there this week (one is parked two doors down from me, in fact).

    So if you don't mind a trip to the South Bay, there are a couple of possibilities for you. I have no idea what Yelp says about either one of them, but you can check.
     
    #4 kimgh, May 2, 2008
  5. BS Mann

    BS Mann New Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2008
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    Location:
    Palo Alto, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    If you are a Costco member, the dealer is supposed to offer you the Costco member price of $200 over invoice. You can start there and try to negotiate down further, especially if they have more than one of the style you are looking for. I got a gold Touring with Package #6 at invoice at the Palo Alto Toyota dealer this way.
     
    #5 BS Mann, May 3, 2008
  6. Del Boy

    Del Boy New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2008
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    Location:
    Oakland, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I second the Vallejo Toyota recommendation. Try to get an email quote from them, first.
     
    #6 Del Boy, May 3, 2008
  7. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    772
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    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Barcelona Red touring is the way to go. My seaside blue may be the best color pre-2006 but the new barcelona red bestills my heart.

    are there still toyota incentives for the prius? because aren't they having trouble getting rid of the 08's since an all new '09 redesign is coming that's supposed to get 80+mpg.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    does anybody know the release date & how close the actual car will come to the above concept?
     
    #7 cnschult, May 4, 2008
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