DO NOT buy from Tustin Toyota or North Hollywood Toyota

I will be picking up my second 08 #2 package at Freeman Toyota, Santa Rosa, CA on Friday. The quoted price will be the MSRP, no additional costs. They have been very helpful. And the wait - 3 weeks, My first 08 #2 package was purchased April 28 for $1000 under MSRP in but I've been unable to find anything like that since.

 

We had a terrible experience at Tustin Toyota. They told us it would be $32,000 for a Package 6 and when we went down to test drive it THE NEXT DAY, they said the price had increased to $37,000. That is almost $9,000 over MRSP! Then when we said that three other dealers quoted us MUCH LOWER prices, they said "those dealers must be lying. You won't find a cheaper deal anywhere."

Oh really? Because through my research I found three dealers that were offering at or $1000 over MSRP:
(1) Toyota of Anaheim: talk to Jay- he is simply LOVELY.
(2) Toyota of Santa Monica
(3) Longo Toyota: talk to Dominique- also lovely.

But back to how Tustin Toyota SUCKS: They also refused to give us quotes for the two Rav 4 models we were looking at because "the finance guys don't like to give quotes on that many cars." You're kidding me, right? That's their JOB. And we weren't asking for quotes on a lot of cars- just two Rav 4 models and two Prius models, and we specifically asked for ballpark figures, not financing offers- all we wanted to do was eliminate the Rav 4 if it was not cost-effective. Eventually they gave us quotes (after almost 2 hours) and their quotes were certainly not tied to reality, because we went home and priced the Ravs and it took us 15 minutes.

In short, Tustin Toyota wasted our time, lied to us to get us in the door, lied to us while we test drove, tried to increase the premium by $5000 once we test drove the cars, refused to answer our questions, and lied about the market (clearly they have no idea what other dealers are doing.) Even though the guy we test drove with (Forrest) was very nice, he is new and had no power to make a reasonable offer on the car. I would never recommend that anyone go to Tustin Toyota.

Also- a word about Hollywood Toyota- They offer to order the Prius at MSRP but require that you purchase 3 accessories from a short list where nothing is less than $450. When I told Roy, the internet manager, that I did not want three accessories and that other dealerships were not requiring the purchase of accessories, he became very rude and actually said "well then I don't want to sell this car to you anyway" and almost hung up on me! Thankfully Thomas Cook, his manager, rescued the phone and spoke with me at length about how they ordered and sold Prius'. If you are going to Hollywood Toyota, ask for Thomas- he is lovely.

Whatever happened to CUSTOMER SERVICE?!

 

wow tustin toyota story totally blew me away, i walked out there with 2 cars( fjcruiser and scion xB ) in 1 day and not a problem, in and out

 

Keyes on Van Nuys is selling Prius' at a $3495 markup (they require you to purchase the "premium package" for $3495, which includes chrome rims, body side molding, and lojack.)

this would make sense is EVERYONE was selling the cars at above MSRP- in which case it would make sense for dealerships to compete by "giving the customer something for the premium" by adding extra features- but that is not what is happening.

don't believe any dealer who says that dealerships are "lying" when they say they will sell to you at MSRP!

i also want to thank everyone who has posted tips about dealers. this forum is such a great resource and i am thankful for everyone on it- it definitely makes me feel like i am not alone navigating through the challenge of buying a prius!

 

Longo Victor Zeng no primium actually less then MSRP 626-580-6000 I know i am driving mine. Got it last week!

 

Northridge Toyota asking $24,389 plus $3995 for chromed rims, leather seat covers, and tinted windows for Package 2.

Toyota Thousand Oaks -- asking $4,000 - $5,000 above MSRP.

Haven't found a dealership in the Los Angeles area that would accept an offer of $1,000 above MSRP for a package 6.

Long Beach Toyota was willing to give me $2,500 above MSRP for a Touring No. 6 . . .

Starting to wonder if I should have taken it . . .

 

if a dealer has the car on the lot and the prius is "smart key" ready for you to drive home, then you will be paying some kind of premium.......

i called EVERY DEALER in socal area......LA and SD up to santa barbara

the wait list is getting out of hand.......the "promised time" has increased a month or two on the popular colors and packages

if you don't care what color or package you get, then you can probably get the car in a minimum of two weeks

most of the dealers have their individual wait lists......when they know what prius they will be getting in (usually on the ship) they will call their perspective lists and tell each customer to hurry up and come in to complete the paperwork so they can secure the VIN.......when it arrives on the lot in a week or two, they can pick it up

many dealers will add a premium to the prius.......ranging from 2K all the way up to 8-10K (shame on you pasadena)

most of the dealers are getting smart and marking "add-ons" to the prius.......the shop will automatically "add-on" tinted windows, paint protection, lo-jack, leather, chrome wheels........you name it, they will add it on and then charge you a ridiculous amount for options you never wanted in the first place........this is their way to tell you that "while other dealers mark it up with a premium, we at least give you something for the outrageous price increase"

frontier toyota in valencia has a supposed "first come-first serve" scam @ MSRP.......they will get you in the door at 6am to wait for the list to come......they will ask what color and package you want, then ask if you are willing to pay for extended warranty at 500 over MSRP (1500)........then they will ask if you are willing to pay for tinted windows and paint protection at a whopping 1200.........if you agree to "their terms" they will get you your prius right away........no matter what time you walked in the doors.........but if you are the very first person there at 5am and do not want the add-ons, then you are SOL..........

if you are in no hurry for the prius, then the wait list at longo is your best bet.........the only problem is you can only be waitlisted on an EXACT COLOR AND PACKAGE........so if you pick magnetic gray, package 5, then your wait will be around 3 months.........but as far as i know, you pay MSRP

my advice, call around and do your research.........do not fall trap to the add-ons........500 for tint??????? 1500 for lo-jack???????? 2500 for leather???????? 1500 for toyota chrome wheels?????????

i got lucky and happened to call a dealer saturday morning.......i guess a guy who was on a long waitlist decided he didnt want his car.........right time, right place..........i rushed over and paid a small premium, but i was able to drive off the lot with the EXACT COLOR AND PACKAGE i wanted

good luck to all.........hope this helps

 

thanks for your post! from this forum, i've heard good things from longo. i'll be calling them first. also, seems like PC has an insider at manhattan beach so i'll check with the lady there, too. will update you guys.

 

They are $3995 over. Worse yet, they were one of the ones that lied to us to get us in the door. Once we sat down with them, the truth came out.

Notice my username. I was thoroughly disappointed I couldn't buy from my hometown dealership.

 

talked with victor from longo. he is not charging a penny over MSRP and now i'm on a 2 month waiting list!

 

Please say hi to Victor from Arthur when you speak him. I am very happy. The have called at least 3 times to check in and make sure everything is great with my car. Longo also hosts a dinner and information gathering after you have purchased your Prius. They are just awesome honest and concerned about your customer experience!

 

how long were you on the waiting list for? he told me there's a 2 month wait, but i'm also being very specific to what i want. and how was longo's financing?

 

I didn't finance and it was a wait list of 4 to 6 weeks for a very specific fully loaded order.

 

i see you got a touring #6. that's exactly what i got, in red 4-6 weeks is not bad at all. was he able to throw in any freebies?

 

with a lot of new prius owners in SOCAL it would be nice if the westcoast had its own version of HYBRIDFEST ... hehehe my.02

 

Here's a dealer to avoid: Toyota of Pasadena.

Ken Cardenas gave me a quote over the phone of........are you ready for this......

$11,000 over MSRP!!

ahahahahaha.

On the other hand, Hans at Longo has been fine to deal with so far. I'm on the list for a Barcelona Red Touring #6 at MSRP.

 

Tustin Toyota has a Spectra Blue Package 6 that has been sitting on their lot for the last 3 days. They have called me three times about it. Each time I tell them that I am not going to pay over MSRP for a Package 6, especially because I want a Package 5 and the MSRP for a Package 6 is already $1000 more than I want to spend. When they first got the car, they said it would be a $6000 premium. Now during our last call they said $3,000. So, they are dropping the price on that car, if anyone is interested (I am personally holding out for Longo Toyota, where I put a deposit down last week). Moin is the name of the person who gave me the $3,000 premium, but he is generally unpleasant. The only mildly tolerable person there is Forrest. Good luck.

 

if anyone is interested on that spectra blue #6 at Tustin, ask for Greg, he's the one i dealt with for my bros xB and my buddies FJcruiser, he was great do deal with no nonsense

-cheers

 

edited: double post...my bad

 

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

ken cardenas @ pasadena

dude is a joke

i remember this guy blowin up my cell phone last month trying to sell me one at a 5K premium

dude is up to 11 now?

what a DEAL!