Markups: Larson Toyota in Tacoma, WA;

Robert O: I emailed Robert Larson last night, after talking to Ron Lewis on the phone. Ron, as you know from my post, offered me a Prius with a 3k markup. In my email, I suggested that part of the process of buying a new car would be to feel good about the dealership from whom I bought it; paying 3k markup only makes Larson look greedy and me like a fool.
I got a response from Ron this morning, "thanking me for my interest in purchasing a car from Robert Larson Toyota" and asking what price would make me feel more comfortable.
I responded: "how about MSRP"? I added that I was part of a Prius chat line and many of the participants purchased their Prii at (or even below) MSRP with no problems, although there were others who reported the same sort of customer gouging. My car finder person told me that I would be a fool to pay the surcharge; she saw the same thing with the Beetle and the PT Cruiser when they were new, and the same thing with the Toyota Sienna last year. Wasn't long before one could easily purchase these cars at MSRP.
Thanks for getting back to me; I'll keep you posted if there's any response from Mr. Larson in Tacoma. Nice to know you had a decent experience there; if they do end up being reasonable after all, I won't feel like a principle-less consumer going there.
Bob

 

That's a good idea, dropping the name of PriusChat.com at these dealers. I think hundreds of people check things out here before they consider buying a car and bad news about a dealer, while it may not be a big thing to them now with the short supply, is bound to impact some buyer's decision. There is strength in numbers and we will be heard!

 

Bob, I bought my Prius at Magic Toyota. The salesperson was Ricardo Aulet, he's from Uruguay and a bit difficult to understand on the phone but was a great guy to work with.

I put a fully-refundable $500 down (I wrote a check which they held) and they gave it back to me at closing.

I ordered in August, got the car October 19 (2 days after general availability).

I've considered myself very lucky. It is a Millennium Silver AM package. It might be that someone ordered what they thought was a BC package and refused it?

Regardless, I was a bit of a squeaky wheel...and I got my car.

Good luck, I like the idea of contacting dealers in Spokane, Wenatchee, Longview, etc. and see if you can make a similar refundable deposit (have them hold your check).

Price T.
Seattle area