Non-'stealerships'

My spouse purchased Monday evening, March 28, at Ourisman Fairfax (Virginia) silver Pkg# 2 and is very happy. She wanted color Green and I wanted Pkg# 4 because of side air bags and the stability control so purchase was a compromise. Charge was for the agreed-upon out-the-door price and wife declined the $699 or so in last-minute offers (scotch guard, undercoating)

 

I was very pleased with James Crossman at mossy Toyota in San Diego. Low pressure and easy to deal with. Bought at MSRP extimated wait was 8 months but I got it in 2 and a half.

 

I got mine from Scott Clement at Bill Dube Toyota in Dover, NH. He was great to work with.

 

Toyota of Hollywood. Worked with Evan and got it for MSRP. No wait. Called on Thursday and picked it up Friday. Couldn't be happier.

 

We had an excellent experience with Pueblo Toyota, after Toyota of Colorado Springs tried to gouge us. Pueblo Toyota charged us MSRP plus floormats plus $295. There was no Toyota Direct Advertising fee, no "Fair Market Admustment" as Toyota of Colorado Springs tried to tack on, and no unwanted options. The out-the-door price was actually less than they'd quoted. (For once I managed to keep my mouth shut.)

Long version, mostly ranting about Toyota of CS, here:

http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t...4243&highlight=

 

Southbay Toyota in Gardena, CA (Patrick Peters) got my silver #6 in 3 days last November at msrp. Patrick also got a black #6 for a friend in Jan. at msrp after 6 weeks. I’m very happy with SouthBay as Patrick is straightforward, very nice & knowledgeable and didn’t charge a premium when they could have.

I was on the waiting list for 6 months at Santa Monica when my turn came up last November. Santa Monica was charging $1300 over msrp for paint protection and low jack as mandatory add ons. I was even okay with paying for extras at the time just to get my Prius. But when I went into the Santa Monica dealer to get my car, I was given the run around on the extended warranty-my salesman didn’t know how much it would cost or what the time limit was to buy the warranty but he was trying to sell it to me, so I got fed up and started checking other dealers. A friend had bought a Prius at msrp earlier in the year and told me I could find one at msrp if I just called around.

Now I even take my car to Southbay for service, even though I live in Santa Monica. They also charge about a third less for service than Santa Monica. The service guy, Steve Evans, gave me a copy of some of the technical info from the Prius mechanic’s manual when I had questions about possibly reprogramming the door locks because that info isn’t available in the owner’s manual. He’s been so helpful that I feel like I have a mechanic who knows my car and cares enough to get the answers to my questions and I’m not just dropping my car off at a large impersonal dealership.

 

Toyota 101, Redwood City, CA - excellent service!

Highly recommend Toyota 101, Redwood City, CA!

Went to this dealership in 2002 to get my first Prius, salesperson Scott Workinger was awesome in working with my wife and I so that we could afford the monthly payment on the car. Because of my credit score at the time, I had trouble getting the loan they'd promised, and they had to call me back a few days later to modify the monthly payment. They worked hard to lower the price on a couple of things so my payment only went up about $20 more a month.

Then I went in again just last week to check out what the cost of a new 2005 Prius would be for me (though I did not expect to walk out with one), and my credit score was up because I'd made payments on time on the 2002 for 2 years running. It wasn't quite enough to give me Tier 1 credit, but they gave me that payment plan anyway because I was a repeat customer. They happened to have a brand new AM model on the lot that a customer had decided not to buy at the last minute. Not the ideal I wanted, but the BC would have been too costly a monthly payment for me. Especially when I got to the finance department and added the extended warranty, GAP insurance, and "Touch of Class". The finance person was nice but not pushy in showing me all the extra options, and recommended the ones that were most important, as well as ones I could add later on if I wanted. So now I'm paying $60 more on my monthly car payment than I did before, but it's totally worth it! I love my new Prius!

 

:idea: Howdy alicesantamonica...

You commented "...because that info isn’t available in the owner’s manual...." regarding programming for "which doors unlock" with the SKS system.

Page 30 in my manual contains those instructions under the paragraph heading "Changing the Doors to be un-locked"

There's a wealth of information in the manual although the translations are sometimes not real clearly stated. The manual is worth reading.

 

I would like to recommend Dan Hecht Chevrolet-Toyota, Effingham, Il. as a first rate dealer. I live in Florida and found out that they have a good inventory of 2005 Priius on hand most of the time and was able to purchase my choice over the phone with NO hassle what so ever. They are some of the most honest and nice people I have ever dealt with and they do not ask over msrp and give terrific trades. Love my Salsa Red Prius.

 

Stephen Toyota in Bristol, CT. I saw the car available on their website on a Sunday, called them and went in 45 min later to put down a deposit, picked the car up on Wednesday. Not one penny over MSRP, very fast transaction. When it came time for them to sell me the extended warranty, I said no thanks, I have another source. They asked if I was sure it was the Toyota warranty, to which I replied yes. They then offered me the warranty at $50 less than what I told them I could get. Tom Lagasse was the salesman, and a joy to work with.

A-1 Toyota, New Haven, CT. Awesome, although I didn't buy from them. I had given them a $500 deposit, and was waiting for the car when I found the one at Bristol on the lot. They refunded my deposit no questions asked. I understand their service department is AAA approved, so I'll probably be going there.

Colonial Toyota, Milford, CT. A true 'stealership'. Tried to charge $5000 over sticker and offer me $5000 less than Kelley blue book for my trade. I laughed and walked out. They harassed me by phone no fewer than 5 times trying to get me to come back. My favorite was when they called and asked to speak to my husband. Like that was gonna get them further than talking to me?!?

 

My spouse who purchased from Ourisman, Fairfax (VA), is quite happy. They (and other dealers) were content to handle all the pricing question (giving out-the-door price as requested) via email so the actual visit and purchase was for test drive and deciding on exterior and interior colors: Silver and dark gray.