Dealer Markup

i am in So. Ca. as well. i found a dealership in fresno charging MSRP. I'm not sure about this other one i am working with in san diego, they never really answered me about the MSRP thing. keep looking, there are dealers out there who aren't so shady and won't charge over MSRP and don't have a 6-12 month wait list to boot.

-drew

 

Mark,

i am working with http://www.michaeltoyota.com, my sales rep is Evan Schroeder. my encounter so far has been very professional. when i signed up i was on a 1-2 month wait list, but i believe the list has grown recently due to some postings about the dealership on this board. i am currently #17 of 33 and they have told me they recieve 8-10 prius each month. they probably quote 3-4 months at this point.

there was another dealership in fresno that quote me 3-6 months but i never signed up, http://www.binghamtoyota.com.

what i did to search was find a location i was willing to drive to, for me i'm up for a 6 hr drive one way. i went to toyota's site and put in a zip code for around the spot i was willing to drive and specified 150 mi radius on the search. it returns a list of dealers and their web sites. i went to each web site and emailed or filled out their contact form. i asked them how the wait for a prius was and if they charge MSRP. i also told them what color and package i was interested in. this is all a bit time consuming, but well worth the 2 hours i spent as i moved from a 6 month list to a 1-2 month list.

it is better to search in rural areas since the demand is not as great out there.

one dealer to stay away from, I-10 toyota in Indio, CA. they force "upgrades" and charge $3K for them, it's lame and it's shady.

hope this helps!

-drew

 

I tried to work with Toyota of Selma CA. The first words out of the salespersons mouth was "there is an immediate $3,000 mark-up." I went to Michael Toyota in Fresno. I placed a $500 deposit for a 2005 Prius. Michael Toyota is professional, courteous and straight forward. The Michael sales representative volunteered that I probably knew more about the Prius than they did.

No pressure, no gimmicks. I placed my order 5 to 6 months in advance. The whole transaction was very calm. I was treated with complete respect.

 

A couple months ago I started seriously trying to find a new Prius. I e-mailed numerous dealerships on both coasts and actually got some prompt calls, but everyone said 'nine months to a year'. Since I can get THAT deal right here I wasn't too excited. :?

Then I got a call on a Saturday from a dealership in California (wish I could remember the name). The guy said they were getting in a red Prius on the coming Tuesday. Red is not my color of choice, but it was package 9 (which I wanted) so I told him sure! I live in Iowa but i can fly out to California and drive home. THEN he said they have a $4000.00 dealer markup. I laughed and asked him how they could justify such blatant consumer rape. He took offense and patronized me with the economics of supply and demand. I told him if I paid 30 grand for a car that should cost me 26 grand I would be a fool. End of conversation.

That afternoon I ordered a silver package #9 from a nearby dealer. The price is locked in ($26,070.00) and all I had to put down was a $500.00 deposit. That was a bit over a month ago, so now begins the insane wait... two good things about the long wait: it commits me to buying the car and I have plenty of time to get a beefy downpayment ready plus find a buyer for my ancient-but-perfectly-functional 1995 Avalon XLS.

Honestly though, I can't imagine that I'll have to wait a year. Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but surely Toyota will see what a goldmine they have in this car and get some more lines running or something... if they don't capitalize on the wave of good press and popularity they will lose more sales than they already undoubtedly have.

 

I bought my Prius at sticker price this past MOnday at Hollywood Toyota, after a five-month wait. It pays tp be patient.

 

Supply and demand...it sucks and screws the consumer.

I remember they were doing this with the P/T Cruiser. 2-3k above MSRP. Sux mang!

 

I can understand not wanting to pay a markup, but I don't understand the idea that markup is wrong somehow. I will not pay markup because it puts the car into a price range I don't want to pay, but if after markup it was still the price I was comfortable with, I would pay it. How is dealer markup when demand is high any different than markdown when demand is low? When you buy a car do you just pay sticker because you want to pay MSRP? Or, if you can get it cheaper, do you try to do that? If you haggle with the dealer to get a lower price, then he is entitled to haggle to get a higher price. If you don't like the price, don't buy it.

 

Oh, I'm sure they had no problems selling it for 30 grand. However, since Toyota (as is my understanding) has a no-haggle clause of some sort with the Prius--- so you pay sticker price, there is enough markup there to be what i would consider 'fair'. From the dealer invoices I could find, my $26,000.00 Prius nets the dealership something like 2500 dollars. The margin on less-equipped packages is commensurately lower.

If my income level was such that the extra 4 grand would have been irrelevant, no sweat. However, I work for a school district and nobody ever got rich working for a school system

I still think a dealership telling me "we're going to bend you over and sock it to you lubeless because we can" is tantamount to consumer rape. Even after buying a car with that policy surely the buyer would be irritated by it... thus giving the dealership a black mark for future sales. It's a short-term gain while risking some long-term ill will. When I bought my Avalon my buying (and subsequent warranty) experience was so poor that I contacted Toyota HQ and the Better Business Bureau to get some satisfaction. I assure you that dealership will never get business from me, nor will they get business from anyone who knows me who I can warn in advance. Same principle applies, I think.

 

Paying MSRP is already paying the dealer at LEAST (depending on the car) a reasonable profit. If a "supply/demand" dealer can find enough people who want it NOW, don't care what it costs, to sell whatever quantity the are allocated, then they are happy. They made a ton of extra money for no extra effort/cost simply because these people want instant gratification. Is it illegal? No, but that doesn't make it right. The dealer actually makes more money at MSRP on a 'hot' car since they have little 'specific vehicle' sales cost. You went to them knowing what you wanted. No salesperson had to walk the lot trying to make you one of the '1 out of every x' shoppers that actually bought a car from them. Paperwork and car prep and it is off the lot.

Add to that, they make money from you when you bring your car in for service. Piss off the buyers and they sure won't be bringing the car to you for service. Lose money in the long run. Who knows, maybe they come out even since they tacked $3000 free profit up front.

The reason they come down on cars that don't have high demand is to get them off the lot, they are tying up money. And they are making money on the cars they come down on as well, just not as much. When I bought my '86 Mazda 626, the dealer came down because it was the end of the year and if he sold that one, he would get another one in January to sell. Maybe someone would pay MSRP on that one, maybe not. Doesn't matter, move volume, make money.

 

Hi Folks,

Well after many months of looking and a few bad Toyota dealer experiences I now have a Silver #9 in my driveway. Friday I saw a post under "Dealers & Pricing" about an available car. I called Larry at Helena Motors ( http://toyota.helenamotors.com/frameset1.a...&MAIN=new_staff
). Closed the deal in 5 minutes. Arrived in Helena Saturday afternoon. Purchased the car in a record breaking 10 minutes (MSRP!) and drove the car home.

I recommend Larry and Helena Motors with no qualifications. And, do I need to tell you that the car is everything I expected... By the way, throughout sleet, rain, snow and hail averaged 46 - 50 MPG all of the way home 900 miles over the continental divide.

Hang in there it's worth it!

Tom

 

Hollywood Toyota may sell at MSRP, but they also tack on a mandatory lojack, paint sealant, and glass etching package, which is fine if you really want that stuff. Otherwise, it's an extra $2000 of gravy for the dealer.
I had a bad experience at Hollywood Toyota a few months back, and I'd hate anyone to think that they're selling Prius at MSRP.

 

Put quite nicely. When I bought my truck(F150) in 97, I payed $1800 less than MSRP becuase supply exceeded demand and they had trucks all over the place. If the dealer would have told me, "but the MSRP is $$$!" I would have laughed at him and walked. If with a mark the Prius is still getting off the lot, the dealer would be crazy for not trying to get it on every car. I'm willing to wait as long as necessary to get my car for the price the dealer gave me in writing in Jan. If I wanted sooner, I'm sure I could have gotten it by either paying a markup elsewhere or hiding in the bushes of Aaron's house and stealing his when it comes in . The beauty of capitalism.

 

Absolutely correct!

However, with most dealers charging MSRP for the Prius, you don't need to pay a markup unless you are in a big hurry and don't want to spend some time searching.

 

I suspect there are some people here who work at car dealerships :lol:

I really have no issue paying MSRP on a Prius--- I honestly think it's fair that a dealership should make a profit from the (re)sale of product. As I said, if I pay 26 grand for a car and the dealership makes 2500 dollars from the sale, great. I don't think they need to be selling me the car at a loss or at cost. That's capitalism.

However, demanding an additional (and enormous) markup is laughably insulting to the consumer. That's capitalism out of control, which may be a great Republican philosophy, but it's not one I wish to be the victim of.

Bottom line... anyone who spends 30-32 grand on a 26 thousand dollar car either has an excess of disposable income or is a fool... or both.

Sorry, I realize I shouldn't express a strong opinion and I apologize if I come across as mean or petty. Then again if you agree with me, high five!

 

The easiest way to combat this is pass along the name of the salesperson or dealership that is marking it up. Bad local word of mouth is like poison for a car dealership. Second, even if you could get a deal on another model, never step foot in that dealership and let the manager/corporate headquaters know exactly why. Just for the record, I'm not a dealer, I'm a school administrator.

 

i'm not really worried. if you were willing to come this far from home to get one, you would almost certainly have it already... but i think i'll use 'the club' just in case :lol:

 

I guess I better bring my bolt cutters. Will you please set out some cofee for me, I have trouble staying up late.