Advice Please: About to Order 2012; Option Level Two OK?

Funny, we started out looking at Honda's and VW's (esp TDI Sportwagen); now we're set to order a 2012 Prius Hatchback (Seafoam Green; dark gray interior) with option level two. Out the door is a touch less than $23K (buying via costco).

Couldn't see anything that justified level 3 and above. Am I missing something? We would have preferred the leatherette seat covers, but not for $4K. And, prefer a new garmin every couple of years to factory GPS systems. Definitely do not want back up camera etc.

Looks as if there are some aftermarket seat covers available; ditto floor mats. We have an e320 mercedes wagon, amd are amazed by how roomy the new standard Prius is.

Is the new Prius OK in the mountains? We live in NC close to the Blue Ridge.

Thanks!

 

Thanks for your note

We will be ordering the car today. We have a quote in hand for $22,637 out the door, but need to make sure the dealer doesn't try and add something upon order. Yes, its happened to me in the past, though this is our first Prius.

Best price we could find on the Jetta Sportwagon (via costco): $27,400. Biggest issue with Prius (its primarily for my wife): no leather upholstery. Based up[opn my quick search through this (excellent!!) forum, believe I will order leather upholstery set and redo myself. the dealer offered same (at ~$1500), but I don't trust dealer add ons (again based upon past experience)

If all goes smoothly, I'll contact you with the info. Is there a pmail option on this site (can't see how to work it). The costco/internet dealer guy is really great (and the regular sales person was by far the worst of the whole car buying thing so far for us - best to simply avoid). I'll give you the right contacts.

 

Great: thank you!! What a wonderful forum this is. Toyota should contribute to it. Your note and others convinced us to go Prius. See below.

We have now ordered the Prius (hatchback II); should be here by month end. This is really different for us; having had german cars for many years. The jetta sportwagen felt like home, so to speak, and has alot of oomph around town (236 ft lbs of torque, as you know). The Passat TDI is even more impressive (drives like an Audi; it is big too; reminds me of our A8 - which was an excellent car). But, we wanted a wagon or a hatchback (two smaller dogs).

We're excited about the Prius (funny, because we looked at so many cars that I kinda' dreaded driving; eg ford focus; honda fit). Understand that my last car - just sold - was a beloved M5 BMW, which would pass everything except a gas station (actually, about 20mpg average).

Filled up the Mercedes wagon on the way home from the dealer (~$65 of premium gas) and realized that it would have cost us about $25 of reg gas with the Prius. Then, Kathy saw a new green one, (seafoam?), and that sealed the deal. We had silver picked out.

Yeah; the VW TDI reliabilty records ain't horrible, but not in the same league as the Prius, from the little homework we did over the weekend. Seems like you get excellent mileage (52 mpg) with your TDI; compliments. Interestingly, the EPA window sticker figures for the 2012 Sportwagen are not at all great: 29 city; 39 highway, with DSG automatic. Road tests say expect 40 - 46. Yours better yet. The base TDI wagon would have cost us roughly $5K more out the door.

 

Thanks Roger

I'll use the avatar as a pmail link. Appreciate the tip.

Costco price was alot lower than the other quotes we received, even from the same dealer. Glad your daughter was also able to take advantage of this also.

For all: costcoauto.com offers prearranged discount pricing with local dealers. Go to the site and plug in your costco membership #, your zip code, and the specific vehicle you're shopping for (year make model trim color interior options and etc). Be very specific. You should receive a quote within 24 hours.

If you're not a costco member, its $50/year. We had roughly 5o times this in prius savings. Plus, you'll be able to buy raisin bran in boxes which should last at least 9 months, assuming you could stand eating two bowls every day.

 

May I make some gentle car buying suggestions? These are based upon hard experience:

- Keep it simple
(take the time to settle on exactly the car you want before endeavouring to purchase. Suggest you go to another dealer and do all this beforehand)

- Buy online
(eg costco.com - above- or carsdirect.com, etc)

- Always pay cash
(get a bank loan if you need to, but do not even discuss financing with a dealer)

- Only consider out the door pricing
(keep it simple and directly comparable)

- Avoid all dealer/distributor tack ons
(no, you don't need fabric scotchguard, paint sealer, nitrogen tire inflation, cheap window film, deer whistles, etc. You may not be able to avoid the dealer selling the car mats back to you, or charging you $500 in "document fees", but try. Costco.com as an example refuses doc fees)

- Never trade in
(sell your old car on craigslist, or drop it off at carmax, etc. Don't even discuss it with a new car dealer)

Car dealers hate simple, and some will seemingly dislike you - but all will respect you. Trust me; I play poker with a couple of new car dealership owners (not Toyota). The marks that buy a $37K Prius (like the showroom one at our dealer) with $2K extended warranty and in house financing are the ones they laugh about. And Prius/Toyota buyers are amoung the most savvy and best heeled.

The really humerous (and sad, to me) stories are about wide-eyed, poorly educated, credit challenged, upside down buyers of big diesel pick ups and garish SUV's. Dealers are making really good money these days on high risk in house car financing, geared toward recycling new car repo's at ridiculous prices and interest rates.

 

Thanks!

There were none at the dealer. Zero. We had to order one to get the "seaglass pearl". Would have either been silver Prius (or a Jetta Sportwagen; ahem) if Kathy hadn't seen the "green" one on the drive home.