Thought I would be driving a new 2023 Prius

and add a couple years to that if the uaw strike continues

 

Right, stagflation times—high inflation and low production—with people expecting huge pay raises.

 

This will be my third. I had a gen 1 that I sold in 2008 for almost what I paid for it, a 2012 that we sold when we got the Camry (big mistake - huge mistake), and now this 2023; I hope I love this one as much as I did the first 2.

 

Not sure how the UAW strike will impact production of a vehicle made in Japan.

 

Less domestic cars available turns customers to imports?

 

Ahh, okay. Thought bisco was talking about production rather than availability.

 

Exactly. Any available cars will have more demand as the big three do their best to go bankrupt again

 

Using google reviews to give dealers like that 1-star review should certainly be in buyers' arsenal of ruthless tricks.

 

I trust review sites about as much as I trust car dealers, which is to say I don't.

But it might help somebody out there, so don't let me discourage you.

 

Update: my lovely Luna came in on time the end of October just as promised, MSRP. I absolutely love my car. My husband says it steers better than the HyCam though he prefers the Camry since it is a bit roomier. Two new cars within a year is not typical for us. Our previous cars were my 2012 Prius and a 2005 Honda Accord. NO REGRETS.

 

Once BYD starts cranking out their inexpensive cars in the US, I wager we'll start seeing Prius for below MSRP. But then, you'll also be shelling out more taxes to support the US auto industry bailout.

 

I would be surprised if BYD will be allowed a proper foothold into north america unless they put factories here. The free trade agreement previously known as NAFTA makes it *very* hard to enter the market. And the general perception of Chinese made goods and vehicles isn't particularly great.

Protectionism will go a long way. It's part of the reason why the Japan made Prius and Rav4 Primes are probably so hard to get and expensive. Lower production levels and also much more accessible and better priced domestically built Japanese and European brand vehicles taking up room and being very well priced relative to the import models. BYD will have a hard time competing on price after factoring in all the roadblocks and taxes and fees attached to them. In the short term anyway. They won't be able to enter the NA market anywhere near as easily as they have other markets.

Hell, north america doesn't have half the european automaker brands either. Its basically just the luxury brands from europe that show up here with the exception of VW. Even the Stellantis ownership of Fiat only brought the fiat 500 and its a total dud. They gave up on peugot, i've never seen a skoda here, etc.

BYD is gonna have a rough time.

 

I agree with you in a very general sense.

On the other hand, I believe new cars (regardless of energy type) have become unaffordable to the point where I will not be surprised by seeing some fairly radical changes around them.

Is that going to be greater acceptance of Chinese-made cars? Reduced enforcement on "non-street legal" vehicles like golf cars, minicars and scooters? Private automobiles become a "benefit of employment" much like health insurance in the USA?

 

new cars are unaffordable in part because of monetary environment, inflation, supply issues that are finally fully resolving, and time lag of the supply issues on the used market.

When people can't pay the high prices at high rates the only option is for prices to come down, even if this means certain trims will be more basic than before.

And even that's not strictly necessary, look at the wild price cuts and depreciation of tesla in recent years as competition went up and affordability went down. They're still profitable and they're cheaper.

Even at the high prices, toyota is doing some of the best numbers in a long time too. So its hard to say that BYD would be the only ones showing up with cheaper cars. Everyone is probably going to have to adjust downward to some extent as inventory inevitably piles up when the recession part of the economic and inflation response cycle takes hold in the future.

 

The ridiculous comical spin that the media puts on these high prices is only discussed in terms of electric cars. The media ... they have really taken the bait.
.

 

I agree. I just bought eggs at Aldi for $2.57. A week ago they were $1.57. I don't attribute a corrupt motive to the extra buck I spent.

Where the OP has a legitimate gripe is the bait and switch on price. It's intentional to have a potential buyer arrange the purchase, especially if there is travel, to have a buyer invested in the transaction only to disclose extra fees late in the process.

I once told a salesman that I was interested in buying a car from him right up until I can tell he is lying to me. He clammed up, got the keys took me on a test drive without saying anything, and asked me if I still wanted it. I bought it.

 

Obviously, it was a buyer’s market

 

If I have it right, 'disclosure late in the process' in this case was during a phone call before the OP initiated travel.

OP already has my sympathies over the fact that the deal went south, but there doesn't seem to be any travel time or expenditure wasted.

Sometimes you catch a live one! Cool story.