CarBuyingTips.Com: Opinions?

So you've been on here a few years, but decided to join just a few days ago? Hmmm, welcome to PriusChat.

Interesting site. Jess Ostroff has a whole section about buying "hybrids", and he does mention other models, but his hybrid "modes" are pure Prius. His general approach, know what you're buying, know the dealer cost, have financing lined up beforehand, etc., are sound, the same thing Consumer's Union (Consumer Reports) advocates. It doesn't sound like he really knows much about hybrids or the Prius from personal experience.

You can usually get better financing at your own bank, if you have good accounts, or at a local credit union, rather than an on-line lender. Sometimes the dealer can come up with better rates. As for buying a Prius online now, I don't see why not. The Internet Sales Manager you contact is probably at your local dealer. As you've probably read here, even since the 20th, don't pay more than MSRP and call around to get the best deal for the model you want. It's always good to go to Toyota.com and "Build your own car" to see the prices for options and availability in your region.

 

Carbuyingtips.com has some really good advice. Whether buying a hybid or a Kia or 2006 Mustang Saleen.

The bottom line is to segment your purchase of the vehicle from every other aspect of the car buying experience. And the best way to do that is to keep the dealer out of the other aspects of the car buying experience. :lol:

As for the Internet, that's how I did it. I visited all of the local dealer websites, and clicked the "get a quote" buttons after choosing a vehicle through their inventory. The dealer who responded with the best price was who I called on the phone. We only went to the dealer the night we took our Prius home.

With that said... I negotiated the price of the car. We didn't talk about Trade (when they asked, I said I wasn't sure I was trading anything at all) or financing. In fact, we obtained our preapproval for financing even before we got our quotes. We knew inventory was out there, and the loan is good for 60 days after approval.

So, when we showed up at the dealer, we had the price of the car settled beforehand. We walked in with a check from our lender and we didn't trade our vehicle (we decided to sell it to my neighbor's friend.) After that, the ONLY way the dealer could try to build in any additional profit was by selling after-market "stuff" which we politely declined.

So, all in all, we paid the price we negotiated. And we left no wiggle room for the dealer to play any games. Perhaps they're scratching their head right now wondering how the let a Prius out the door at $1200 off of MSRP without recouping any of that back. But oh well... unfortunately, there are plenty of Prius buyers out there who do not take advantage of the wealth of information Priuschat.com (and other sites) has to offer. And those folks is who the dealer will make the money on.