invoice pricing add-ons (???)

Invoice w/o all the extras would be more like it. the dealers cost pls 1-3% is where I feel like I can live with the deal. Remember he still has hold back $.

 

I thought that all toyotas were delivered with a full tank of gas. In any case, I cannot see why you wouldhave to pay " $11.40 Fuel" fees. Either it seems that it shouldbe for the whole tank of gas, or no bill at all for it. 11.40 seems very odd to me.

 

The cars leave the factory with a few gals, and this is the charge to the dealer for that. The dealers fill the tank up prior to delivery.

 

I've purchased several cars (non-Toyota) using the "factory invoice +" method (my 2010 Prius was the second one delivered by my dealer, and there wasn't much negotiating going on back then, unfortunately). The dealers always try to roll in all the misc. charges, but I push back and they eventually cave. They sing the blues about these fees, so I say OK, then we need to also take holdback into account, and they cave. Give it a try.

 

My TDA on their invoice was closer to $500 so my salesguy was bragging that they "were really not making anything on this deal"... ah ya, right. I was $700 over what I believe the invoice was ($25, 515 for a IV with no options) and that wasn't including any holdback savings for them. He did throw the full tank of gas in and the carpeted floor mats... what a guy. I don't care if they make money - that's the point of their business, but don't lie to me about the "invoice" price. Irritating.

 

The dealer I bought from just last week was $300 below invoice. The only "add ons" over that was state sales tax, state vehicle registration fees, and a "documentary fee" of $299. Came with a full tank of gas.

Another dealer who I got a quote from prior to actually buying the car, did include an "advertising fee" like that, I think it was around $425.

 

I think the invoice you can find on websites doesn't include the options which unfortunately includes even the carpeted floor mats. I'm surprised that you're having trouble finding prius IIs in so cal. I got my prius II about two and a half weeks ago and it seemed like every single dealer in the area had just gotten a bunch of them. I guess the dealer incentives are working really well. Did the quote above include any options?

If you're looking for a recent comparison from so cal, I got my prius ii with the blizzard pearl paint, floor mats, and blu-logic options for $22970+tax+all the other state fees (about $400). That was at south bay toyota. I had to go to the dealer to bargain them down to that. The best quote I could get over email for a similar or worse set of options was $23200. I'm pretty jealous with people on the east coast and in the midwest who seem to easily find prius IIIs for 1k less.

Hope that helps.

 

Build your car at www.aaa.com & get a few dealer quotes.

 

Agree with the AAA thing -- it's easy to do and they give you 2 or 3 dealer quotes immediately. I got my III last week for $300 under invoice, which is what was quoted going through AAA, no hassles at all.

 

MSRP @ $23,819

Invoice = $22,354

Holdback = $456

So dealer cost would be $21,898. I would shoot for 1-3% over that minus rebate ($750 if available in your area). Plus TTL and I wouldn't pay much "DOC" fees if any.

 

Fuel? Thats some audacity!

 

Last line of "standard" equipment

 

What you're seeing is that there are various definitions of invoice price, depending on which mandatory (to the dealer) charges are in the calculation.

There are charges over which a dealer has no choice. TDA is the Toyota Dealers' Advertising -- it can vary by region, but it's not a choice for the dealer to make. It's mandatory. In my region, the last time I looked at a dealer inventory page (few weeks ago) the TDA was $482. So, some people refer to "dealer invoice" to include that charge, some don't.

Another major area of confusion is whether someone is defining "invoice price" as including or not-yet-including the $750 Destination Charge, over which again the dealer has no control.

On my recent purchase of a Prius III, no packages:

• the initial dealer price of the car to the dealer was $21,442
• destination charge of $750 then added [no choice]
• TDA charge of $482 then added [no choice in my region]

While those aren't all the items which come into play, the above shows that someone could say the invoice price is:

• $21,442, or
• $22,672 -- which is $21,442 + $750 + $482

But, we're far from done in calculating a real dealer invoice price which reflects what the car costs the dealer.

At this point, there isn't yet a line item for accessories. Ultimately, those are part of the dealer's cost. If the dealer throws them in for free, understand that it's giving away something the $22,672 above doesn't yet have in the equation. They're taking a total loss on the cost of any accessories in such a case. Yes, some dealers say they're thrown in for free, but the dealer has to cover their cost from the manufacturer. It can make up the cost somewhere else, or else lose money on the sale.

And so, an accurate definition of invoice price needs to include the wholesale cost of accessories.

Also, the math does not yet account for the Dealer Holdback, which on my car was $476. At the $22,672 price above, if the dealer sells for $22,672, they don't receive any holdback. It's not in the equation yet, until you add it in when calculating true invoice price.

The "full tank of gas" is a favorite complaint of customers. But, if the dealer fills the tank, it costs them $. Could they "throw it in for free?" Sure, but note that in doing so, the dealer has lowered the price by absorbing what the gas costs. It isn't free to the dealer.

The kinds of costs above aren't exclusive to Toyota -- the whole industry includes these kinds of charges a dealer must pay.

A dealer which needs to reduce inventory ... make sales goals ... etc ... can sell the car for whatever they want, but the car costs them what it does. In my case, MotorCars Toyota of Cleveland Heights Ohio leased me my Prius III at a price none of the Detroit - Ann Arbor area dealers were willing to match -- a lease price reduction equating to $2,000 in a lump sum. (If you call them, be sure to ask for "internet sales" which really seems to have its own more aggressive pricing.)

And so, there are a lot of different definitions of "dealer invoice".

I think it's best to go through the math on a particular vehicle when you want to cite "invoice price" so that you really know where the dealer is coming from in buying a car from the manufacturer.

Knowing the dealer's real cost in acquiring and selling the car is what you need to know, rather than one of several definitions of "invoice price", which may or may not accurately show the car's cost to the dealer.

 

Trucar.com is a good point of reference. Deal with the internet mgr. and skip a lot of BS.

 

Have you considered calling Dianne Whitmire. She's does internet dealing in So. Cal and is a friend of the website.

http://priuschat.com/forums/dealers-pricing/78683-diannes-april-2010-socal-early-allocation.html