Seeing red about all green for Earth-friendly hybrid

It's that free market thingy. People should be patient and do the right thing.

 

There are cars out there. After one week of serious looking (Internet, phone calls) I just found one in Danville IL on the lot and bought it for $500 under MSRP -- at a Toyota dealer "in the middle of a corn field." My advice: try dealerships in areas of the country not likely to sell a lot of hybrids. Also, opt for Package 4. It seems that most people want base or loaded. This is the one I wanted b/c only packages 4 and 6 have vehicle stability control and I did not need all the bells and whistles of 6, nor the added expense. Call Sean Spady at Danville Toyota (877-442-8474). You get a car at a fair price. I get a box of steaks if you tell him Margaret sent you.

 

Just so it's clear, everyone who has posted to this thread thus far already owns a Prius, including FloridaShark. If you haven't read FloridaShark's other posts, you might not realize he is a Prius owner and that the text in the original post is a quote from a story in the Orlando Sentinel that FloridaShark linked to.

 

I appreciate your frustration. A few ideas:
1. Don't take your frustration out on the "innocent" environment by getting a gas guzzler. I don't think you were serious, but I thought I'd mention that.
I applaud your sentiment that you are motivated by environmental concerns as much as by fuel economy.

2. Go rural in your search. I discovered (via this chatline) that rural dealers are also getting Prii, but the demand is not quite as great out there as it is in big cities. Rural areas tend to be more conservative about new technologies as they are about social changes. I got my Prius at retail at a dealership in Moses Lake, WA, about three hours east of Seattle where I live. They were happy to sell me one at MSRP, and they were honest and fun to deal with. Small town dealers can't afford to jack their clientele around because they don't have a huge customer base to begin with and bad news travels fast in small towns.

3. If you get totally frustrated, consider the alternative: a Jetta TDI running on biodiesel. My partner gets the same mileage I do and is producing about the same level of emissions as my Prius. When he went to get his emissions tested, they all gathered around the car because they thought their equipment had failed. They literally got no readings!! It turned out that his Jetta on biodiesel was producing emissions below the sensitivity threshold of the measuring equipment.

I agree that the social/economic circumstances around buying a Prius are hardly evocative of the karma in the car itself. Dealers are acting as if they were selling spots on Titanic's lifeboats rather then promoting a cleaner America. It's sad on one hand, but, on the other......isn't it a good sign that an eco friendly car is selling as fast as they can make them? What does THAT say about Bush's benighted energy "vision"?
Good luck,
Bob

 

Hopefully, it is now clear that FS is not the one threatening to buy a Hummer. :lol:

 

FloridaShark,

I sent you a private message with the name and cell phone number of a Florida location to buy a Prius at MSRP without waiting... see below.

Florida Prius

 

Tag I just fell off the chair laughing at that.

 

What can I say, Frank? I give it my best shot! :wink:

 

did you ever!

 

I just went out to www.toyozone.com to check on the dealer where my wife andI bought our two Prius' (Toyota of Lake Norman). They currently have one on the lot and two more coming in on January 18th.

They charged MSRP, and were very good to deal with. However, to save money I would highly recommend working with Troy Deitrich for the warranty. He is a real pleasure to work with and saved me a great deal of money on the prepaid maintenance.

The guy who sold me our Prius' is Alan Horton. Florida isn;t too far from North Carolina. If you are interested, give him a call at 704-875-9199.

Good luck!

Dave

 

For what it's worth, I wrote to the Car Talk guys when I first saw the column in a local paper. I suggested that they should recommend that people looking for Priuses check out web forums like this one, as Prius owners love to help others become Prius owners by posting leads to available cars at MSRP.

 

I live in Muscatine, Iowa and the Toyota dealer here has a red BC (package 6) still on the lot. They got it last Thursday and called to tell me... but of course I picked up my new silver #6 on Saturday from a different dealership

I drove by there today and it's still sitting on the lot...

(563) 263-8028

Tell 'em Walt sent ya!