Going to pickup from dealer...any advice?

Don't let them sell you anything else!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mstrickland @ Aug 15 2007, 10:24 AM) [snapback]496125[/snapback]</div>

Random advice: Enjoy your new ride, double check with an independent source any advice you get from any of the sales staff, consider increasing the air pressure in the tires.

 

Check your oil! I checked mine a while after I first bouht it and found it was over full! I drained out over a pint. Still waiting to do my first oil change, but will do that my self. It looks like they just put 4 quarts in and left it that way. Anyway I would check it.

 

<_< First of all, please do this... Give yourself lots of time to pick it up and don't do it alone, bring your partner/spouse/friend. Take the dealer's time, because they will try to take yours. Bring a calculator and let them see you use it. Bring a note pad, pencils, pens. Write down any numbers they spout off. The biggest bull**** thing is a salesman saying "that's not what I said, remember? I said......." Because we had dealt with Audi and Volkswagen in the past, the Toyota experience was a bit of a change.

LOJACK INSTALLED ON THIS VEHICLE... the pitch is this.... Buy Lojack because it's already been installed, or don't buy it and it just remains inside, but not activated or covered by Lojack system. Your choice on this one and we're talking about 600+ bucks.

SERVICE CONTRACTS.... In our case, the new Prius doesn't have free scheduled oil changes. The service contract person will take 30 mins or more just trying to get money up front for future oil changes. Lots of numbers and levels of service contracts... Some very expensive. I decided against these.

EXTENDED WARRANTIES.... can be purchased before the end of the factory warranty if you want... you don't have to purchase them now, today. These are also very costly.

TEST DRIVE THE CAR YOU ARE BUYING.... BEFORE YOU PAY. If the car is not up to your standards, let them know it. Look a the paint, interior, test the electricals, give it a really good looking over. You should have gas in the tank. "Just bring it back if there are any problems" is a way of getting you off the lot tonight.

LET THE FINANCIAL MANAGER, SERVICE CONTRACT MANAGER and all those type guys give their pitch... it's a job... let them do it and then make your yes or no decisions. Don't be rude, they're trying to make money, that's all. You're trying to save money, that's all.

When it all finally gets done, hours later... then get into the car and feel good about all that occured. Don't drive off the lot feeling ripped off or frustrated. If you drive home comfortable about the purchase and you feel you've made good choices... then that first drive home will feel good too.

Best of luck to you... P.S. You're going to love driving a Prius.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mstrickland @ Aug 15 2007, 11:24 AM) [snapback]496125[/snapback]</div>

Check the tire pressure. Make sure it is at least what is stated on the placard. Many of us believe that is low and run at least 42/40 for better mpg and longer tire life. Good luck & enjoy the car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mstrickland @ Aug 15 2007, 11:24 AM) [snapback]496125[/snapback]</div>

Have them do an alignment courtesy check as a lot of these vehicles are delivered out of alignment. do not just ask. Demand that they check this and get the alignment paperwork to ensure it is correct with numbers explaining the max and min numbers to compare to what is actually on the vehicle. It is usually out of spec upon delivery and this will seriously affect MPG's
Best regards.
Required reading.... go to this link and read about Prius power flow
http://priuschat.com/Introduction-to-Prius...low-t30286.html
The state of charge on the traction(HV) battery is controlled by a battery computer. The visible part of the battery you see is 40%-80%. The batt computer wants to keep the HV battery at 60% all the time. This is to maximize the life of the battery.
.....It is very hard to get your battery to 8 green bars unless you already have 6 blue bars and you go down a hill at approx 6% grade or better for about 3-5 miles(coasting preferrably). After this if you keep driving on a flat surface the car uses the excess energy to run MG2 to help power the car to get back to 6 blue bars(approx 60%). If you have all greens all the time then the car has no place to store excess energy and must burn it up through resistors as heat to the environment. The HV battery is what starts your ICE(gas engine).
Read the 5 stages of operation here(click on the HERE link in the first post):
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=4...amp;hl=5+Stages

Ahhh. Blocking the upper grill. I blocked my upper grill for summertime but not the lower. It forces the ICE to operate at slightly higher temps which makes it more efficient. I do not recommend doing this unless you have the scanguage II to monitor engine coolant temps. Blocking the lower grill also during extreme cold months will also give greater FE. If you can not keep up with the lingo then you need to read this:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...l=abbreviations
hope all of this helps. Read often and tell other drivers about this site.....very informative.

When people say "Pulse & Glide" most people think push the accelerator then coast to recharge the battery......
This is not the true intent of pulse and glide. It take some skill to do this properly.

1. PULSE Only pulse up to 40 MPH or below because at 41MPH the ICE will continue to run at 960 rpm even though the engine icon on your energy screen is not pink( lit up) to prevent MG1 from overspeeding. Yes I have the scanguageII and I have watched it countless times. If I am on a flat surface and doing P&G and get 41 mph by mistake then the ICE will not shut off(0rpm) until I reach about 37-38 mph so that is a few more seconds before the ICE shuts off and more fuel consumed. To prevent exceeding 40 mph on a down hill slope then do not pulse up to 40...make it less based on how long the hill is. I like to use regen to slow down if I know the rest of the down hill will take me where I wan to go without more acceleration. While on this note I will say that above 45 MPH the wind drag kicks in greatly and gets increasingly intense the faster you are above this speed.

2. GLIDE. This is the point that you take your foot off of the pedal to force the ICE to shut off. Read the 5 stages of operation and click on the here link to help you facilitate when the ICE will and will not shut off based on what STAGE it is in http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=4...amp;hl=5+Stages After you remove your foot from the accelerator you then must reengage the accelerator ever so slightly while watching the energy screen to observe a NO ARROWS CONDITION(not regenerating AND not providing propulsion...no green or yellow arrows). You might be thinking by now.....why is this so in depth??? It takes some SKILL, slight of foot or feather foot to accomplish this. You can not be eating, conversing on the phone and any other things while trying to stay in a P&G mode. It clearly takes some skill and knowledge to do this correctly. I am trying to provide you the knowledge and pass on the info I have for this. From now on when having a conversation about P&G you can pass the MPH threshold and No arrows conditions on so others know. When someone says glide in the future this is what comes to mind each time.

3 Do it all over again...try to watch for lights and anticipate them so you can Glide. If you have a down hill ride home like I do for an entire mile prior to your drive way then you will master the downhill glide for battery recharge vs. no arrows glide condition. Good luck with this and keep us posted. If you feel this info is particularly useful and you have more input I will edit my post to accomodate your thoughts. Please advise through PM or click on my name and email me direct and please copy and paste the URL as I have many post so far.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(D Rock @ Aug 15 2007, 10:40 PM) [snapback]496673[/snapback]</div>

D Rock,

You've said some things here (and have posted the same information in other conversations) that differ from my understanding of the other sources I've read. I'm not sure if the other sources were mistaken, if I just misunderstood them, or if you are misunderstanding how the car operates.

In particular:

I was not aware of the car "burning up extra charge through resistors", could you please share your source of this information. As I understand it, the car will make use of the extra charge to propel the car whenever it can (thereby reducing the use of the ICE). If you are trying to slow the car while the battery charge is as full as the ECU will allow, then the Prius will use MG2 as a generator and will send the electricity to use MG1 as a motor to spin the ICE to use up the excess power. If you are trying to stop quickly enough that this is insufficient, then the brake pads will engage and stop the car the same as any other car.

I thought the engine temp was controlled by a combination of thermostats, radiator fan, and radiator. If you block some of the grill, I thought the cooling system would just end up running the fan more to make better use of the portion of the radiator that wasn't blocked. I thought that the benefit of blocking the grill was that when the engine was off (during glides and such) there would be less air flow through the engine compartment, and so the engine wouldn't cool off as quickly. As I understand it, the Prius will turn the ICE on even if it isn't needed for propulsion just to warm it or the catalytic convertor up to prevent the temp from droping low enough to affect emissions the next time it comes on. Blocking the grill prevents this from needing to happen as frequently.

While I believe it is true that the ICE "spins" when the car exceeds 41 MPH, I didn't think it was "running". In other words, the crankshaft is no longer held still and the pistons are allowed to pump up and down to keep MG1 from spinning too fast, but no fuel or spark is sent to the cylinders. So while you can't glide quite as far because the friction of the moving parts of the engine use up some of that momentum, you aren't still burning fuel.

As I understand aerodynamic drag, it doesn't suddenly "kick in greatly", but rather starting from 0 mph it continuously increases at an excellerating rate. The faster you go, the more you will notice it's affects, but there isn't a specific speed where it suddenly jumps.

 

Review and take with you a copy of the checklist:

http://www.vfaq.net/docs/pickup_checklist.html

It's still valid for 2008, except they no longer hand out valet parking instruction cards.

Spend a half hour sitting in the car reading the introductory sections of the owner's manual before you drive away.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mstrickland @ Aug 15 2007, 11:24 AM) [snapback]496125[/snapback]</div>

I'd like to ask everyone what steps the dealers walk / force customers through to complete a purchase.

I intend to pay cash, so I will not need a loan. I intend to skip the boiler room where they put on the hard sell for all the extras and extended warranties and such. But I'd like to be prepared by knowing how most dealers are conducting the sales process. I'd rather not dedicate an entire work day to dicking around at the dealership. I'm going in with a previously agreed upon price bid that I will solicit from all area dealers, not haggling there.

So, let's hear from recent purchasers at what they went through buying their Prius. Thank you!

 

Tom -
I have found that even if I'm paying cash, they will still run a credit report. You can fight with them, but I just let them run the report to it to speed things up.
I always purchase from a fleet sales manager, so there's no negotiating price after the deal is agreed upon over the phone. Many people think that you need to be purchasing a fleet for business, but that isn't so. I've been doing it since 1994. I try to negotiate $100 over invoice because we know that their invoice price doesn't include incentives and other terms that come into play when they purchase the car from Toyota. When I do meet the fleet sales sales manager face to face, I tell them right off the bat that I'm not purchasing anything additional and if they keep me there will hard sale tactics, I will walk out. Luckily, this has worked. I would be SOL if I had to walk out because my husband just drops me off. He HATES dealing with buying cars and is a real grump if I make him stay. Going in with that understanding, you will generally have to go through a couple of different people like the finance and lo-jack guy, but if you tell them right from the beginning that you will not be purchasing anything additional, I've never had any problems. We did purchase LoJack for our Tundra because we do some remote camping and they tell you it will save you 25% on your insurance. What they don't tell you is that the 25% that you save is 25% of the cheapest portion of your insurance. It saved us about $12.50 a year. But, all and all, I'm okay with the purchase of it.

Good luck!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tom Cornell @ Aug 22 2007, 10:58 PM) [snapback]500800[/snapback]</div>

Tom,

Send an email to the sales person and tell him how much time you wish to devote. And have him give you a schedule when you will get to drive the car and when you can see the finance manager. Even though you are paying cash, you still need to sign papers. You can politely say upfront that you are not interested in any after market products. Look at him/her in the eyes, and they should skip the entire sales pitch and get to signing the papers. I managed to do this recently in less than 15 minutes.

In your email, you should state your expectations that when you arrive, you expect the car to be ready, meaning it is clean, all stickers have been removed, extra accessories installed. You can ask to have them do the alignment and oil check prior to your arrival. Your sales guy is expected to go through the basic operations. Again, if you are very familiar and confident, you can say that you know the operation and appreciate his time (respect of your time). Keep in mind, this may only take another 15 minutes.

So, if you have everything organized, you could be out in 30 to 60 minutes.

The key is always clear communication of your expectations.

good luck,

Al

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Chris B @ Aug 23 2007, 12:46 AM) [snapback]500817[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for both responses. The reason I ask is that when I bought my Honda years back, once they had my check the salesman just forgot about me and I was cooling my heels for at least an hour. He had already taken another customer on a test drive so there was nobody to ask about my vehicle at that point.

You bring up a good point: how to get myself to the dealer and end up back home with 2 cars in the mix. I'm thinking I should do the paperwork and then drive home while they prepare the car. Then, I'll have somebody take me back to the dealership since I know (as much as can be known with car salesmen) that the sale is underway at that point and it's a good bet that I will be accepting the car that they deliver.

So it's fleet manager, "finance" specialist for the credit check, then the "extras" pusher? Then I wait? I'm just trying to plot out how much time I will need to devote to the actual purchase.

Thanks very much for all your experiences, they are very helpful.

 

I'm a Toyota salesman. If you've already agreed on a price, it shouldn't take long at all. Your salesman will have to fill out all of your information (you can call him on the phone and do this prior to your arrival), and then you'll get put in a queue for the finance office(s). Once you get into finance, if you have a check, it should only take you about 10 minutes to print and sign papers. Just politely decline anything you're uninterested in. If you get offered a brochure to take home, just take it to put the finance guy at ease. He's trying to feed his family. When you're done in finance, your salesman is REQUIRED by Toyota to go through a delivery process with you. Please let him do it. You will get a survey in the mail, and it will ask if your salesman went over certain things. If he didn't, then he'd get a bad survey score. Ask as many questions that pop into your head. He should answer them. After that, drive home in your new Prius, you'll love it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tom Cornell @ Aug 22 2007, 11:58 PM) [snapback]500800[/snapback]</div>

I, too, paid cash. I expected to be through the final paperwork rather quickly, and politely decline the extras. The problem was that the guy handling my paperwork was also the guy trying to push the extended warranty down my throat. He would NOT take 'no' for an answer. I had to give up on the politeness, and get nasty. I had already told him no, and as I was picking up the car during my lunch break (I called ahead to arrange this, so it was no surprise), reminded him of this fact. He STILL would not accept my answer, so after the 3rd or 4th round of this, I finally just had to tell him to shut up, finish my damn paperwork, and get me out of there.

My salesman was passing by at that particular moment, and it was all he could do not to laugh. He had dealt with me enough to know that I hate BS. He gave the paperwork dude 'the look', and the dude finally gave up and did as he was told. Salesman took me to the car, showed me a few things, I asked a few questions, and then me and DuPree were on our way.

Later, when I got the email survey, I told it like it was, and rated things accordingly, with appropriate comments . My salesman nabbed me at the customer appreciation dinner and thanked me for the laugh; when my survey was read at their weekly meeting, he knew exactly which customer it was. My comments sort of stunned the rest of the staff (no, they were not nasty, but to the point and a bit cheeky), and all my salesman could say was "you'd just have to meet this lady to understand; she really nice, but says it like it is, and just doesn't have time for anything she considers crap". He told me to stop by any time, even if I just wanted to say hi.

Ah, but I digress... anyway, even though you think you'll avoid the 'boiler room', just be prepared. But, other than that, there was no dicking around with the price, and the figures were all in order. The car had been washed and appropriate items installed in their rightful places, and the tank filled.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(freke70 @ Aug 23 2007, 09:17 AM) [snapback]500952[/snapback]</div>

Pretty much what I did. Picked it up on the last day of August, so I think I still qualify for what's left of that tax credit.

I dealt with the fleet sales manager from start to finish and he was mostly a no-bs kind of guy, so it went smoothly and I drove away happy.

I do need to take the Prius back for an alignment as others have suggested here, it doesn't like to hold a straight line going down the many straight and level roads down here in Florida. I gotta take it in soon because the nice customer satisfaction lady who called yesterday indicated that after about 30 days it would not be gratis. Since it was Labor Day Friday at 5 oclock nobody wanted to be doing alignments, I'm sure.

Other than that, I'm finding things I like every time I drive it. Good car for me.

Thanks to all for the advice here, this is a good forum.