Got it: 2006 #4 at <MSRP

We just put down payment on a package 4, with floor mats, no other extras for $24,723 from a dealer in North Carolina. Think we got a pretty good deal. Driftwood Pearl. We identified all dealers within a reasonable radius from home. For us, that meant parts of NC, SC, TN, KY, and VA. We solicited online quotes, monitored responses, etc. and simply waited to see what we got - a variety of responses, from almost useless, generic information about non-specific Prius', to actually useful quotes made by salespeople who clearly read our clearly-worded request. Anyway, we went from about 54 dealers (many "no responses" or "useless responses") down to about 5 viable quotes, all within about a day. We shopped a couple of those against each other, ended up getting the dealer nearest us, with a new 2006 #4 on the lot, to reduce price to meet that of another dealer's price. Guess we got lucky. We made sure we were dealing with the internet sales managers at every step (if the dealership had one). Hope this helps others out there who are just heading into the buying process. First new car we've ever had. My wife was getting itchy about the "first good deal" we found (a bit below MSRP), but we resisted temptation to jump at it to go the next step: find an even better price, then make the dealers compete if they are willing.

 

Yep, we picked the car up, as went according to our plan with the purchase (no gimmicks) and we like it a lot so far. Much more to learn from both it and the forums.