Hello! I'm new and I'm about to buy a new Prius

I just saw someone else mention that here today, but that was the first I heard of it.

EDIT: I see now that thread was started by you. Plant enough rumors in enough places and you begin to hear it back to you, eh? Anyway, looks like you sorted that out.

I think this is sort of psychological for some people. Someone the other day on here was saying basically "screw it, the dealer wouldn't come off MSRP, so I'm getting a different car." It seemed like he automatically assumed the MSRP meant him getting screwed without thought for the actual price. I think everyone's so used to the wheeling-dealing and seeing it as a battle to not get screwed that they've become emotional about it. I think some people would be happier if the MSRP was jacked up 1,000 bucks and then they could negotiate down 1,000 bucks, but in the end it's the same price. But really, because of supply/demand, the dealers can charge MSRP (some are trying to charge more and getting it), so really your question is whether that is what the car is worth to you.
Personally, I don't care much for the dealing and negotiating stuff, so I am kind of happy that the car is priced such that MSRP is a fair price and that is what people are paying and there's not much to negotiate about.
Is saving a few hundred dollars going to be worth waiting months? Keeping in mind it might be the same situation then? And because invoice and MSRP are so close, it's not going to be more than a few hundred best case scenario I'm afraid.
You could always try negotiating for some extras thrown in, I think you'd have more luck with that than the price.

A dealer told me (so grain of salt) that the gap between invoice and MSRP is so small there just isn't a lot of room to work with even if there were tons of them sitting on the lot. He said part of the reason is Toyata responded to the Insight by cutting MSRP but not cutting invoice to dealers. Again, grain of salt but the first part at least seems to be born out by other things I've read online.

Don't know much about this, but I will say that recently I rode with someone who had a pretty cool Nav app on their iPhone. Wonder if you could do something like that with your iPhone (maybe that is what you are referring to with your last line here.)

All I can say there is that it is a personal decision. I didn't do it. There are some fairly extensive and somewhat heated threads on here about that, so have a look.

The 2010 doesn't have the bladder-type tank, it's a "normal" tank now. Though you should still be careful not to run out of gas.

I haven't got an answer for sure here either, but I have been looking into that too, comparing doing it myself, taking it to the dealer or a cheapy type place. My concern is whether Jiffy Lube will have the right stuff - the special oil (0w20) that not everyone seems to have handy (including some Toyota service departments, according to a thread here!) and the special filter insert/gasket thing you need instead of a whole stand alone filter. If they have those and can do it cheaper, I see no reason not to go to them I guess, though I'd make sure they are a bit familiar with your hybrid before letting them go crazy on it. You could also buy your own oil if you see a sale on it somewhere and then have them use it, and it may work out cheaper, but there's still the filter insert/gasket that I'm not sure they'll have and not sure you can get easily other than from a Toyota dealer or from ordering online. So it seems at some point, since you're only doing this twice a year anyway, that it jsut becomes easier to go to the Toyota dealership. Though I'd still shop around and see which one can do it for the best deal. But make sure they use the right oil! And that they are quoting you the right price for that oil, which is synthetic and will likely be higher than their normal price.

I'm pretty new myself so take everything with a grain of salt, but I'm in a similar position so have gleaned some of the above from reading a bunch of threads on here. Good luck!

 

Acton Toyota in Littleton Mass. is one the highest rated dealers in the country. They also sell Toyota extended warranties at a huge discount. Do get your oil changed regularly at your Toyota dealer. documentation by them that you changed oil as reccomended is helpful when and if warranty work is considered. Enjoy your new Prius. I love my 2010.

 

I paid MSRP and was happy and did not consider arguing. I take my Toys to the dealer, they offer a competitive price and with the 2010 they should have the strange oil required. They have great WiFi in the waiting room along with some workdesks with power so I go during a workday lunch and can keep up with email and the like. Makes the time fly. They also have late night hours, after dinner, so sometimes I go after work and again surf. They often have free good snack.

 

*Should* you get an extended warranty? That depends: it is highly unlikely that you will ever get back the purchase price by using it, and only you can decide whether you get more "peace of mind" from a piece of paper versus money in the bank.

 

Woo hoo!

Uhh, note that a service agreement is not an extended warranty. A service agreement means that you pay them in advance too much money for a lot of services the car doesn't need anyway and for others that you might want to have done elsewhere. An extended warranty is no bargain, but a service agreement is a real trip through the wringer.

Good choice! The tires come with their own (pro-rated) manufacturer's warranty.