I can't find a Prime locally

i got mine at walker toyota in miamisburg, oh...have you checked with them...i drove over from indiana to pick it up...might give them a shot...you never know...

 

Did you get a Hypersonic Red with black interior? If so, that car was special ordered for a customer who then backed out of the deal. I saw it in the show room when I went to the dealership to get my car serviced. Barring such exceptional circumstances you are not likely to find a Prime in these parts. The Walker folk told me that they had had four Primes special ordered through their dealership. Special orders were the only way to get them around here.

 

Go to http://www.cars.com and input your search criteria and zip code. If you get no results extend your zip code search to other cities and states (if necessary). You'll find one. I ended having to drive 400 miles to find the model and color I wanted, but it was worth it.

 

I can attest to the fact that both the driver and passenger seats in the Prime are roomy and comfortable. I am a 2XL size guy 6'-3" tall and the Prime is easy to get in and out. My wife is the second driver and is tall but not quite as tall as I am. She just moves the electric seat a little bit forward.

I have also ridden in the back seat of the Prime and found it comfortable. Most noteworthy is that the doors, both front and back, are high enough to get in and out without having to remove your head -- a problem with the design of the Chevy Bolt which made that car a totally unworkable choice for us. I cannot comment on the Volt because I've only seen it from the outside.

Yesterday I had to stop into our nearby dealer and noticed two Primes on the showroom floor -- one in white and one in that stunning hypersonic red color. I'm not sure whether it's Toyota trying to meet state mandated air quality regulations, but there seems to be no problem obtaining a Prime here in eastern Massachusetts.

 

If your local Toyota dealer isn't interested in selling you a Prime, talk to your local Honda dealer about the new Honda Clarity PHEV. It has much more range than the Prime, seats 5 instead of 4, doesn't use Entune, and has a $7500 tax refund versus the Prime's $4502. While it won't get as good highway mileage as the Toyota, in the long run you will probably end up buying less gasoline in normal daily driving. I am guessing that is the car that will cause Toyota to finally get serious about competition with the Prius Prime.

 

Problem is the probable loss of the tax credit next year. I'm in the same boat as OP. I live in Cincinnati, and there are none to be had around here. I shouldn't have to drive to another state to get one, there should be one locally. Only have a few weeks left, and none for me to look at. Given the additional equipment and specs, I'm ready to upgrade from my Prius 3. I really need things like heated seats and mirrors, which were not available to me. And I'm going to trade in the 3, so I can't fly out of state with a trade in.

 

Toyota Factory Incentives for Prius Prime through January 2, 2018

$3,500 New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
$3,250 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine

If you are getting quotes from dealers in one or more of these states make sure to factor in the documentation fee. From what I can gather from dealer websites they are:

$75 New York (capped by state law)
$200 Rhode Island (capped by state law)
$449 New Jersey
$459 Massachusetts
$499 Connecticut, Vermont
$599 New Hampshire, Maine

Dealers will not waive the documentation fee even if you handle the registration yourself. You can only offset it by negotiating a larger dealer discount. They will never include documentation fee in the quote they give you. So for your purposes you should automatically add doc fee to whatever number they quote you.

 

Or sell the car yourself for several hundred dollars more than the dealer will give you. If you don't like the time and hassle then you can at least take it to CarMax or someplace where you should get at least as much as the dealer would give you. If the dealer is paying more for a trade then they are just adding that to price of the new car without you knowing it. Of course if the new car price has already been negotiated, then you can expect a terrible trade offer from the dealer

And in this case where you can get $3,250 or $3,500 from Toyota just by flying a few states over, even more reason to sell your old car yourself

 

Closest I found today is Royal Toyota in Bloomington, and after asking 3 times via email for a price for the red one they have I give up on them. Wish business was as good where I work that we could afford to ignore potential new clients.