$32.652- A fair price for New 06 Prii?

I'm In NY also waiting on an NL, I'm Upstate though. Using Kiloran's Calculator i figured the price after state tax, tags and doc fees would be 30,344. or 28,221 before all that..

 

I'm not sure where you're buying from, but that seems a little steep. What's the MSRP on this package? At this point, you should probably expect to pay the MSRP, even from the '06s. You may not be able to get this price in Manhattan, but you should be able to get it if you venture even a little ways outside of NYC. And if you go to CT, you won't pay sales tax on it! (I'm not totally sure that this applies if you register it out of state)

Don't know about the Nav system (don't have it, so don't have an opinion on it), but from what I've heard here, people _really_ like the fact that the Nav system is integrated into the car. Maps probably aren't as up to date as some subscription-based services, but I think most people think that it's worth it to give it up for the benefits of the OEM system.

The tax credit is phased out AFTER the quarter AFTER 65K Prii are sold. So, IANAL, but it is my interpretation that you are safe until AT LEAST June 15 of next year to get the full tax credit. There are, of course, differences if you pay the AMT, but this has been talked about ad naseum in recent days, so you can read the debates in the other posts. . .

 

The MSRP for option NL with the CF (mats) option is $28,221.
2006 Model Year Prius Calculator, Excel Spreadsheet

Your dealer is charging $2,123 over MSRP.
You should be able to find a dealer willing to sell to you at MSRP.

The earliest the tax credit begins to phase out is July 01, 2006.
The credit will not reduce your taxes below your AMT.

 

You can find a distillation of tax credit information in the 2006_Federal_Tax_Credit_Incentive section of the Toyota_Prius_FAQ.

 

I have the NAV system in my '05 and like it very much. That being said, my original plan was to get one without a NAV system and get a third-party system. I see that the '06 Prius has the NAV system as the difference between the #6 and #7 packages with a cost of nearly $2000 (in the '05 the NAV was part of the package that included the BT and other items, not just that). This is just my opinion, but unless you want the look of an in-built system, you could get a third-party for less. Another advantage is that the NAV override trick you can do with the '05 doesn't work in the '06.

As for being up-to-date, it has the new Petco baseball park downtown where it should be, but it also lists a restaurant (Taco Cabana) near my home, which has been gone for years. Still, as I've had to rely on it, I'm pleased to have a NAV system in the Prius.

 

The Prius is pretty hard to steal because of the SKS (not sure about the ones without). To start the car, the car computer needs to match the code to your key fob (like RFID systems). In order to steal one, you'll have to get a flat bed (or steal ur key fob).

 

Eke out? :huh:
At MSRP, his profit would be $3,264.
With the markup, his profit will be $5,387!

 

The primary reason why cars are stolen are for their parts -- no so much for them to be used as a whole. Since Prius are still fairly rare, their parts aren't really in that much of a demand -- that being said, they're not on any list I've seen regarding popularity of stolen vehicles.

 

I believe most educated/motivated buyers are having little trouble getting MSRP.
Dealers in my area are not even trying to add a premium over MSRP.
(Not an obvious one anyway. Get document fee and other "fee" information in writing.)

 

I would never pay more than $25000 with taxes here in Cali for a Prius- I love her- but not that much!

Spending upwords of $30k you can easily buy a compact car and save thousands.

 

Wow, you are a little naive; I suggest you do thorough research before buying the car. That's the most hilarious lie I've ever heard from a dealer. MSRP is the maximum you should pay for any car. Most cars are sold for $500-1000 less than MSRP but highly in-demand cars usually just sell for exactly it or sometimes a couple hundred less. Of course it's very common practice for dealers to mark it up but you should never let them.

If you don't care about being ripped off then just go ahead and buy it... you'll get a great car but you'll pay much more than you should. Besides a price for the car, you also have to negotiate a good price for your trade-in (if you are trading in a car), you have to make sure you're getting a fair financing deal if you're doing that, and you have to make sure the dealer doesn't try to add overpriced accessories or B.S. fees. Regarding fees, all dealer fees are B.S. and should not be paid. You should only pay tax and title.

For finding a good trade-in value, go to kbb.org, click Used Cars, and enter your car's information. It'll give you a trade-in value that few dealers would actually accept but you should get no less than 75% of what it tells you in most cases.

Yes, dealing with car dealers is a hassle and there are good reasons why they're generally viewed as scum.

 

It's a lie. Plain and simple.

 

That does not apply to all Prii nationwide. I'm still somewhat of a Prius newbie, and in the few months I've been here on PC I've learned that you CAN purchase a Prius at MSRP with NO markups. It is possible and there are some dealerships that will do this (locally speaking: Longo Toyota, Toyota of Santa Monica and Toyota of Hollywood all sell Prii at MSRP, from off the top of my head-I'm sure there are others). But you can also pay for a marked-up Prius and will likely not have to wait as long as those waiting for MSRP.

FWIW, I have a family member that worked at Elmore Toyota in Westminster. In September, when he heard I was in the market for a Prius, told me "$4K over MSRP, 6+ month waiting period. Wanna put your name down? I can't guarantee you'll get the package or color you want" I said "hell no" and took my business to Longo Toyota where I proceeded to wait ~4 months (mostly to take advantage of the 2006 tax credit-I could've had my Prius at the end of Sept if I had still wanted a 2005) and am purchasing at or below MSRP.

 

The only story I've heard of a Prius theft was that the owner was at a nightclub and left the keys on a table. The thief merely took the keys and walked around the lot pushing the unlock button until they saw a car respond. No, I don't have a place or date to prove this happend, but it looks like that's the easiest way for that to happen.