Soon to beprius owner So Cal Help with price + dealership

Hey guys, New member but long time reader here.

I will be finally going into the market to get a prius. I went from a 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution 8 MR that i had fixed up to about 500 All wheel horse power and was getting like 6 Mpg on that. I sold that and got a 2003 BMW M5 and i average around 14mpg . Enough is Enough and I like the way the 2010 prius looks so i will be picking one up now and then another when the MY11 comes out. I will hand this one down to my mom and get a nicer one for myself .

SO here is my question. I will get roughly 20-21k for my car and dont mind spending a bit to get the prius. I want to get the Prius II or the III depending on price but i do not want to pay over 24ish before taxes. A local dealership here named Bob smith toyota wants 24 grand for a prius II. I feel that price could be better and i dont wanna waste time with the A hole dealerships out here Los Angeles really They are mostly crooks. I read on some other posts where someone said you could get a prius III for 22 grand. Now i dont know if he is right or wrong but can anyone help me by telling me what to expect to pay and if you know any dealerships that will give good prices in so cal? I am in Tujunga but i dont mind driving 200 miles to buy a car.

When i bought my 2005 Evolution the local dealership here wanted 15 grand markup and i turned them down. I went home and called over 20 local dealerships and they all wanted some kind of markup. I had to drive to Santa Maria which was a 168 mile drive to get my evolution at sticker price and will do the same with a prius to save a few hundred bucks and to test drive it on the trip back =)

Any and all help would be appreciated as i am shopping now and will purchase within a week.

Thank you very much

 

ty very much for the info! I checked Ebay and didnt really see anything stand out in the color i am looking for but i will try other states like ETC stated. Thank you for that extra bit of information too. I will make sure i get it done! Let me see if i can coax my GF into buddying up with me for a drive to another state haha. Cause im in So Cal and to drive back from mississippi alone would not be fun

 

OH no .

Dont get me wrong. I would gladly drive many miles for a good deal. I was going to drive to baton rouge when i had my Nissan GTR on Pre Order. Also for me a car is a car. I just cant do it this time because my Girlfriends father will also be buying one with me and he said he is only willing to go 200 miles so we are stuck here in California where they Rape you in the price. The one i am getting now will be given to my mom and i will go back and get myself a 2011 Prius 4 with the solar panel and what not. I sat in one at the LA Auto Show and it was a comfortable car. Sure it wont go 0-6 in 3 seconds like my Evolution did but it also get 9 times the MPG . I am a college student now and i need to cut back on fruitless spending. I think this will be a very good car for me until i get my Degree and get a stable job to buy fun car for the weekend or whatever. But if you ask me, Every family should own one of these cars as a daily commuter haha

 

Ooooo Ty for that link INDYV . That really helps alot. I sent an email to the Owner of that thread and i hope i can work something out there. On a side note does anyone know of any Socal dealerships that Honor KBB on trade ins? KBB says my cars Value is $19-22k depending on condition and the local dealership here at bob smiths says 15K at best. That is just highway robbery. I know Santa Maria will offer KBB value for mine and i hope that Manhattan Beach Toyota can give me the same so that i do not drive 170 miles to get the same thing. These dealerships want to make money off you on the sale of a car ... Take your car and give you a rediculous amount for it and then turn around and make 10 grand off your trade in depending on your car. I know if they take my BMW m5 from me for 15k they will turn around and sell it at their dealership for like 26-30 grand. Damn LA..... Greedy bastards

Thanks guys

 

I just put my car up for sale on Autotrader. I think I will private sell it then go get a Prius. I cant stand these dealerships Wholesale BS. Why does KBB even exist ? or Even edmunds?


Also about that Dianne Whitmire... She is a Grade A Ahole. I went back and forth with her in emails for hours on end to get nowhere. She tells me that KBB is not something any dealership honors and they all go by Wholesale prices. She then tells me to Check Edmunds website to see how much they say my car is worth and guess what? $21,500 bucks just like KBB. So then she turns and wants to be my friend and says "OH ! maybe we can do something, come into my dealership and we can talk about it."

I guess she wanted to sell me an expensive prius. When i told her i wanted a prius II at the prices listed on her thread in the Priuschat forums her attitude changed again and she said " will give you nothing more than 16k for your car.."

Oh the joys of buying cars from stealerships =).

if i can sell this car in 3 weeks add time i will go to the person who was the nicest to me over the phone and via email... and that actually happened to be

Drew Katigbak From Frontier Toyota.

thanks for all your input and info guys.

 

I will Look into that dealership. Thank you for the info

 

Someone is coming to look at my BMW tomorrow . And i got 3 other people asking questions and leaving me messages. I hope this car sells soon and i can get my prius =), Going to take my GF to disneyland on the 11th and it would be nice to go in the prius instead of the BMW

 

Im selling mine private right now for 23 k. I have someone who is interested and will look at the car tomorrow. I told him there was room for movement in the price which maybe 22.5 or 22 even depending on the issues raised during the meeting. The Stealership wants to give me 16 k at best LOL? and others said 12-15k. Isnt that just highway robbery? i KNow they will turn around and sell it for 25 themselves, slap a certified sticker on it and all of a sudden its worth it ? lol.

Oh well.