Didn't order my Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Renocat @ Jul 15 2006, 11:29 AM) [snapback]286753[/snapback]</div>

Some of us, when buying a Prius, have found that calling several dealers to find one with decent inventory is the best option. You might try contacting a number of dealers (I know you won't have the same number available as someone in a metro area) and see what you can do for a fair trade-in value. Toyota dealers know that they have a hot item in the Prius and some of them don't seem to want to operate in a fair and honest manner...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Renocat @ Jul 15 2006, 09:29 AM) [snapback]286753[/snapback]</div>

Well, sorry to tell you, but this is fairly typical. Unless you have a high resell value, easy to sell vehicle, like a Honda Accord, etc., dealers are always going to squeeze you on the trade. That trade is just going to get sold off by them, so they are just trying to make a quick buck on it. With the Prius they are extra sensitive because many dealers are still getting above MSRP...so they are trying to maximize their overall profit on each sale.

As far as the first salesman and what he told you...they have nothing to do with trades...they are only a go between. Of course they would try to tell you what they think you wanted to hear.

Maybe you can try to "meet the in the middle"...and settle on 11,500. When you are talking about $500 over the life of the vehicle it is not that much. I am sure you also want to make sure to get in on the full tax rebate too, so paying an extra $500 to ensure that is not so bad.

Of Course, we feel your pain. Dealing with the car buying process really sucks! When they hassled me over my trade, I used some other dealer names to tell them that I had received higher offers for the trade...but I wanted to give them the opportunity on the Prius because I had contacted them first (all lies, but I was playing their game). It worked...I got my trade amount and got my Prius for MSRP with no add ons.

Goodluck!

 

Renocat wrote: "KBB says my car is worth 10,520 for fair condition, 12,020 for good condition and 12,900 for excellent condition. I fairly rated my car as good + condition based on its actual condition and the extended warranty that is remaining."

Renocat,

Don't forget that KBB has a different price for trade-in verses private party.
I would guess in your case, that diffeence is around $1500-$2000. So if you
sold the car yourself, you could expect to get that much more for your car than
the dealer is willing to offer.

My experience with selling my last two cars on my own is that this experience is
pretty painless with Caigs list and auto-trader. It took me one day to sell my
older car, and four days to sell my 2002 Mazda Tibute. I sold both of them within
$200 of the suggested KBB private party price. I don't think I will ever trade-in again.

Maybe that will help you. I do however live in a large metropolitan area, (San Francisco),
so there are lots of buyers out here.

This might help you get more for your "trade-in."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mssmith95 @ Jul 15 2006, 11:46 AM) [snapback]286763[/snapback]</div>

I bought my 2006 Prius here in Texas and was trading in one of my Tundras (a 2004) which was in very good condition with reasonable mileage, and they wanted to give me a very low trade-in and gave me the exact same story about people wanting to buy cars with better gas mileage (even the same quote: "you're looking for a Prius, right?"). So I sold mine at carMax and got $3,000 more for the trade-in and it was a very pleasant experience. This is the second vehicle I've sold to them and in both cases they gace me way more than the dealer wanted to do.

 

You can get higher than KBB Trade-in value!! What I did was, I printed out the trade-in value from www.edmunds.com since their numbers were higher (for me). I told the dealer that I am planning to sell it myself and that I would be willing to settle somewhere between Edmunds' trade-in and private party value. I end up getting Edmund's trade-in value which is higher than KBB with additional $500 off MSRP for Prius.

Don't be too upset about walking out. They will call you back the next day! My salesman was still under training so the GM did most of the dirty work. If you want to complain go up higher in the chain or use the buyer satisfication survey as a threath. :lol:

Dennis

 

Sell it yourself.

You'll get more as a private party than as a dealer trade in.

 

Yep I'm from New York and join the club. I hate DEALERS .
When I had to wait 10 months for my 2004 of course THEN when time to purchase car
I was royally ripped off . Of course in NY good thing is the trade in value comes off the taxes
you need to pay for new car so only pay tax on the difference .
But still I paid 25K for my 2003 VW Jetta GLI V6, Leather , sunroof, heated seats,6 speed with 5000 miles and only got 14K

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Renocat @ Jul 15 2006, 12:29 PM) [snapback]286753[/snapback]</div>

Yes, the value of any car today is going to be highly driven by fuel economy. That's why Ford and GM are practically giving away trucks and SUV's along with a year's supply of gasoline and there are still waiting lists for the Prius. It's all about supply and demand.

Also, the lower offer is called negotiation. You got them up on the trade, but not to what you wanted, so you walked. All part of negotiation.

You've got 2 options. Sell the Subaru outright in a private sale or try to deal with a different dealership for your Prius.

 

I agree with David! When i bought my new prius a month ago i traded in my 2002 echo at a value alittle higher than kelly blue book.It was a base model,but because it has great gas mileage i got a good deal.

 

Selling it yourself will always yield more money, and with the market channels of today compared to the past (internet, namely), it's much easier. Just be prudent about your personal info and about meeting potential buyers. Guidelines and tips can be found on ConsumerReports and CarTalk.

Even so, I do understand that hassling with selling yourself is a personal choice and is not the right answer for some. Do what you alone feel is right, except make sure you get the Prius! Duh!

 

I had a similar experience. Went in to purchase a Prius they had on the lot, but the dealer wasn't even willing to come up to KBB trade in for a fair condition 2003 Highlander, when mine was in much better shape than fair. Their comment on it was "The "fair" value is the highest we would ever offer for a trade in". Even though the KBB already takes the fact that it is a trade-in into account with the pricing.

After shopping around for a while I finally found a dealer willing to give me an honest price on my trade (Marin Toyota for anyone in the Bay Area). Very polite, very professional, very good experience overall. It can just take a bit of work to find a good dealer.

And yes, I could've probably gotten more money if I had sold it myself. Unfortunately I don't currently have the time to do so.

 

As my old car wasn't worth much, I didn't bother to trade it in, but donated it to charity.

As the others have said, I'd sell it privately.

 

an 03 Subaru Forrester...youll be LUCKY to get 8k in the real world, and that is IF it has ALL its sales and maint records and is in great condition with low miles. Subaru's just dont resell quickly, and they depriciate badly.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RichBoy @ Jul 15 2006, 02:00 PM) [snapback]286888[/snapback]</div>

I'd have to agree. You would have to get lucky and find someone who wanted your exact vehicle. Otherwise you are going to compete with the mass marketed cars from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda which are much more plentiful and have the reputation for lasting a long time. I would try carmax and see what they were willing to give...if they are less then the dealer, you will know that you are actually getting a pretty good price from them.

A few years from now, while you are still driving your Prius, you will probably look back at this and see that $1k in the scope of things is not that bad. Remember, to sell it private party is going to take some work on your part...advertising, calling people back, meeting people, test drives, smog checks, paperwork...it is not too much fun, and I don't like the lack of privacy . If for some reason you miss any or all of the tax break...that could make this a mute point.

If you are too pissed at this dealer, but come to the realization that you can live with the $11k, then go to another dealer and negotiate up from there. Then you still get your car, and they don't get your business.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Renocat @ Jul 15 2006, 02:20 PM) [snapback]286896[/snapback]</div>

Well it's kind of like EPA mileage figures...not normally on the money, but somewhere in the neighborhood.

You may well be right about the amount of Subaru's in your area being helpful...but I forgot to tell you about something my dealer told me. Part of the reason they gave for not giving KBB value was that KBB value did not take into account the 0% financing and rebates on the new models. They said that those incentives actually lowered the value of a brand new vehicle below KBB new pricing, and that had a trickle down effect on used cars as well. Made a little sense, but probably a bunch of bull.

Another idea would be to go to the Subaru dealer, acting like you want to get another one...and see what they offer you for your trade.

Goodluck and let us know what happens