Is it scam or what?

I drive a G3. When they came out in 2010 (seems like yesterday!) there were long lines and dealers were getting MSRP ++

Then?
Gas went below $2 and since all if the early adopters had been shaken out of the market, they were letting 2010's go (in 2011) for MSRP minus $4,000. I saw OTD deals for under $20K

Then?
We had (another) fuel price spike, and Priuses got expensive again through 12 and 13. There were reports of people paying $30K after all of the add-ons. People like me were remembering fondly the days when you couldn't give Priuses away.

Then? Gas got cheap again, and the G4 was about to debut, and you could get a brand-spanking-new 2015 for less than $20K again.
See the pattern?
(Hint: everybody knows that gas is going to go up again...)


Takeaway:
Dealers are scum.....but I give them a pass on this one.
If you want to be the first kid on the block with the new model, then it's going to cost you.
If you want a 50MPG car that's easy on the wallet when you buy it AND when you drive it then you don't buy them when gas is expensive or when the new model first comes out.


I just checked.
There are still lots of 2015's out there, although this is the wrong time of year to buy since EVERYBODY buys during tax time.


Good Luck!

 

Read through Car Buying Guide for New and Used Vehicles | CarBuyingTips.com and check the prices available through the buying programs like truecar.com. Know what others are asking for the car you want and know what you are willing to pay. There's no point haggling over an unacceptable price.

 

The overpricing problem starts with showing up in person. Work the options without showing up first via e-mail. Don't hesitate to check with your car insurance company, your credit union, or some other car buying service first. Make it clear the only time they will see you in person is with a check filled out (whether that is true or not). I save thousands by NOT showing up to negotiate, but work every dealer I'm willing to travel to. For the time spent at one dealer, you can work 20 offers and reveal what each offer is from each dealer.

The reason for this is simple. The ONLY function of the car salesman is to work you over while having hardly any negotiating room since they gain nothing by lowering their price to what the "inside" sales person is able to do. Think about it. When they send an e-mail back, do they really have the option of saying. "You cannot leave your computer or delete this message till we force you to overpay". Most of the time they have to offer the final value early.

 

You should purchase from California and have it shipped to Florida (contact Dianne in the following link to inquire details on doing so):
Lease or buy a 2016 Prius? Dianne's SoCal deals right now! | PriusChat

My Leaf had a $3k markup on the window sticker, but I didn't care because I negotiated with the dealership via email beforehand for $3.7k under sticker price. It's a waste of time to walk into a dealership nowadays and negotiate, you should have everything negotiated via email and written up before you even leave your house, much less step foot on the dealership lot.

I've actually been seeing more Gen 2 Volt's on the road out here than Gen 4 Prius's, even with the lots being really stocked on the new Prius. With gas as cheap as it is right now it's pretty easy to get a new Prius for well under sticker price.