About to pick up car - do I have everything?

CAUTION: Emoticons gone amok!

:clap: :clap:

Got a call this afternoon-

A 2005 silver AM has arrived at my dealership and will be ready to pick up tomorrow afternoon.

Wahoooooo!

:multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi:

This is much earlier than we expected; we thought we had another couple of weeks. What a surprise.

I had to scramble today to get our old vehicle ready in case we trade it in. We want to see what they will offer us. We have already looked up what we should get; it will be interesting to see if they come close. Buying a Prius doesn't give us much bargaining power - what are we going to do?...walk away!

I haven't had time to post this earlier as I was trying to get all of my paperwork in order. Let's see:

:idea: Basic Prius Options and Packages & Dealer Accessories (including price list) - Thanks bookrats, now we will know that we are paying MSRP.

:idea: $700 Customer Accommodation Certificate - every little bit helps.

:idea: Receipt for our $500 deposit.

:idea: Trade-in vehicle info (Original sticker, current pricing, and most important - the pink slip [actually green])

:idea: Financing info (Toyota's vs. our credit union's)

:idea: Extended Warranty Info - What price will they offer? Doubt they will beat Priuschat.

:idea: Last, but not least Prius Pick-up Checklist and accompanying documents - Thanks 2004 Prius Yahoo Group.


Have I forgotten anything?

Please help with suggestions we can add it to the KB for the next expectant owner.

I will be glad when this phase of Prius enlightenment ends and the practical application phase starts.

artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Speedracer\";p=\"43647)</div>

I plan on it, but I don't have the car yet.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"43662)</div>

Yes, I did, but only because I was exhausted. I was in the middle of the big fall yard clean up when I got the call - Four hours of yard work. Then I spent another three hours detailing the inside of my old car. After getting the paperwork done I didn't get to bed until after midnight. I thought I would have a chance to sleep in. But I woke up at 6:30am and my mind started racing. I laid in bed for an hour and here I am.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"43662)</div>

I would have never thought of this issue. One word for your dealership - idiot. At least you have a sense of humor about it. And yes we do need the front plate - thanks for the warning.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GrokMakeFire\";p=\"43652)</div>

Thanks, again something I didn't think about. I am doing reasearch on this now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bruceha_2000\";p=\"43664)</div>

It is amazing how trained professionals can screw things up.

Got it, tires and oil - check.


Thanks again to everyone for your input.

 

Good call, Evan!

I had printed all that stuff out months ago. There were a few that had been updated. Now I just need to find the time to re-read it all.

Thanks again for the advice and information.

 

Thanks a bunch, guys.

We're off - I'll let you know how it went.

If you think of anything more still add it so we can create a KB article.

Thanks again-

 

First off - LOVE the car - as I knew I would. :clap:

Now to the buying experience [for the record: Foothills Toyota, Burlington, WA (and they sell at MSRP if you can stand the wait)]-

Whew, that's over! The Prius has to be the easiest sale and it still took three hours.

Even as prepared as I thought I was I still was unprepared. Part of this was because I didn't think the car was going to be here for another couple of weeks, so I didn't review the information about the pre-delivery and pick-up checklist. I did get to read some of it as we were waiting. We were able to check many items while we waited.

Obviously the first thing I was able to check for was a license plate bracket on the front of the car... there was one. I told the salesman about what I had read here (TonyPSchaefer) and he couldn't believe it. He said the car came with the bracket. Apparently they just had to install it and add their placard and frame, of course. Efusco - no dealer decals to deal with, so I can put up with the frames...for now. That reminds I have to browse through the PriusChat options.

I forgot a tire gauge... Doh!...luckily we only had to go 30 miles and I was able to check it the next morning. They were all in the mid-30s, but the back tires were higher than the front. I have rectified the problem. As bruceha_2000 wrote the oil is a tad high.

Most of the waiting was for an offer on our trade-in. The dealership didn't want to handle the car themselves, they sent an offer request out to other companies that dealt with used cars. We were willing to take close to blue book, just to not have to deal with it, but the offer we were given was a joke, 25% below...and after I spent 5 hours sprucing it up. I would have called making it beautiful a waste of time, but we are going to try to do better by selling it ourselves, so I would have needed to do it eventually.

The next big slow down was getting all of the financial paperwork out of the way. With that came the dealer add-ons (paint protection, fabric, undercoating, etc.) I didn't get to do much research into these other than the paint protection film that GrokMakeFire suggested. We passed on their protection package (paint/fabric/underbody sealant), though I am tempted to get the fabric protection...I had forgotten that all the armrests were fabric and we have a 5 year old. I would hate to have this happen to my interior. Is it worth getting the 'Pro' job or will a can of Scotchgard work as well?

I was interested in the protective film. The two new cars I have had all had problems with paint chips on the hood. The first had a bra, but the bra caused damage from grit getting underneath it. The last had a wind deflector. Neither did a great job of deflecting rocks. I think both would detract from the appearance and aerodynamics of the Prius. When I mentioned that I had reviewed information about the protective film, they did have a 3M product, Scotchcal, that they could offer us. We decided to have it put on so we could add it to the loan. I will take it in in another week or so to have it applied. Anyone have experience with this product?

The Extended Warranty exchange was funny: :lol:

The finance person starts to go through her routine...and I say that I am only interested in the quote for the 7yr/100,000 mile/zero deductible plan. She is like, "well do you think you will drive that many miles, I like to give my customer the plan that best suits their needs..." I tell her I have a quote for that plan already and I want to see what they can do. She was still stuck on her sales pitch by talking about the deductible; I told zero again, then she pulled out her book and looked through it, then wrote down $1385. I told her my quote was much lower. She asked how much lower. I said $400. At that moment my daughter told me she had to go to the bathroom. I said that my quote was for $985 and excused us from the room. I don't know what transpired with her and my husband, but when I came back I told her that I understood that she could only do what she could do, but my quote was for $985. She gave me a perplexed expression...and started thinking...then asking questions; if it was though Toyota? was it a Toyota dealer? Yes, Yes. She told me the the full price through Toyota was $1650...I said the price at the same time, nodding my head. Again, I told her that I understood that she could only do what she could do, but my quote was for $985. She was saying, "well, as long as you think it is with Toyota..." I had the information with me, so I looked it up and told her that the warranty was available through a online Prius forum arranged with the business manager of Toyota of Greenfield in MA. All she could say was, "well, good." But you could tell that she was scratching her head mentally. :tomato:

An interesting note was that the finance person kept telling us that they offer a fair price for these services to every customer and they don't play games with their pricing. She would not budge on any of their regular add-on protection packages. They were quite happy to let us pass on everything rather than coming down on price. My husband kept trying to find discounts that might apply to us. Finally, I explained that he was upset that he was having to pay full MSRP for a car; he had always paid less. She then offered us 10% off the paint protection film. It was a small consolation, but every little bit helps. This was not on their regular list of add-ons, so maybe that is why she could do it.

One expense we were not expecting was that Toyota financing has you pay for GAP on the loan (through another company, I might add). Neither Ford nor our credit union ever did. That was a $495 fee...ouch, that could buy some nice accessories! My husband hasn't decided if he is going turn around and get the loan through our credit union (their interest rate was a little higher). If we did within 60 days we can get a full refund on the GAP fee.

That's all I can think of. Now I am just trying to find excuses to drive the car.

Thanks for listening. And any help you can give me on the highlighted questions above.