Just got the loan, Which Prius to get?

Pick up lines! I love that!

Generally, the best idea is to talk to more than one dealership. Contact Costco, maybe, and get a bid on a 2008 pkg 5 of your color choice. Email the Internet agent of various dealers, and ask what colors they have of your chosen pkg, and what their best price is. Don't hesitate to let them know that you are shopping around for colors/prices. Be polite, cheerful, and upbeat about it.

Then, you go BACK to the one that has the color you want, with the lowest price you found in your hand, and you ask them if they can match [name of dealer]'s price.

Expect this to take a few days. Be cheerful. Go ahead and let them know that you won't be financing the car through them, anyway.

 

The negotiating advice given you by RaeVynn is spot on. Don't hesitate to go back and forth. Play one dealer against the other. On the east coast, I got my package #5 for $1,000 less than the nearest "bid" by 3 other dealers.

As for preference, I opted for Package #5. I did not feel that I needed the NAV, but a buddy pointed out that, in the near future, they'll just about be standard and do increase re-sale value.

I especially like the HID headlights. As I'm getting older, my night vision capability has diminished. The HID's seem to throw a wider swath of light (especially good for seeing all those suicidal Bambi's, who try to run into vehicles' paths) and the light just seems more intense. I'm not technically inclined, but you could buy a Garmin GPS system and avoid the package #5, but was told that retrofitting the HID's is very difficult/expensive to do.

Happy hunting. You'll love the car. Over the past few days, I've seen 4-5 new Prii in the parking lot outside my office.

 

I am going to play you off against every other dealer in town. Here are the rules.
1. I will buy from the cheapest quote.
2. Quote me only on road price including all charges.
3. I will pay cash/bank cheque.
4. You get one shot, I will go to each dealer once only and give each dealer one chance to quote.
5. I will not reveal a prior quote to another dealer.
6. I want this model, colour and trim only.
7. I do not want any extra warranty or extras I haven't listed.
8. I will not haggle and will buy from the dealer who quotes the lowest price.
9. All quotes need to be detailed in writing.
Lets see if I'll be able to do business with you, what can you do for me?

Do the same list at as many dealers as you can.

 

I went through AAA which will garauntee $1000.00 over invoice at certain dealers. Once I got the price from the AAA dealer, I went to a couple of dealerships and finally went to my local dealership and told them I would pay that price quoted by the AAA dealer.
They him-hawed around a bit but said ok and they brought in the car I picked out from another dealership.
When you make the deal and they bring up the extended warranty, tell them you will NOT pay more than $990.00 for it (that is, if you want it). You can get the Platinum EW through a link on this site.
Good luck

 

If you really like the NAV feature built in your Prius, get the Package #5. I decided on a package #4, because I really did not want to have NAV on the Prius 'only'. P #4 does have the HID lamps. For the NAV, you can simply buy a portable NAV of your choice and be able to use it in any vehicle....not just the Prius.

Happy shopping and don't forget to post pics.

 

don't put your outside-financing card down on the table until you have a price in writing. it's good to have that in your hand.

oh and hid bulbs are very expensive, some people have been a little surprised at this.

 

RE: extended warranty.
You actually have 3 years/36,000 miles to decide on the extended warranty.
It is available through Prius Chat, so should NOT be an issue in negotiating a car price. Just smile and say, "No, thank you, we'll not be getting that at this time"

Seriously, the 3 yr bumper to bumper is all you need for 3 years... since you can wait almost that long to decide on extending it to 7 yrs/100K, might as well do so.

What are you doing about the balance of the purchase price? Will you get 5-6K trade in on your current vehicle, or more? Sorry, I'm sounding like a Mom again...

 

I wouldn't go that far but who knows, you could save enough to make it worth while.
Always remember, they have a car they don't want and you can get elsewhere, you have cash in your pocket they do want and if you take it elsewhere they never see it. This means you are in charge and you set the rules not them.

Worst case scenario for you, you leave the money with the bank and keep driving your old car a while, worst case for them is they don't eat this week. You have the controlling upper hand.

 

I bought package 5 in Jan 2007, and can tell you that I am very dissapointed in the NAV system and the voice recognition is more agrivating than anything else.

By the time you get the system to recongize by your voice where you want to go, you will normally already have arrived, and I don't use it for climate controls or the sound system becuase the other controls are very simple to use and end up being less of a distraction than arguing with the voice recognition system.

Before I bought the Prius, I had already bought a Garmin NUVI 360 and it is miles out in front of the Prius NAV. All controls are very intuitive, and I mount mine up by the winshield rear view mirror so it is more of a Heads Up display. A Garmin Nuvi has blue tooth just like the Prius NAV and is only about $700. The newer wide screen models are almost as large as the Prius NAV sceen and will leave your Multi Function Display free for monitoring other things like playing the In Dash Video Game.

Another big plus for Garmin Nuvi is you can move it to other cars if you use another car for a long trip, rent a car, or travel with friends. Buy a second power cord and mount so you can permanently mount one in the primary vehicle and use the suction cup on the other for moving from one car to another.

 

I had NAV in my last 2 Prii. I'd say skip the NAV. You can't program it while moving, even if you have a passenger. You can get a Garmin 660 for $350 now on Amazon, which is a great system and gives you the Bluetooth speakerphone as well. You can take it with you on trips, use in other cars, use on boats or hiking, etc.

rpm

(HID headlights... eh.)

 

I bought my '08 #2 in December. If I recall correctly, it was roughly $3000 less than a #5 although that might be a little off. I noticed a fairly significant increase in price with each single digit upgrade of a given package. I got a Garmin (not voice-activated, but otherwise quite nice) at Costco for about $350, and was good-to-go.

Are the HID lights the obnoxious blue colored things that blind me every time I drive at night? I hate them, at least being on the receiving end of the things. And I also believe in the Golden Rule. I hear that some states are considering banning them. I don't know if the Prius HIDs fit into that category, hopefully not, but my sense is that if you can see really really well with a given light setup, it probably means that oncoming cars can't see much other than the dazzle in their eyes......as they meander into your lane!! Rant off.

 

I from Central CA to, I am twenty and my Mom is planning on buying me a prius this year, I am just curious if anyone has purchased a car through Costco how much money did you save?

 

I've been thinking about your dilemma. Get the one that most closely resembles the amout your loan is for with all the bells and whistles you can get, THEN MAKE SURE IT'S SEASIDE PEARL.

Yep, that sould do it, enough said.

 

To be clear, the Prius NAV is not voice activated either, it is voice agrivated.

The HID headlights are not the blue ones, they are bright white. But I have heard the bulbs are $300 a peice if you ever need to replace them, which some have had to do in a very short time. This makes a good set of Silverstars, PIAA or aftermarket HID conversion sound like something to look into.

 

good luck!

my mom's 01 taurus started having tranny issues at 75k miles. there was a big label on the bottom of the housing that basically said in so many words to not bother rebuilding it, buy another trans. depressing.

 

Hi there, fellow central coaster! I live in Morro Bay! I am researching and planning on getting a Prius as well. The advice given here is priceless! One thing to consider as well.. go to Edmunds.com and get the invoice price of the package you've decided on. Always work from the invoice price rather than from the MSRP.

Here's links to sites with more info on invoice price:
new car prices, dealer scams, negotiating, dealer invoice price, Car buying tips

Check out the invoice on the Prius you want - take this to the dealership with you and negotiate from the invoice and TMV price - NOT the MSRP!
Toyota Prius new car prices at Edmunds

 

Did you say something about your mum being a scrooge on another thread?