I received a call from a Toyota representative "with a great deal". My dealership would accept my 2010 Prius in exchange for a new one, with no money spent on my part, and my monthly financed payments would be "lower". The reason is that the dealership can make more money off of my 2010 Prius than the new ones. Is this a scam?
REMEMBER "If it's too good to be true, it probably is" but if you get that deal please let me know and I'll drive down there in a heart beat and do the same thing.
sounds like a scam to me. if he had said financing was cheaper now, maybe that would work. it doesn't matter which one he can make more money on, it only matters how much he paid for the 12 and how much he will pay for yours. most likely, they just want to get you in there and try to pressure you into something you don't want or need. proceed with caution!
Ditto on many comments here... Though it would be great to know details on your 2010 (money owed, mileage, and the such); and what the new terms would be on the 2012...
Had the same scenario happen to me with my Acura, I'm sure I'll get the same call/notice around 8 months down the line with the Prius too. Yup, just ignore it.
It's one way for them to get you into the dealership. Most likely, you'll find out that the trade in won't cover the entire cost of the new Prius and they'll probably ask you to pay a higher down to keep the same or lower monthly. I got the same letter, and the sales rep that I have a good standing with told me to not bother with those letters. It's a ploy.
Dealers trolling the state vehicle registration records. For some reason they have given up on my 1992 Ford but are still offering these deals for my inherited 2003 Chevy Cavalier long since paid for.
It's a scam because the dealer gets to sell 2 cars instead of one. You're left paying more than you did before and the dealer gets 2 fat commission checks. It's exactly like the story of my uncle's real estate agent who sold him his house in '85. He calls him up years later and says he's sitting on a goldmine. "Let’s sell the house and get a new one!" Ah, who does it benefit? Certainly not my uncle. The agent will make off like a bandit cause he will make $ selling his home, and my uncle buying a new home. My uncle wasn't stupid. Whose interest does the agent have? My uncle's? Ha, I don’t think so.
Fairly common. I'm still getting letters from VW dealers to trade in my '09 Jetta that I traded in last September.
Yeah - I've been getting about one letter a week in the mail from the various dealers in my area offering A GREAT DEAL!!! on my 2010. I already got a great deal on my 2010, even though I paid MSRP at the time (July 2009), it's called great gas mileage and Toyota quality.
Got a letter from the our dealership yesterday and the "need" six Corollas because the trade-in values have been the highest in three years! Oh and apparently if we have any other late model cars, bring those too.
yes...and no. keep in mind, if you have over 30,000 miles on your Prius, they wont do it. i checked the average cost of my Prius and its kbb is only a few thousand less than what i paid for it. now i got a bit of a discount but not a whole lot of drop in price. but you realize, you will be extending your payments out 2 years right? so it will cost you more and another thing you want to think about is the P&I curve. look at the equity in payments on your first 24 and your last 24. you will find that the first 24 benefits the bank...not you the other reason why your payments would be lower is lower interest. you will no doubt owe more
You don't get anything for free... Mostly they just want to get you in the door, sitting in a new vehicle. At that point? They can probably hope to entice you into something more expensive. At Best? You give them a good low mileage Prius, that they CAN sell easily. And they sell you a new Prius, re-setting 2 years of payments back to zero and year one. You're not getting anything for free here. Imagine you had it payed off? I've never heard of a dealership giving owners an exchange of 2 year old vehicles across the board for brand new versions.
