cheapest price for a prius?

I don't know what you mean by "good enough" sound system. You might find the base stereo sufficient. If not, the JBL units are the only step up. Prius model Three comes w/the JBL stereo and should meet your needs. MSRP is $24520 (and $25280 w/dest charge) per The 3rd Generation Toyota Prius Hybrid models and prices.

I don't know where you are in CA and I have no experience w/DianneWhitmire (too far for me) but she posts here frequently and I've heard of good experiences w/her. I bought my car at Toyota Sunnyvale in 06 and was satisfied w/the price given market conditions, at the time. I was happy w/the buying experience and wouldn't hesitate to go back there for another Toyota.

A quick check on http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=95136&acode=01C10TOC161B0&restore=false for a Prius Three comes up with a CarsDiect price of $24,727, including dest charge. If you're going to haggle, to me, whatever CarsDirect comes up with ought to be a max you're willing to pay. (I haven't been in the market for a Prius since 06, so I don't know current conditions and pricing.)

 

I just bought my Prius third gen brand new 2011 two weeks ago. Put $10k down and planned to finance the rest but as the finance guy was putting together my papers I decided that I did not want a monthly payment so I had him draw up the paperwork so I could come back the following week and pay it off if I wanted to. I ended up paying the car off in cash 6days later. So basically, I did exactly what you want to do...

I consider myself an excellent negotiator when it comes to buying cars and I have to say (anyone want to correct me, please feel free to) that it may be very near impossible to get a brand new 2010 or 2011 prius gen 3 for what you are asking for. I got mine for 22k after knocking $2000 off the MSRP. and it had nothing to do with my paying cash in full. Personally, I dont think disclosing that you are going to be paying in full from the get go is a great idea.

but good luck with finding your perfect car! Even if you have to pay a little bit more, you will find that it is worth every penny!

 

A BASE 2011 Prius Two is $24280 MSRP, invoice $23294, and AAA price $22794 in zip code 90210 (the only CA zip code I know) so expecting to get a NEW 2011 for $20000 is not realistic. The dealer is 12.9 miles from this zip code. You won't find a new 2010 on any dealer's lot and 2011's are evaporating as the last of them are on the boat.

Around here the AAA price is invoice so the market has returned to the pricing we saw pre-earthquake/tsunami. If you want a 2011 now is the time to buy while you can still find what you want.

 

Why not wait to get a Prius c early next year?

It will cost less and get even higher MPG.
.

 

OP i don't think there will be too many 2011 left on dealer's lots by the time the 2012's get there, however, if there are any left you will probably get a pretty sweet deal on one.
with that said, i don't think you will get any better deal than the member who posted previously (Sophia $22k), maybe a couple of hundred dollars less but $20k is very unlikely.
good luck with the search, BTW i am looking for one too haha.

 

Most dealers don't want cash deals. They make more money selling the loans.

I MObuy what you can afford and replace the stereo system with something aftermarket. You'll get more bang for your buck that way.

When the Prius v and the Prius Plugin start selling you will see a lot more used GenIII s available and you are more likely to get a better deal.

 

When the Prius v and the Prius Plugin start selling you will see a lot more used GenIII s available and you are more likely to get a better deal.

I agree, that would be a great time to buy a used 2010 or 2011. Obviously you should be able to get a better price on the 2010.

 

December 2010 was about the low of the Prius market. They could be found by the dozen on the lot. I said Toyota would have to cut production. Well, the natural disasters did just that & inventory evaporated. Until very recently they were selling for over MSRP. The price has been sliding to MSRP, then to a small discount from MSRP, now invoice to under invoice in some places. The only 2011's left are on the boat or the lot. They won't last, especially at invoice.

 

Remember that the price paid is only one part of the total equation. Your friend might have traded in a Honda Pilot or some very desirable car to get the Prius and may have been low balled on their trade-in value by a few thousand dollars, such that knocking off an additional 1k off a base prius price would still make financial sense to the dealer.

Of course, the 19K your friend paid may not be the "out the door" price either. Add another 10% for tax and license + destination charges. Maybe he got a rebate and financed at 10%. The dealer has all sorts of ways to make money on a car (financing, trade in values, final car price are but three of them), long before they get to undercarriage sealant, pin striping, extended warranties, prepaid maintenance, etc