Tomorrow - October 6, 2004

CAUTION: Emoticons gone amok!

:clap: :clap:

Got a call this afternoon-

A 2005 silver AM with the rear bumper applique (said they were all arriving that way) and Z1 package (floor mats, net, etc.) has arrived at my dealership and will be ready to pick up tomorrow afternoon.

Wahoooooo!

:multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi:

This is much earlier than we expected; we thought we had another couple of weeks. We were going to call for an update last week, then this last weekend, but got busy and forgot. What a surprise.

I had to scramble today to get our van ready in case we trade it in. We want to see what they will offer us. We have already looked up what we should get; it will be interesting to see if they come close. Buying a Prius doesn't give us much bargaining power - what are we going to do?...walk away!

I haven't had time to post this earlier as I was trying to get all of my paperwork in order. Let's see:

:idea: Basic Prius Options and Packages & Dealer Accessories (including price list) - Thanks bookrats, now we will know that we are paying MSRP.

:idea: $700 Customer Accommodation Certificate - every little bit helps.

:idea: Receipt for our $500 deposit.

:idea: Trade-in vehicle info (Original sticker, current pricing, and most important - the pink slip [actually green])

:idea: Financing info (Toyota's vs. our credit union's)

:idea: Extended Warranty Info - What price will they offer? Doubt they will beat Priuschat.

:idea: Last, but not least Prius Pick-up Checklist and accompanying documents - Thanks 2004 Prius Yahoo Group.


Have I forgotten anything?


I will be glad when this phase of Prius enlightenment ends and the practical application phase starts.

artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty: artytime: arty:

 

I had a similar thread to this on the Main Prius Forum (http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4767). I needed some feedback to my question and none of you guys were around at the time.

Anyway, here is the tale of my experience:

First off - LOVE the car - as I knew I would. :clap:

Now to the buying experience [for the record: Foothills Toyota, Burlington, WA (and they sell at MSRP if you can stand the wait)]-

Whew, that's over! The Prius has to be the easiest sale and it still took three hours.

Even as prepared as I thought I was I still was unprepared. Part of this was because I didn't think the car was going to be here for another couple of weeks, so I didn't review the information about the pre-delivery and pick-up checklist. I did get to read some of it as we were waiting. We were able to check many items while we waited.

Obviously the first thing I was able to check for was a license plate bracket on the front of the car... there was one. I told the salesman about what I had read here (TonyPSchaefer) and he couldn't believe it. He said the car came with the bracket. Apparently they just had to install it and add their placard and frame, of course. Efusco - no dealer decals to deal with, so I can put up with the frames...for now. That reminds I have to browse through the PriusChat options.

I forgot a tire gauge... Doh!...luckily we only had to go 30 miles and I was able to check it the next morning. They were all in the mid-30s, but the back tires were higher than the front. I have rectified the problem. As bruceha_2000 wrote the oil is a tad high.

Most of the waiting was for an offer on our trade-in. The dealership didn't want to handle the car themselves, they sent an offer request out to other companies that dealt with used cars. We were willing to take close to blue book, just to not have to deal with it, but the offer we were given was a joke, 25% below...and after I spent 5 hours sprucing it up. I would have called making it beautiful a waste of time, but we are going to try to do better by selling it ourselves, so I would have needed to do it eventually.

The next big slow down was getting all of the financial paperwork out of the way. With that came the dealer add-ons (paint protection, fabric, undercoating, etc.) I didn't get to do much research into these other than the paint protection film that GrokMakeFire suggested. We passed on their protection package (paint/fabric/underbody sealant), though I am tempted to get the fabric protection...I had forgotten that all the armrests were fabric and we have a 5 year old. I would hate to have this happen to my interior. Is it worth getting the 'Pro' job or will a can of Scotchgaurd work as well?

I was interested in the protective film. The two new cars I have had all had problems with paint chips on the hood. The first had a bra, but the bra caused damage from grit getting underneath it. The last had a wind deflector. Neither did a great job of deflecting rocks. I think both would detract from the appearance and aerodynamics of the Prius. When I mentioned that I had reviewed information about the protective film, they did have a 3M product, Scotchcal, that they could offer us. We decided to have it put on so we could add it to the loan. I will take it in in another week or so to have it applied. Anyone have experience with this product?

The Extended Warranty exchange was funny: :lol:

The finance person starts to go through her routine...and I say that I am only interested in the quote for the 7yr/100,000 mile/zero deductible plan. She is like, "well do you think you will drive that many miles, I like to give my customer the plan that best suits their needs..." I tell her I have a quote for that plan already and I want to see what they can do. She was still stuck on her sales pitch by talking about the deductible; I told zero again, then she pulled out her book and looked through it, then wrote down $1385. I told her my quote was much lower. She asked how much lower. I said $400. At that moment my daughter told me she had to go to the bathroom. I said that my quote was for $985 and excused us from the room. I don't know what transpired with her and my husband, but when I came back I told her that I understood that she could only do what she could do, but my quote was for $985. She gave me a perplexed expression...and started thinking...then asking questions; if it was though Toyota? was it a Toyota dealer? Yes, Yes. She told me the the full price through Toyota was $1650...I said the price at the same time, nodding my head. Again, I told her that I understood that she could only do what she could do, but my quote was for $985. She was saying, "well, as long as you think it is with Toyota..." I had the information with me, so I looked it up and told her that the warranty was available through a online Prius forum arranged with the business manager of Toyota of Greenfield in MA. All she could say was, "well, good." But you could tell that she was scratching her head mentally. :tomato:

An interesting note was that the finance person kept telling us that they offer a fair price for these services to every customer and they don't play games with their pricing. She would not budge on any of their regular add-on protection packages. They were quite happy to let us pass on everything rather than coming down on price. My husband kept trying to find discounts that might apply to us. Finally, I explained that he was upset that he was having to pay full MSRP for a car; he had always paid less. She then offered us 10% off the paint protection film. It was a small consolation, but every little bit helps. This was not on their regular list of add-ons, so maybe that is why she could do it.

One expense we were not expecting was that Toyota financing has you pay for GAP on the loan (through another company, I might add). Neither Ford nor our credit union ever did. That was a $495 fee...ouch, that could buy some nice accessories! My husband hasn't decided if he is going turn around and get the loan through our credit union (their interest rate was a little higher). If we did within 60 days we can get a full refund on the GAP fee.

That's all I can think of. Now I am just trying to find excuses to drive the car.

Thanks for listening. And any help you can give me on the highlighted questions above.

 

Even though he has tried to play the "I have the long commute" line on me, I have countered with the "Go get your own" defense. He can't talk himself into buying another new car right now, so a few months ago he bought a motorcycle instead...but that may just be mid-life crisis.

He is interested in the Highlander Hybrid, but wants to wait until this is paid off.

 

$10,000 over MRSP - Geeeeez!

 

We didn't get the VIN ahead of time. We were offered the car on like a Wednesday - they told us it would be 3 or 4 weeks before delivery. They told us we could call the next Tuesday as they should have more info by then. We got busy and forgot to call the next Tuesday. On the Tuesday after that (two Tuesdays from the original offer to us) they called and told us it would be available the next day - a week or two before we expected it.

To be honest we didn't need the VIN, because our insurance company allows us ten days after purchase to let them know and the car is still covered in the mean time. I actually didn't call the insurance co. until a week later, because I thought my husband had done it and he got busy getting ready for and leaving on a business trip. It wasn't until we were talking on the phone that we realized that no one had called yet.

I'm sure they could had given it to us during the call to let us know it was going to be ready the next day, but I didn't think to ask.