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Picking up today, what to check

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by maggieddd, Jul 13, 2005.

  1. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    Just like the subject says, what do I need to check before I get the car? What needs to be installed what doesn't? What should I pay attention to? The dealer may want to cheat a little girl, so I want to make sure I check everything. I don't want him to take something out like cargo mat or something else. I was rude to them when I went to buy it, becuase they quoted me $28390 so I called them names and they dropped to $26580 with the cargo and floor mats the rear bumper applique and wheel locks. So, how do I know that the bumper applique is there?

    Thanks
     
    #1 maggieddd, Jul 13, 2005
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    #2 efusco, Jul 13, 2005
  3. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    thanks, I am going to get in 2 hrs
     
    #3 maggieddd, Jul 13, 2005
  4. silentak1

    silentak1 Since 2005

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    You probably did get it by now, but you should check:

    1) Visual inspection of scratches
    2) Check for popping out things (i.e. bumper not clipped properly)
    3) Make sure the compartments do clip properly
    4) Reconfirm your free oil changes (if any)
    5) Try to get something for free! (Maybe a cargo net or accesory)
     
    #4 silentak1, Jul 13, 2005
  5. prion

    prion Junior Member

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    Have them install the rubber plugs that are in the gove box.
     
    #5 prion, Jul 13, 2005
  6. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    I actually didn't get my Prius. Here is a summary of what happened.
    I was supposed to pick up my car at 1:00pm. At 12:30 I got a call from the dealer saying that I can't finance my car if I am under my father's policy. I need to get my own. Damn. So I call different companies around and they quote me crazy crazy amounts. The cheapest one is $1000 more. I couldn't decide what to do. Figured I got to think about my options. By the time I am done it's like 3:00pm. So, I am like no way I can go to the dealer now since I have 1hr driving home and he is 30min away in the opposite direction. I am about to pack and go home and another dealer calls me and tells me that he just got one Prius BC package in Tideland Pearl. Damn, that's what I wanted originally. So, I ask him for the price, he quotes me the sticker price so I am saying well that's too much I can't do that. He says let me call you back in a few minutes. I decided to just go to the dealer to see the car (the dealer is only 5min away). I go there and he says I can give you $200 off. But I already put a $500 non-refundable deposit for a silver one which I was about to pick up today from somebody else. So, he says what will I have to do to make you buy from me. I said nothing, I already paid them and I will loose the money. Then I said unless you give me $500 discount. After 2 hrs there he gave me $700 discount, but I couldn't commit to it because I wasn't sure if I could just walk away from the other dealer. I just didn't know what to do. He said I could break the deal with the other dealer without any problems and that I could even recover my $500 from them. I wasn't sure if I could do that. I just didn't know what to do and told him I needed time till tomorrow to think about it. He was really trying to make me get it that night but said he would call me in the morning. So what should I do? Damn, I always complicate everything
     
    #6 maggieddd, Jul 13, 2005
  7. Sean & Ian

    Sean & Ian Junior Member

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    About a couple of weekends ago, we were talking to a Toyota SUV sales guy (we were looking at a Hybrid Highlander). We told him that we had decided to buy my Prius from another dealer because the Prius sales guy at his dealer insisted on a non-refundable deposit. The SUV sales guy said that it's refundable even if you signed a paperwork that says it's non-refundable.

    Why don't you just push to get your deposit back at the other dealer, since you've found the exact model you were looking for at cheaper price (and it's even closer!)?
     
    #7 Sean & Ian, Jul 13, 2005
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    You'll need to check MA state law, but I suspect there's not such thing as a "non-refundable" deposit. Did you make it on a specific VIN number or just a random 'next car'?

    Anyway, you're sweating this too much. Get your financing arranged and then you're in a position to do the negotiating.
     
    #8 efusco, Jul 13, 2005
  9. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    well, they actually gave me the window sticker of the car I am getting. I have it in my hand. It does have a VIN numer on it
     
    #9 maggieddd, Jul 13, 2005
  10. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    Will the Tideland Pearl clash with the color of your PowerBook?
    Therein lies the answer to your dilemma.

    The first dealer is trying to force a Silver Prius on you, took a “non-refundable†$500 deposit, then said you (they?) can’t finance your car if under your father's policy?

    Yet you can get the Tideland you really want at another dealer for a better price?

    I’d walk into the “Silver†dealer with the sticker and say, “You can’t finance me, oh darn, here’s your sticker, please return my deposit.â€
    Don't let those sharks talk you into anything!

    Then go get your Tideland!!!!

    You did not “pay†for the car, you did not drive the car off their lot, and they certainly did not change the registration with DMV. . . it is still their car! Them handing you the window sticker is a ploy to make you think something official has happened. Even if they handed you the keys and the little plastic divider for the upper glove box . . . IT IS STILL THEIR CAR!!!! They are the ones who said "No" . . . walk away.
     
    #10 Sufferin' Prius Envy, Jul 14, 2005
  11. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    That's right the Tdeland Pearl will NOT match my PowerBook any more. The only thing it will match now is my cat's fur ball.

    Actually, they said that my name needs to show on my father's policy, and it doesn't because I am on it as a part time drive kind of thing, so on the insurance card it only shows my father and my mother. I checked with my insurance and they verified that it was true.

    Here are my pros and cons of Silver vs. Tideland


    Silver:
    PROS
    1. Matches my Powerbook (the most important point :) )
    2. More visible on the road (safety)
    3. Won't show dirt as easily as the Tideland (inside and out), think
    4. Bumper applique and wheel locks

    CONS
    1. Too many silver Priuses around

    Tideland:
    PROS
    1. Less common

    CONS
    1. Matches my cat's fur ball (this could be under PROs, in on'es opinion)
    2. Will show dirt easier
    3. no wheel locks and bumper applique (doen't care for those that much)
     
    #11 maggieddd, Jul 14, 2005
  12. thelorax

    thelorax New Member

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    you should be able to get your deposit back. sometimes it takes a concerted effort (i had to make 6 phone calls and write 2 e-mails before i was told my deposit was refunded).

    i'm curious; which dealership(s) have you dealt with so far? i've dealt with three in the boston area recently (if the tideland pearl is from HCT, i probably got a call for that one too!)...you just have to be persistent and remember that it's your money and the dealers you work with should be respectful of this.

    and by the way, your cat's furballs are a soft hue of green?!?! that's actually pretty awesome.
     
    #12 thelorax, Jul 14, 2005
  13. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    When one talks about visibility of a vehicle, one must take into account when the most hazardous visibility conditions are likely to exist.

    I can’t imagine a Silver Prius would be at all visible during a Boston snowstorm!
    Kind of like a Cheshire Cat, you may be able to see the eyes and teeth, but forget about seeing the body. :wink:
     
    #13 Sufferin' Prius Envy, Jul 14, 2005
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You forgot another pro for Tideland. You have it at $700 off! Trust me, wheel locks and bumper applique won't cost $700. Besides, most people here say to go for the rubber bumper protector from the Matrix.
     
    #14 Tideland Prius, Jul 14, 2005
  15. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    OK, here is an update. I got the silver PRIUS. I actually like it. So that's fine. I just didn't feel like doing extra work, screw it. Whatever, I'll recoup.
    Well about the policy. I was told that I can't be on my dad's policy unless his is on my financing so he can register it and that way he can put me as a driver of his car. Screw that. I got my own. It's actually not that bad.

    All in all I got my PRIUS! And I love it. I wanted to go to work so badly today. I even got there earlier.

    Ohh, and my cat's furballs are the same color as the interior of the Tideland Pearl Prius. Unfortunately they are not soft hue of green, but I think I could make them green
    [Broken External Image]:http://www.ribghe.org/Maggie/skunk2ab.jpg
     
    #15 maggieddd, Jul 15, 2005
  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    yay and congrats!
     
    #16 Tideland Prius, Jul 16, 2005
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