Has Prius lost its shine?

Don't know, but I will tell you that Toyota does not seem to be hurting. I went to Penn Toyota in Roslyn in January telling them I was interested in a new Prius (10 or 11). They promised me a call for a test drive and never called back. The salesman was a jerk. I had bought two cars from that dealership. There won't be a third.

Then I asked a friend that worked at Sunrise Toyota in Suffolk and she gave me the sales manager's number. Called him twice, he said he was with clients and would return the call. Never called back. Then I tried Millenium Toyota in Hempstead last Sunday, who took a deposit and told me he would have my car within two days. It is now more than a week later. The salesman is nice but the others at the dealership are gruff and I only get called back about 50% of the time.

I don't understand it. I am an easy sale, all cash, no trade. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield, can't get respect. All the dealers have inventory as well, although not the specs of what I want. If my car is not in by tomorrow I think I am going to get the Civic Hybrid. I really want the Prius but I am not going to beg.

 

The Honda Civic is not a full hybrid, just electric assisted gazoline engine. Take it easy and wait a little bit, probably to big demand for cars. maybe Lexus Ct200 is an option for you. You will get Prius in a different coat.

 

It seems to me that it may not be a mater of "shine," but rather
dilution.

By that I mean that the Prius no longer occupies the majority of the
news and the mental space about hybrids and other high milage
alternatives; the EV family, new technology ICEs, etc.

I know that the vast majority of drivers are not following the
announcements by all the other auto makers of new models to come.
But, even if you do try to keep informed, it seems every day something
new is announced.

For me at least, the result is focus less on the alphabet-soup Prii to
come, and investigate the alternatives. While the Prius isn't a perfect fit
for me, and the new one's won't be either, one of the many not-yet-at-
the-dealer alternatives might be a better fit.

The Prius will be but one of many high MPG vehicles. Granted, it is still
the standard bearer with a long, impressive history. But new models
like the Hyundai Sonata hybrid, etc, etc, are really attractive
alternatives. And despite the soon to arrive Prius PHEV, IMHO, Toyota
no longer stands alone at the leading edge of the technology...
and may even have been surpassed.

:behindsofa:

 

but if your talking reduced prius sales, you have to look at what else is currently available. are any other 40-50 mpg vehicles increasing or are people buying more guzzlers?

 

People are still suspicious of hybrid technology. Comparable non-hybrids usually cost a lot less to boot. Very happy with my Prius -- pretty much drives like any car -- nothing intimidating -- nice ride and plenty of room. With gas set to skyrocket, I'm surprised you can get anything off msrp. Too much inventory I suppose.

 

Took a deposit for WHAT ??? You gave a deposit for a car that you never even saw, and they never called you back .... so YOU DIDN'T CALL THEM ???

And now you're ticked off ... so rather than buying the car you want .... you're going to buy a totally different car that you don't even want .... all to punish Toyota for idiotic and incompetent salesmen at some dealerships ???

If 3 out of 3 dealerships are responding this way to you, there's something else going on .... they're obviously not taking you seriously ....

I'm not understanding your thinking or actions here .... it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd beg a car dealer to call me back ... and I'd damned well make certain that the owners of those dealerships know about it, with names given.

REV

 

+1

I've just gone through the shopping/buying process for a Prius IV(4) for a friend of mine (I had purchased my own back in July). I submitted for quotes through Toyota, Edmunds, Truecar and AAA websites.
6 dealers responded within 1 hour. All had quotes in my inbox within 2-3 hours. 4 of them called for follow up, and 2 emailed follow ups within a day. 4 of them were within an hour's drive.
We ventured to the 2 most local of the group and were fairly and eagerly dealt with by both. As the service depts and reputations of both were equal, the cars identical and the prices negotiated were the same (>$1500 below invoice) it all came down to the amount being allowed on the trade-in.
One dealer came in at $560 more for the trade, so they won.
My friend will be picking up his new car this week-his first Prius- in fact his first Toyota (he's in his late 70's).
All in all, it was an intense (and intensive) experience taking about 3 weeks from initial thought to signing the contract.

My only complaint (and a very common one it is) is that only 1 salesperson between the 2 dealerships actually had the slightest clue about the features and overall operation of the Prius.
That's also the man who got the sale.
The misinformation spouted by some of the others was truly jaw-dropping.
Examples:
I never knew that you had to start the engine to listen to the stereo (no ACC position on a Hybrid), or that there were no Sat radio presets: you just had to twirl the knob until you hear what you like.
Or that the "B" shift position was for going uphill in snow.
Or that the "B" shift position was for charging the battery.
Or that you could only get power adjustable seats if you got the Prius V(5) package.
Or that the Solar roof option charged the car's 12V battery.

(you get the picture)

All in all, we were prepared and meant business in all of our dealings. The salespeople understood that and we were treated as such-despite a few having limited/no knowledge about the Prius itself.

 

There is tons of bogus information floating around about Prius, hybrids, etc...

I think most of it centers around the batteries, the materials that go into them, cost, lifespan, production and disposal.

Last night at Toastmasters, was mentioning Leaf to a nice lady, she starts in 'oh, my friend said the mining of Lithium for batteries leaves a bunch of toxic environmental damage in Africa or South America, so I wouldn't want that or a Prius, I'll stick with a gas car'.

So, arm yourself with knowledge about Li mining, battery production and disposal / recycling to refute what skeptics and naysayers say about it.

FYI, Bolivia is sitting on 40% of the world's reserve of Lithium and their authorities are very interested in partnering with intl. countries to mine and export it. Prius PHV will be shipping with Li-Ion batteries.

 

CD, I have to say that I'm relatively unconcerned about misconceptions within the general public. This can be tackled on a case-by-case basis.
My greater concern is the lack of product knowledge and the parroting of these "facts" by Toyota salespeople.
Back in my old retail management days these guys would be sent home to learn the product and be able to do a credible demo of the car or find a different line of work.

 

You can also point to the Niger Delta, BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Exxon Valdez, etc, and ask them if they're concerned about that sort of damage.

 

My sales experience was excellent at Milham Toyota in Easton PA. Treated like royalty, given the best deal of 4 different dealerships, with excellent follow up service and calls.

I just don't get how people are 'abused' or 'ignored' by a car dealership. They wouldn't get my business at any price, and if business was so good that they could abuse and ignore customers, then they must be in a different business world than the one I'm in.

I guess that's what people are used to in NY and KA, so they just don't know any better.

REV

 

You might not be concerned by Toyota and other makers of hybrids should be. All these crazy myths are enough to drive people to not even consider a Prius or other hybrid or quickly rule it out.

I had a recent encounter as I posted at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ti-hybrid-anti-prius-folks-3.html#post1265753 and someone posted his what he "learned" after having a Prius for 2 weeks at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ti-hybrid-anti-prius-folks-3.html#post1266083.

My other problem is that salesmen at Toyota dealers might/do tout things that lead to customer disappointment. For instance, I went on a test drive of a 2010 Prius many months ago when I was at a dealer waiting for some work on my 06. He knew I had an 06 and thus plenty of experience w/it. The sales guy kept touting 50 mpg... Great, that's the EPA test result. YMMV.

People who have short city drives, esp. on cold weather are going to look at the 51 city/48 highway, 50 combined on the sticker and get in the mid 30s to mid 40s and likely be disappointed. They don't know what goes into the EPA test vs. their drive. I see it all too much here on PC.

I really wish the EPA would add a short city drive in cold weather cycle to the tests and require it on the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroney_sticker"]Monroney sticker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame].

 

I hear ya cwerdna. Tons of work to do to boost Prius image.

I'm having my '88 p/u smogged at 76 station yesterday. service mgr. doing the work, told him, yeah, sold the Prius, bought Accord Couple ... boy, the 46 MPG was good on the Prius ..

immediate response, yeah, but they're so slow, have to wait for them to pick up speed. city cars, no good on the highway, blah, blah.

I said, but, the all new Prius is much better, more robust car. He's like, yeah, whatever.

----------
Like said, lady at TM, ..... hybrid battery making is toxic.

neighbor last year, .... big deal about Prius .... batteries probably end up in landfill in China.
and on and on.

Driving 'cross town ..... wads of conventional cars, sedans, SUV's, CUV's, pickups,......

hybrids? Once in a while. sure, go to Mill Valley, Marin county, used to be everywhere. Palo Alto, lots in SF.

ramblin' on. Still lots of FUD out there.

I just want to be able to beat down any BS about batteries being bad and all.

 

Hi Cwerdna,

As I said, we can deal with the uninformed on a case-by-case basis. It's up to Toyota and other hybrid producing car companies to try to educate the public.
You can imagine the comments that I had gotten from Hyundai and other (at the time) non-hybrid-selling dealers when I had mentioned the Prius.
The $6000 battery pack needed every 3 years, the horrible slowness of the car (yet it could achieve 100+ MPH during the all-to-common unintended accelleration) to list a few.
My real problem is when a Toyota store sales drone can't even operate the car properly or know about the Hill Assist and how it works. It reflects poorly on the dealership management and Toyota itself.
If they can't educate their own reps (whom should have a vested interest), how good a job can they do with the general public?
It seems that the average Prius buyer has done the research themselves and, more often than not, knows more about the car than the seller. I'd be interested in knowing how many PC members got "converted" by their salesperson after going to a Toyota dealer to buy a different car....

 

And in this case the dealer probably doesn't care, as they still sold a car.

(former Sales Manager mode on)

I could almost see that tactic if it's the end of the month, you need to book one last sale and you have no Prii available (and can't trade another dealer for one).

I said almost

(former Sales Manager mode off)

I wonder if Toyota cares......

 

i think a knowledgeable sales person (is that an oxymoron?) might guide a customer who isn't sure what they want to one car or another. especially an older person who might step on the gas instead of the brake. the prius can be daunting for some people.

 

Hi Bisco!


To be "knowledgeable" all it should really take is the salesperson pulling out 1 particular car per day- just to drive it around and learn the controls. After a month's time they should have a good working knowledge of the entire line-especially because the same controls may be used on a number of different models within a manufacturer's line. If they were really ambitious (perish the thought) they could step it up and drive 2-3 different vehicles a day.
If a salesperson is unwilling to spend 10-15 minutes of their own time (if the dealer won't compensate it) per day to learn the product they'd have a VERY short life span at any store with which I was involved- unless, of course, they already knew everything.
It's called buy-in. You invest a small amount of your own time to be better at your job, therefore selling more effectively and making more sales.
Of course, it's more fun just hanging around and talking to the other salespeople when there's "nothing" to do.
I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when Tideland's friend's parents were at the dealership. It sounds like he (I assume it was a "he" as TP didn't specify) was trying to scare them out of the purchase.
So far as mistaking the throttle for the brake, well, I can't speak to that.....:deadhorse:
Daunting, possibly, but a test drive would sort that out pretty quickly-or renting one (if you can) for an extended "test drive" if you've any concerns.

 

Well, when I was looking at Prius, and I visited more than one dealership, I can testify to this happening.

I don't know the motivation behind it. Fear of trying to show a Prius? Some salesmen are woefully inept at knowing anything about Prius or Hybrids..I had a salesman that absolutely could not get the car started. I had to push the power button for him...

Or in my case, I was driving a 93 Accord for trade in....perhaps they make instantaneous value judgements about what you can afford? I had salesmen keep trying to "steer" me to a Yaris Hatchback or a Matrix...

I think it's a problem Toyota needs to address with their sales people. I almost had to get angry and INSIST at looking at The Prius.

So why I don't really know the motivation behind the actions, I do know that salespeople sometimes seem very hesitant and openly resistant sometimes to showing or selling a Prius.

 

2011 HYUNDAI ACCENT GL 4 Door - Automatic w A/C --> 17,782$ incl. tax and gets 5.5L/100km (42MPG)

2011 TOYOTA PRIUS - Automatic w A/C --> 32,999$ incl. tax and gets 4.0L/100km (58 MPG)

People, at least here in Quebec, are NOT ready to fork +15,200$ for such a "small" gain of ~1.5L/100km in fuel economy.

p.s. please note that people here consider Accent, Civic, Corolla, Yaris, etc. all in "compact/standard" car size and they are the best sellers. Accord, Camry, Malibu are "big" cars and they don't sell a lot except for the elderly.

My 2 cents