My PHV purchasing experience so far...

Are you getting the free home charger as well?


iPhone ?

 

Our local Toyota dealer had two Prius Primes on display and was able to get us one in the color and trim we wanted within a day from one of its affiliate dealerships. However, while going through the sales process, we had to come back to test-drive one in EV mode because the ones at dealership were not charged. The salesman explained that they had nowhere to charge them.

We explained that the Prime could be fully charged overnight by plugging it into any ordinary 120-volt outlet. After checking with someone else at the dealership, he confirmed that to be true and invited us to come back the next day to take an EV test drive. When we returned, the car had been plugged-in in one of the showroom bays and was ready to go. We took it for a drive (without the salesman) and, while we did not know all the features, we able to put it through enough of its paces to like it very much.

Back at the dealership, while chatting with the salesman, we mentioned a fondness for Mexican food and he recommended a nearby place "Pancho's Taqueria" where he frequently goes for lunch. It's a 5-minute 1.5-mile drive from the dealership:



It was only after buying the car that we discovered (from plugshare.com) that there is a FREE level-2 charging station in FREE municipal parking lot across the street from "Pancho's Taqueria."

And... yes, the "Big Bear Cafe" in the area photo above is one of my favorite places to hang out. They have great coffee, free wifi, and are a great place for a light lunch while the Prime is merrily charging.

 

Hopefully the dealership model will change with Tesla.
Toyota thinks their dealership model is OK until they get hit in the pocketbook.

 

they only say that because they are forced to have dealers by law.

 

Anyone know the history behind the prohibition in many states against auto manufacturers being able to sell directly to the public? These laws prevent Tesla from selling in those states, since Elon adamantly does not want dealers in the mix.

 

My experience was completely different. When I first went in, they had no Prime to look at or test drive. So I couldn't tell how knowledgeable the salesman was. But I ordered one, and they told me they had an expert who owned one and he would go over it with me at delivery. A few months later, they got some demo cars in and when I went in to try one, they had it charged. When I went to pick mine up, it was charged. The expert had unfortunately died in the meantime, so I had to have another guy show me everything. He did okay. Everyone treated me well throughout the whole buying experience.

 

The laws were put in place to protect the dealer from the auto manufacturer.

In the old days, a business man would make huge investments buying cars, buying real estate to sell the cars, hiring sales.
They worked hard to develop a customer base.

Then ford would place an add in the paper and undercut the dealer, selling direct to the customer.

Politicians got involved, money was exchanged, and we have these laws.

 

Has anyone ever tried to buy a new car from Costco. I mentioned it to my wife once but did't do it.

https://beta.costcoauto.com/new_cars/locate_dealer/default.aspx

 

The dealer needs to have the car in stock and you specify exactly what you want. Costco refused to direct me to my preferred dealer because their system said it was not in stock. I gave up the Costco discount to buy from a Gen 1 Prius owner. Yes, they had the car in stock.

 

I really hope not. As a consumer, we will seriously suffer if that is the case.

The restriction on manufacturers selling cars were put in place to protect consumers and people have benefited from it for decades. But Tesla comes along and suddenly people want it changed since it's an electric car company. No one has complained over the years when it was gas vehicle small car manufacturers who were limited by the same rules.

Note: Prodigyplace this was not aimed at you, but rather the issue in general and how misinformed most people are on this issue.

 

how does the current dealership model protect consumers? there have probably been more complaints filed against car dealerships over the years than almost any other type of business.

 

1) That is a patent assumption on complaints. Please quote your source. It's like when people say "police have the most dangerous job". Factually they don't - it doesn't even make the top 10 of the most dangerous jobs in America (stats per US Dept of Labor).

2) The consumer is protected in the fact that the manufacturers will have the ability to sell the cars at the lowest cost - far lower than any dealer and not loose money. That would put the dealers out of business. Then the manufacturers can raise prices through their manufacturer stores. Consumer looses.

When you have many dealerships, owned by various competing companies, you as a consumer win. If you don't like the service or price of one dealer, you simply go to another. If you don't like the price of the Tesla, can you go anywhere else and get a better price? No you can't. It's only because it's a PC topic that people are suddenly upset about this model.

 

actually, my source is right here, and the complaints started long before tesla.

 

Sorry - not sure I understand. You are using Priuschat - a forum on Prius - as a source statistically comparing complaints across various industries? Huh. So what about complaints against realtors, lawyers, and other extremely high complaint industries? Can you tell me statistically their rate of compliant percentage-wise compared to car sales?

No, not really on the second point. The press and people in general only since Tesla have been trying to change the business model since Tesla is the latest PC topic. The issue of letting manufacturers sell cars direct along with people going around saying "let me buy from a manufacturer directly" has been virtually non-existent prior to Tesla. That is why it keeps failing in many of the state legislatures - they understand why the state laws are what they are for a reason.

 

well certainly, the tesla dealership model opened people's eyes. until then, it was just complaints and lawsuits.
now they see a better way. it's possible that many people would just like to know the price of a car, like many other things that they buy.

 

Hi - I'm not following. So people eyes are being opened and they are now saying they want to loose the freedom of pricing choice? What do you mean by "they just want to know the price of a car?" Isn't that what the window sticker (which is Federally mandated in how it is presented to contain all info in a clear easy to read format) is for?

Yes - it is excellent.

You fill in the car of your choice on the Costco site;
The Costco trained and certified dealer contacts you to set up an appointment;
You come in and meet with the specially trained person and show your Costco card;
They show you the car dealer invoice, then your discount on top of the in addition to any and all normal incentives;
You can decide to buy then, negotiate further (which I do), or walk out;
If you buy you get a call from Costco to make sure the experience was excellent. You also have a toll free Costco car hotline should you have any issues.

Costco takes the survey's very seriously and the dealers have to work hard to get and maintain the Costco certification.

 

That statement, if true, makes it clear why we need change. It argues that we the consumer are currently prevented from buying directly from the manufacturer at the "far lower cost". Exactly what I do not want.

We are protected from the manufacturer raising prices by competition among manufacturers. Not by independent dealers.

There are plenty of industries that exist just fine without an independent dealer network and laws against selling directly to consumers.

 

Within a region there may be some price competition but the regional distributors are the monopolizing limiting factor. For Toyota most are owned by the manufacturer anyway. You cannot buy a Prime in the south because the privately owned distributor has decided not to sell them.

 

You are missing the point. The mfg can always raise the price. But you are in a better position when dealers are competing among dealers - with the SAME EXACT product and offer different prices. Different msg's do not offer the same exact product. It's economics and business 101. If the mfg owns the distribution network - as in the case of Tesla - you the consumer can go NOWHERE for a better price than the mfg. There is then in essence zero competition.

The bigger point is people only got upset about the dealer network laws as Tesla is a PC company. Had Tesla offered a fuel efficient gasoline car, no-one would care. I laugh when people only want less government when it suites their needs, but then support a lawless government that overreaches its authority in all other instances if they agree with the cause (not saying you do this - I mean people in general).