I am considering buying a new 2025 Prius. I’m interested in getting the best deal I can on the features that I want and use. I wanted to get “leather” seating and I saw it was only available on the XLE variant however with the worse gas mileage, higher price, more expensive and less comfortable tires, and other features I don’t see myself using, I am looking at an LE variant. To get around the cloth seats I’m thinking of getting faux leather seat covers. Has anyone done that and can recommend a good place to get them? I don’t mind paying for a quality set for real leather either. I’m also planning out the best way to get the lowest price possible at the dealership. I live in Los Angeles and was planning to go to Longo Toyota that is supposedly the largest Toyota dealership in the country. From what I have seen online their prices appear a little lower. I even went to a dealership near my work and sat with a salesman to go over what they had to offer so I got a feel for what possible in the negotiations. I have a ’09 Honda Civic Lx that I could trade but I think I can sell private party for a better price. I’ve heard the best time to go in is toward the end of the year and end of the month. I want to get it sooner because I’ve been having car trouble and will be starting a new job with a much further commute. The next best time I heard is toward the end of a quarter so like end of June, is that true? My wife has also worked with a salesman that she has bought 3-4 cars from before? Will that help? Is there anything I can do or say to get the best possible price? I can finance through dealership, bank, or pay cash, all I care about is the best price. I know I will probably finance a small portion to get the $500 incentive for recent graduates. On the Toyota site I see there are a number of car options. Which ones have the most useful and have the best practical benefit and that I should consider having the dealership install? For instance, for the floor mats and cargo trunk cover I was planning to get them aftermarket. Again, any good brands? I see ones on Amazon that I appear to be more or less the same. I assume there will be some kind of warranty finance will try to sell me. Is the general consensus that any warranty is not necessary? I’m a pretty conservative driver and I anticipate annual miles will be about 15K a year. I do plan to have this car awhile at least 10+ years.
Don't mess with trading a car. Remember it is a game of squeeze the balloon at the dealer. If they give you more in trade, it will probably mean less discount on the price, or maybe they'll make up for it with treatments and options you don't need. You can sometimes benefit by allowing the dealer to provide the financing. They have arrangements with lenders where they are usually splitting APR %s. An example - They may offer an APR of 5%, when the lender is actually offering 4%. They split the 1% with the lender along with a fee. Sometimes, just sometimes, taking that financing allows them to juggle the out the door (OTD) price to your advantage. If you are planning on paying it off right away the interest will amount to almost nothing. Concentrate on OTD! I've done it many ways in the past. My favorite approach is good cop, bad cop where I am the good cop and my wife is the bad cop. She knows my signal for a bad deal and gets up suddenly from the table. They don't know what to do and panic a little. The best advice is to know everything about the car you are interested in, including what it costs the dealer and how much profit you are giving them. Think about checking out a website called FightingChance. It has helped me get all the information I've needed. I have no affiliation with them, the guy who started it came from the dealership world. He's been around for a while and the method can be a little dated, but you will find advice in the package he sells that will help you think it out. Some of it will be obvious, other stuff not. His method used to require you to fax (yeah that long ago) the lease manager at car dealers. Now, with the Internet, the game is similar but different. Dealers are aware there are lots of places to get invoice pricing (have you notice there are generally more used cars than new cars on a lot) - so it's a harder game than it used to be to sell a new car. The most important part about FightingChance is what he teaches you. It's about making the dealers actually compete for your business. You'll need to contact multiple dealers, use the information he provides you and most importantly exercise the tactics he suggests. It has to be a competition between dealers for the same automobile. It has to be based upon OTD pricing. Don't let the dealers bamboozle you by changing the buy order right before you sign it, don't let the finance guy sell you a bunch of extra coatings and stuff you can get aftermarket a lot cheaper. Be informed, stick to your guns, don't fall in love with a particular car, don't be afraid to leave. Also be aware that the volume, volume, volume thing is BS. You need a dealer who is hungry for the deal, they'll come to you with a good offer if they are desperate to sell a car. I'm still getting calls from dealers from my adventures to buy my Prime. If it weren't that I wanted the SE Prime I could have made several deals on LEs without a problem. I expect it would be no different for you. WHOEVER WANTS IT WORST LOSES (in a negotiation) Good Luck.
Great advice here! Too bad you're not in Wisconsin, it seems nobody wants the new prius here. I'm sure it's because the new prius is so tiny, went from being a family car to a 2 person light travel only car. Every dealer has them on the lot now and discounted a few thousand off MSRP. Definitely don't pay extra for any extended warranty. If they pressure you just tell them it's not necessary because it's a Toyota lol. As far as dealer installed accessories it all depends on what you want (most of these items will be unnecessary) but most everything will be cheaper on Amazon. For Wisconsin I usually get all weather floor and trunk mats, mudguards (to help prevent rust from salt/snow in the winter) and rear bumper/hatch lip protector. I would imagine in CA you wouldn't need the mudguards. Like VirginiaLee said stay focused on OTD pricing and don't make any mention of what you want to pay per month, there are many ways for dealers to rip you off if you are only focused on the monthly payment. Contact multiple dealers and be flexible with options if you want the best price. As far as the XLE goes, you can always get smaller wheels later for the XLE to help with ride and mpg but you really can't add the XLE options to an LE.
Were you able to find a good deal in LA? I'm looking right now and so far dealers do not want to come down. Everything is over MSRP.
my tactic is to email every dealer with inventory. when i have the best deal. i get the required check amount and show up to pick up the car, no more negotiations necessary. if the product is in short supply, you won't get much of a deal, but still the best deal, which might only be msrp. i would not trade or finance, dealers are masters at those games. there is no consensus on extended warranty, it is whatever you feel comfortable with. like any insurance, the house never loses. prius are about as reliable as any vehicle on the market, maybe more so. unfortunately, if you are desperate for a new car, you are more likely to get hosed, compared to those who have the time to make the dealers sweat. all the best!
