Best price you got for a v Five in So. Cal?

I don't care if you can beat this deal by a couple of $100 bills. Everyone says that you will be treated right the first time and every time, and get a great deal here; SoCal Dianne's Prius v deals - leases or buys! | PriusChat

I'm jealous that you are in the So Cal market so you get the opportunity to visit and get an offer. I had to work for my deal here in Central New York (Upstate), and never felt like anything but a paycheck to my local dealer. I used truecar.com verbal offer to get my local dealer to match $500 above invoice, and that was good enough for me.

 

Shopped around using Costco, Sam's Club, AAA, and Penfed buying programs. You don't have to be a great negotiator, just ask around. Be honest and tell the others what you've found. Costco is one of the best, but ended up buying through Penfed @ Toyota of Poway. I'm almost scared to tell you the deal. Sticker $36775, asking price $33711.24. If you go through Penfed and purchase, Penfed has extremely cheap GAP insurance, so don't get the Toyota one, as well as a low 1.49% financing on (0 down is what we chose) up to 60 months, (for vehicles purchased through their auto buying program. It is 1.99% otherwise.) Toyota of Poway also includes a $250 deductable lifetime powertrain warranty for free to boot.

 

I assume the Penfed program isn't open to the public - is that true? What kind of pricing did you see from Costco and Sam's Club? My local dealer said he isn't willing to take a dollar off the sticker despite buying our last two cars there. I know AZ is a tough market because they are very popular here. I was thinking of looking somewhere else - I don't mind a road trip home!

Has anyone purchased a car out of state to save money? If so - what was your experience?

 

Purchased a new Prius v Five yesterday. Not at all thrilled with Toyota's packaging of options - I think the same guy that packages cable TV choices worked on Toyota's packages. It would be worth a few bucks (and the wait) to me if you could truly "build your own" and pick and choose individual items instead of complete packages. Having said that, the MSRP was $30,140.00; Sticker total was $32,716.98; Total out-the-door with tax, tag, title, and various other fees I don't understand was $33,000.00. Included 36-month free maintenance, lifetime powertrain warranty, 0% 36-month financing. We used the Costco purchase program, which resulted in reasonably straightforward business dealing and a reasonable (I guess) price, but we had to travel a fur piece to the participating dealer.

Now trying to figure out how to tell PriusChat to list both Prii in the profile.

Oops, sorry. Just read the forum title. This purchase was in Florida. I'll be interested in California data, however, to see if it might pay to fly to CA and buy my next one. Do the CA regulations and warranties apply to any vehicle purchased in CA, or just those initially registered in CA, or what?

 

You can donate a little money, $15 or $20, to join PenFed Federal credit union. Then keep a minimum $5 in your share account. Pricing changes over time, so I'm not sure if they are the same now, but I did check a few dealers because I was looking for a lifetime warranty. Costco was invoice - $100 on in stock. +$500 for ordered w/ all the goodies I wanted. But I found that dealers wouldn't keep the +$500 deal but I didn't try the last dealer who wanted me to sign paperwork. I think my equivalent was -$850 or so because there is a hidden advertising fee. At least here in CA you have to pay use tax, smog, basically not worth it to buy out of state.

 

I looked at SoCal Dianne's current list of deals and it looked to me like it might have saved me just about enough money to pay for the flight out and a nice trip back, compared to the Costco deal here in FL. Most Florida dealers add what's quaintly called a "Bump Sticker" to the window, which the Southeast Toyota distributor graciously provides, which tacks on usually unnecessary extras plus a "Market Adjustment" fee, which on the v was $2995. Even with the Costco deal, I got the extras, but avoided the insulting fee. I think it'd be a nice gesture if Toyota waived that fee automagically for existing Toyota owners. Some other brands and/or dealers do have a "loyalty" discount that would have "saved" us $1,000 on a Hyundai. I'll be replacing my 2005 Prius in a few years (hopefully with the Prius h -- the hydrogen-powered model) and will be a much wiser consumer after going through the Prius v experience.

 

Southeast Toyota is kind of tricky. For our '04 Sienna I got "their" mudguards, thinking I got the greatest deal, but later realized that there was a different part number for true Toyota parts. If you buy out of state, as long as you are able to not pay sales tax/registration in that state and only pay in your state, I say go for it. I don't think there is any way around CA taxes, so I would have to find a state that I could buy and not pay taxes there. (If you try you won't be able to register the car. They assess the tax at the DMV.)

 

In Florida, if you've paid another state's sales tax, that amount is credited toward the Florida sales tax. If I bought the car in CA, with its 8.25% tax, and brought it to Florida (6% tax), needless to say they wouldn't give me a 2.25% refund... I'm not sure what a CA dealer would do if I showed up with me FL tag and told her I was leaving the Golden State immediately.

Update: I read in another forum that the only way to avoid paying CA tax is to have the car shipped out of CA -- if it's driven on a CA road at all, tax is due. I wonder if I could have it shipped to an adjoining state?

 

I ship plenty of Prii out of state... plenty. If you have questions, just email me at my email address below.

 

Dianne - I sent you an email. Thanks