Do I still want a Prius C ?

Certainly I do not know the "ins & outs' like Mahout. I think a deal can be struck on the internet with no trades. I was dealing with cash only and felt I could have done a deal on line. Was just lucky when I checked a local dealer, 25 miles away, and he had the exact car I was looking for. Had already been dealing with others on line and in person. 300.00 dollars lost one deal, 55 miles away, and done in person. Just do what you feel is best. I learned several years ago to have cash or at least to have my money lined up, before looking for a car. Sometimes the dealer can beat other financiers, I have found.
Dan

 

Trust me, in general I hate dealerships and the whole dealership buying experience.

Which is unfortunate because I love cars, and I love researching an automotive purchase. To me it's fun. But it's the actual bullet hitting the bone "deal" that is usually a nightmare.

Which is why I often look for, or wait for a dealership to offer a Mass Deal, like 25 Prius's at This Price....then I just go in and say...I want a Prius at that price...and hold on tight.

But in answer to the OP? Do you still want a Prius c?....well do you?

It's unfortunate your buying experience thus far has been so frustrating and unprofessional. But you could have a similar experience purchasing any vehicle from any dealership.

There are online buying services that follow a protocol, usually delivering competing quotes from surrounding dealerships. Perhaps your expectations are simply out of line? Even the sleazier dealerships WANT to sell you a vehicle. Maybe investigation into carsdirect or any similar reputable service might be helpful.

Costco and AAA also offer buying services.

The trick is really knowing what you want, and what is a reasonable price to pay.

 

The trick is really knowing what you want, and what is a reasonable price to pay.[/quote]


Amen to that. I do lots of research before I buy to make sure which vehicle I want. Once I am 100% sure I go after it. Up until 2 months before I bought the C I was going to buy the Sonic Turbo Hatch. No way was I going to buy a hybrid if I could get 40 mpg from a gas engine. Well, those driving the Sonic were not getting what had been advertised without some serious pulse and glides. I can't do that because we drive our vehicles mostly on interstates. A friend told me about the C. I researched it, using this forum a lot. Signed off the Sonic forum and here I am. I am not a "green" person. I like miles per gallon from a decent looking vehicle, at this age. I have other "hot rods" to get out in when the need arises. Make sure you want the C then go for it.
Dan

 

How can I find the best price on a C-4?

 

I emailed all of my dealerships and asked them what price they could do for the car I wanted. Of the 11 dealerships, only 3 could get me my car. Of the 3, only 2 were willing to negotiate. Of the 2, the dealership I went with was more than $2k cheaper than the others right off the bat.

 

I went and test drove two cars the prius and the prius c, this took me about 30 min, then we told the sales person we wanted the costco deal. that was factory invoice for car and options + delivery I think that was 300 we paid under 21k that was out the door with title and tags for 4 years.

we also got 100% financing with 0% intrest for 5 years. the whole thing took my wife and I less than 1 1/2 hr and that is with the test drives. I don't think you can get them to come down much on these cars because they sell so well.

I tried to work out a deal on the internet for our last car. this with a fair amount of time involved got us a quote from a dealer 100 miles away. we visited our local dealer and they gave us the same price without us even mentioning we had recieved this online price. So IMO it is better to go to the dealership and find the one you want. if you know what the car should cost make sure the price is right, and it will save you time and frustration.

 

Completely agree. I am currently swamped at work and I've been trying to get quotes from dealers in my province on a new XV Crosstrek, so I've primarily been doing it through email communication. I work all day and have very little time to jump on the phone. You think they would jump at the opportunity, but I often get ignored or have to wait days for responses. It's pathetic. When will people realize that it's 2013?

 

Its unfortunate that most dealers have not graduated to the real world of selling cars to informed public. I emailed 7 dealers and got 5 responses of the usual 'we're pretty nice, cute, and ready to talk to you' silliness. I did get 2 accurate and intelligent responses and after visiting both bought my Prissy with little trouble and with excellent business relationship. If you are close enough to central NC I have recommendations.
I was involved in the automotive business for nearly 50 years and after seling my company actually sold cars (more than half the customers I talked to bought cars from me and I got calls long after retiring again which led to my offering classes on how to buy a car, and selling 3100 copies of a book for sales people) so I got to see the underbelly of sales. No, its not pretty. Let me offer you this in your quest by the internet:
First, do your homework.
1. Find the wholesale value of your trade-in and do it honestly (mileage, condition, etc)
2. Find the wholesale, inventory, value of your wanted car to buy as best you can.
3. Take the difference and add $500 (for a Prius C) profit
4. In your internet enquiry offer the price you'll pay plus tax, tags, and license SUBJECT to the dealer acually seeing your trade-in. You should say you have your financing but willing to talk about his. That way he should know yoiu are a bcompetent buyer he's likely to sell to, not a tire-kicker. They are true pigeons. If the dealer responds he's an actual seller, if not he's an old syle seller 'gouge the customer for all he's worth' who thinks all buyers are pigeons.
You will encounter the 'dealer "ADD" - added deler profit' in the actual sales contract; you can negotiate that on a C, but not a popular selling model. And maybe not at all, so its dealer vs dealer.
If you can't get a intelligent response from your area dealers you can try true car, autotrader, Costco, or one of the car-buying services available on the internet.
After that you'll have to endure the on-lot nonsense but hold to the process I mentioned and don't be afraid to walk out, especially if they low ball your trade-in.
good luck.
PS yes. I know this the short class but you get the idea.
cheers.

 

I never trade in a car. I sell them on craigslist. If you have your trade in paid off, then I like to sell it myself. I have sold at least 6 cars over the years on craigslist recently or in auto trader in the past. I asked about what they would give for our suburban they said 1000. I sold myself for 43oo, I asked also years ago on my crew cab diesel they said 1300, I sold in one week for 7900. My trades have been old and with lots of miles, but in great condition. I take good care of my cars and repair stuff that goes bad.

If you are trading in a car that is not paid off, you should listen to the above advice. and do your best to stay with your car longer than the payoff. I figure keep the car for at least 10 years for new cars. and try to pay off in 5 if you can stomach the payment. I waited to buy my c, then I found out 0% financing for 5 year. I took the bait, but I am happy I did

I also don't go for the add on things. the way the car sits, I am ready to drive it home. no super wax??? no special undercoat?? no extra warranty, toyota has a good waranty on their new cars. If the car has issues in first 3 years for everything, and 8 years on hybrid stuff. I will take the extra $ from the cost of these things and use that to fix it should somthing go wrong. It could cost me but odds are in my favor. and this is the 3rd new car I have done this with one ford superduty and two toyota hybrids in the last 7 years and so far I have not needed any additional service. "I hope this dosent change now that I said this.

Buy your cars do the oil changes and drive drive drive

 

My daughter went on truecar.com today and searched for the best price on a Prius C 2 with a couple of options. The site listed a best price of $20,500 at her zip code in Salem, Or. Within 30 seconds of her clicking send on the dealership query her phone rang twice with calls from two different dealerships. A sales person at the Toyota dealership in Gladstone said she had that exact car on the lot today for $19.100. Two other dealerships emailed immediately to say they would honor the truecar price point.

I had never stepped foot in the dealership we bought our Prius from before the day we went to pick it up.

 

I wonderd about truecar after seeing their adds. next time I will check into that way.

 

It was pretty cool ! The instantaneous response surprised both of us. I used a different site when we were looking for our car in 2012. As my daughter was at our house today and not at home in Salem a quick trip to Gladstone was out of the question.