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Just bought 2012 Prius 4 w/ Solar Pkg Today

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Dog Face, Feb 18, 2012.

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  1. Matt M.

    Matt M. Member

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    Congrats on your purchase! I decided I was going to buy the 2012 Four with solar roof package too and went shopping today - had a terrible experience at one dealership and walked out, went to another that was having a $2k off MSRP President's Day weekend sale and I -think- I'm going to get that price, when he can get the car in the color I want. Pretty good deal, I think.

    About the HUD, I've done several test drives, and I find my eyes keep going back to the normal speedometer rather than the HUD. The HUD just isn't that easy to look at, in my opinion - I think I may actually end up turning it off, or just ignoring it. I guess we'll see, whenever I finally get my car. But, I'm excited about getting the car too.

    When you get it, let us know what you think of the nav and stereo!
     
    #21 Matt M., Feb 19, 2012
  2. Dog Face

    Dog Face New Member

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    I know what you mean! I had a terrible experience at the first dealer I went to. They tried to rip me off on my trade-in and were really combative when I pushed back and showed them all my research on my trade value. I ended up using Edmunds to put a group request out to dealers asking for their best offers. I got one to quote me $30,500, which is below invoice. I then had them give me estimates on the trade. I then took that info at a local dealer and asked them if they'd match by best trade value and lowest new car price. To my surprise they actually did. My advice: be patient, and use the internet to your advantage. We'll both have our shiny new priuses soon enough.
     
    #22 Dog Face, Feb 19, 2012
  3. Matt M.

    Matt M. Member

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    Wow, $30,500 for Four with solar roof package, that's great! I'm expecting to pay around $31,050 and I thought that was a good deal, after the research I've done. I requested quotes through Consumer Reports, AAA and TrueCar.com but haven't gotten much - some emails I got didn't have numbers, and others had numbers that were obviously for the Four without the solar roof package. So it was kind of a waste of time.

    Anyway... yeah, I took the email printout with a quote of $2k under MSRP for a Four with solar roof package to my closest dealer. He took the email to his manager and came back and said great news, we can match it, but only for cars on the lot. We looked around and found a blue that I liked but didn't have the interior color I wanted. I thought it looked OK (was dark gray, I had wanted bisque) and called my wife... the salesman said we could drive the car to my house and show it to her, so I said cool let's do that. My wife liked it. I said I'll take the car. We drive back to the dealership, he takes a bunch of info about my potential trade-in. Goes away for a while. Comes back with a low offer for my trade-in, which we talk about for a while and I say no thanks. Then he shows me a paper with a bunch of numbers for the Prius cost, and the basic price for the car (excluding fees, tax, etc.) is $1400 under MSRP. I said what's going on, you said you were going to match $2k under MSRP. He said that's the lowest they can go. I said when I came in here 2 hours ago you told me you were going to match $2k under MSRP. He said sorry, it's my fault, I misunderstood what my manager told me earlier about matching the other offer. So I said, great so this was just a big waste of my time and walked out. Grrrrrrr! The sad thing is, the salesman seemed like a nice guy, so I don't know if it was really a misunderstanding or it was intentional. But, I'm not going to pay $600 more than what I can pay at another dealership 15 minutes away.

    Anyway, the deal isn't done yet, but I like the internet sales guy I met at the other dealership with the $2k off MSRP deal, and I -think- I can trust him. It'll probably take a week or two for them to get the color I wanted. (By the way, I decided a while ago I liked the nautical blue exterior... thought I wanted bisque interior, but after seeing the dark gray I actually like that better now.)
     
    #23 Matt M., Feb 19, 2012
  4. Dog Face

    Dog Face New Member

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    Hey Matt--$31,050 is not a bad price at all. You can always sell your car to one dealership and buy the new car from another if you find yourself with a great deal on a new car and a lousy offer on the trade. In my state (CT), however, you get a tax break by selling and buying at the same place because you only pay sales tax on the spread between the purchase price and trade in. So that's a consideration.

    What worked for me was once I got a few competitive quotes on the internet ranging from $30,500 to $31,500 was to go to the dealer I purchased from and negotiate on the trade first under the assumption that the trade is a higher variance issue than new car price. There just seems to be more that is inherently qualitative and vague about a trade-in. I came in and said, "Based on all my research and some quotes from other dealers, my expectation on the trade is $11K". If they low-ball you, just walk out. There's no point in wasting your time talking about a new car if they're going to screw you on a trade. Once a dealer gives you a fair deal on the trade, then it's relatively smooth sailing unless they try bait-and-switch tecniques like they did with you.

    Finally, we should all be aware that many dealers make the majority of their money on trade-ins and it's the biggest source of lost value for us consumers. This makes sense from a psychological perspective because our tendency is to get so excited about the new car that we don't pay attention to the value of our trade-in. And that's why they get away with so many low-ball offers.

    Sorry for the unorganized ramblings, but hopefully some of that helps.
     
    #24 Dog Face, Feb 20, 2012
  5. Matt M.

    Matt M. Member

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    Dog Face, thanks for the suggestions. My approach has always been to research and get a pretty good idea of a good price for the new car, and what I could sell my trade-in for. I talk about the price of the new car first, and if they come up with something that sounds like a pretty good deal, then I'll bring up my trade-in and ask what they'll give me for it. If they low-ball the trade-in (which they pretty much always do), I say, I'll buy the new car but no trade-in, I'll sell it myself.
     
    #25 Matt M., Feb 20, 2012
  6. Garmy

    Garmy Junior Member

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    $31000 is about the going price for a sticker $33327 Prius IV. I had about 5 dealers willing to sell at that price. As mentioned, the trade in was the sticking point. With a range of $1500. But I really have to admit that I am not impressed with how my old Prius held value.
     
    #26 Garmy, Feb 20, 2012
  7. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    You don't necessarily have to get it from the dealer, you could investigate on your own.

    But I'm a big fan of 3M clearbra. Really helps protect hood and whatever protected area's from rock chips.
     
    #27 The Electric Me, Feb 20, 2012
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You can adjust the height of the HUD and make it closer to your line of sight.
     
    #28 Tideland Prius, Feb 21, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  9. Dog Face

    Dog Face New Member

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    Do any of you happen to know of a video showing the HUD in action? Could you post a link? I'd love to see. Still waiting on the dealer to locate my car by the way.
     
    #29 Dog Face, Feb 21, 2012
  10. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    #30 Paradox, Feb 21, 2012
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  11. AZGeek

    AZGeek Semi-informed Member

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    Here's another one that shows HUD during navigation. :cool:

     
    #31 AZGeek, Feb 21, 2012
    2 people like this.
  12. AZGeek

    AZGeek Semi-informed Member

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    Is that in the owner's manual somewhere?
     
    #32 AZGeek, Feb 21, 2012
  13. AZGeek

    AZGeek Semi-informed Member

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    Found it on the online manual. Section 2.2 Instrument Cluster, page 243.
     
    #33 AZGeek, Feb 21, 2012
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Alright.
     
    #34 Tideland Prius, Feb 21, 2012
  15. Dog Face

    Dog Face New Member

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    #35 Dog Face, Feb 21, 2012
  16. Dog Face

    Dog Face New Member

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    After a week of waiting the Prius arrived. The dealer couldn't find the dark grey Prius I wanted, so when he told me that he found a white one that otherwise had the same specs (2012 Prius 4 with solar roof), I said yes!

    So, as requested, I'll post a pic or 2 below and give some impressions on the head up display (HUD) and "softtex":

    The HUD: I absolutely love it. I have it set to show the HSI, speed, and navigation instructions. You have the option, however, of showing any combination of the three. One feature I love about showing the navigation instructions on the HUD is that it displays the distance until the next turn, which counts down in 10ths of a mile and then 100s of feet until you're ready to turn, at which point the arrow blinks for you. I find it really useful because it can be distracting to have to look down at the Nav system screen. I only wish that I could make the nav projecitions a little larger. Also, on the HSI projected on the windshield you can see whether you're in EV or ECO mode.

    Softex seats: they feel a little softer than leather, but I like them a lot. They certainly don't feel cheap, which was a concern. Passengers didn't seem to notice that they weren't leather. I have the dark grey, which is a nice 2-tone. They still produce a "new car smell" similar to real leather. It remains to be seen how durable they are, and whether they'll be resistant to stains.

    A few thoughts on Entune: I've been messing around with Entune, and have a mixed review. I think it has a lot of potential, but as of now I find it slow, a bit buggy, and mostly impractical. Firstly, you connect to Entune via your smartphone, which for me, is an iPhone 3Gs. It seems to take a little while to connect, and with iPhones, as opposed to droids, you can't do it wirelessly and need to use the bluetooth USB connection. Once your phone is connected, you then need to open the Entune app on your phone before you can use Entune in the car. Once you do connect, Pandora doesn't always work. iHeart Radio is more consistent. These are the primary apps I use. I don't think I'll need to buy movie tickets or make restaurant reservations while driving. Haven't tried Bing yet. Maybe passengers will get more use out of these features. Also, you have to be careful because pandora will eat through your data plan very quickly. I like the fact that Toyota will update entune and add apps, which will allow the system to evolve. But as of right now, unless I'm on a long drive, it seems to be too much of a hassle.

    So, hopefully some of this is helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the stuff I mentioned above.
     
    #36 Dog Face, Feb 26, 2012
  17. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I loved the HUD as well Dog Face. It seems like a gimmick and has gotten gimmick reviews on previous cars which have had them but I think in Prius having the HSI projected right in front of your field of view is great.

    That was my impression of the softex as well, it is much softer than the leather I currently have. You don't slide around on it as much either. Toyota says it is way more durable than leather so like you said, we'll have to see if that is true. They also said that the softex weighs much less so they saved weight by switching which in Prius is always a good thing.

    I used Entune while it was still in pre-production vehicles but I experienced the same bugginess with Pandora. I was hoping it be more stable but sounds like it may not be... I'll have time to play around with it ALOT more in a little over a week ocne my PiP arrives.
     
    #37 Paradox, Feb 26, 2012
  18. Matt M.

    Matt M. Member

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    Dog Face and Paradox, thanks for the reports. I'm still waiting for my local dealer to find a nautical blue metallic with dark grey interior (I like the two-tone look too), Prius Four with solar roof package... no luck so far, so, I might have to order from the factory (and pay a few hundred dollars more).
     
    #38 Matt M., Feb 26, 2012
  19. pauln64

    pauln64 Junior Member

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    Congrats! I hadn't had any experience with the Prius HUD but I've owned two Z06's that has em and love it. I don't have to look down or even have to glance at the instrument panel. Works great when you are in heavy traffic for obvious reasons. Also when you have Navi, the information is also shown on the HUD. Not sure if it will be the same for the Prius.

    I'm thinking about trading my 11 for the 12 but have to convince the wife :) Trade for a 12 or trade the Z06 for an R8 :ballchain:
     
    #39 pauln64, Feb 26, 2012
  20. AZGeek

    AZGeek Semi-informed Member

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    It appears so: Prius HUD II - YouTube :cool:
     
    #40 AZGeek, Feb 26, 2012
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