Help for a pruis buyer...

Mine was given to me, so can't help you price-wise.

But from reading on here, I do know that you should be prepared to buy an extended warranty or not, because they will do a hardsell at the dealership.

I refused at the dealership and my husband seemed like he was close to blows with the finance manager over the issue.

But, if you do want the warranty, it's available all over the place for less than a $1000 and you can buy it at anytime up until the "normal warranty" runs out. There are lots of threads about it here on Priuschat.

Also, I didn't think about it when I bought the car, and I don't know what pkg 6 includes, but rubber floor mats are nice. They are $99 MSRP from Toyota, my local dealer wants $125. My husband ordered them online for $79 including shipping and handling from a Toyota dealer in Washington state.

 

If you buy an extended warranty make sure a reputable company is underwriting the warranty. There are way too many warranties being sold that are not worth the paper they are written on.

 

I bought my 07 with the same package (6) for $26532 last February. Sticker price was $29532, which is probably very close to the MSRP on the car you are looking at. My car does not have Sirius (and I don't want it).

Price is going to depend upon local demand, so you may or may not be able to get a similar deal. I suggest going to KBB.com and edmunds.com and researching what the average buyer is paying in your area.

I was going to finance through my credit union, but Toyota Financial Services (TFS) actually gave me a lower rate (4.9%, 60mos) so I went with TFS. I have a good credit score.

Finally, I agree, decide upon the extended warranty before hand. They will push hard to get you to buy it (and other add ons) because it is a good profit source for them, but you can decide right up to the time when the basic warranty (36mo, 36k miles) expires. The extended warranty offered through PriusChat is the exact same Toyota warranty sold by the dealer and is backed by TFS.

 

Welcome to the forum Hayley. As for you shopping for a Prius, remember this is only your first quote. You need to shop around more and compare at least three dealerships. Perhaps they may have another Prius with a different package and color for a better price. The Package 6 seems a lot of ammenities, but after awhile you may realize that you do not really want this and that and so on. Besides, the main reason why you want a hybrid vehicle is to save in gas $'s... isn't it? It is always a fun experience shopping for a new car, so enjoy browsing around Toyota dealerships and don't forget to let us know about the new Prius.

 

It sounds like you have the right idea with the internet quotes and what not.

I would just scour these forums including the thread about what people paid for their cars.

And I second the comment about not buying the warranty right away. You can buy it later and there is a thread here on PC all about warranties and the deals you can get.

 

Consumer Reports car buying advice:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/car-buying-advice/guide-to-new-car-buying/0702step0.htm

Don't get an extended warranty. Use the money to reduce the amount you finance. (If you really want to minimize expenses you should buy a used car...)

 

Welcome, Hayley. l'll add one more vote in favor of NOT buying the extended warranty from the dealer. They'll probably quote you a price of between $1500 and 2000, and they will probably push it very aggressively on you, even moreso if you finance, implying that the car (the same one that the salesman was just telling you was so great) will probably fall to pieces before you get it paid off if you don't purchase it "and it'll only increase your monthly payment by $30 per month!" Don't buy it.

Do you really think you need or even want Package 6? Not putting it down, but if you read a lot of the posts on this forum about the built-in navigation system, you'll hear that there are better and less expensive ones available, not built-in, but that's an advantage as well because they can go with you in other vehicles, or even on foot. Same with the Bluetooth feature. And you can get Sirius radios fairly reasonably as well. A Package 2 can probably be had for around $23K. But I realize that the amenities are totally a matter of personal preference and choice, just seems like they do cost some serious $.

I have an '00 Wrangler as well, mileage is awful as you say. I'd been thinking about a Prius for about 1 1/2 year, but I also have a '97 Honda Prelude which got okay mileage, about 26 on the highway although it requires premium gas, so not great but still better than the Jeep. But that Prelude has, I swear, bullseyes painted on both sides and the rear because people keep hitting it. I am considering painting it florescent orange or that nasty hi-viz lime-yellow color.....it is silver and low to the ground and it just seems as though people don't see it. Anyway, I was planning a 3000 mile round trip over New Year and a week before that (Merry Christmas!) got hit in the passenger side by an 87 year old man in a monster pickup, so the 'Lude was, once again, in the body shop where they know me on a first-name basis, and the prospect of driving the Jeep, which is treacherous on icy highways and guzzles gas like it thinks it's a Hummer, just didn't thrill me in the slightest, so I bought the Prius and am very happy with it. I'm sure that you will be too. Forgive the ramble, and happy shopping!!!

 

Hey, the car my husband hit with my prius was a '97 Prelude. And the woman said that she had just been about a month before that....and a year before that....

 

Hayley, considering your credit status I recommend rethinking your choice of option packages. How many of the options are you really going to use? Toyota charges a lot for leather & GPS. You can go aftermarket for less. I would also pass on floor mats unless they are listed as n/c. Buy these online from a dealer for less or get generics that fit well for even less. Absolutely pass on the extended warranty at the dealer. If the warranty is a good deal for the buyer then the car is a POS that should be avoided at all costs.

 

I got Package #6 for the same reason - I wanted leather seats. But it is relatively easy to add aftermarket leather, so if you don't want the navigation or some of the other options, it could save you some money to go with aftermarket leather with a lower cost package.

 

Glad to hear you are now receiving "very competitive quotes." I was starting to worry that you told the dealers, "I've been approved for financing through my bank, up to 28k at 7.25%." If that were the case, many dealers would have heard, "give me a quote over $28,000, because I am an easy mark."

You may also consider getting quotes from dealers further away. One way flights on discount airlines are cheap if you are saving several hundreds of dollars. A dealer seeing that you don't live in their local area may be more willing to give you a larger discount just to snag that long distance sale that otherwise would get away.

 

I wonder.....was the one he hit a silver one?? I swear that the things must be invisible!! I bought mine new in '97, drove it for five years, only got hit once, rear bumper in a parking lot so not real serious. Then I turned it over to my son who lives in Minneapolis who used it as his daily driver for five years. He got hit four times, replaced bumpers and lots of sheet-metal. When he decided he wanted something different (an Element of all things!!! Uuuuugly, IMHO) I took the Prelude back and have now been hit three times in it in the past 12 months. Once was by a deer, so I'm not sure that one counts. Anyway, the car has had so much metal-work replaced that the body is practically new, and it looks great, but I get kinda paranoid every time I drive it anymore, wondering what's next!!

I don't blame you for liking the leather, the sort of fuzzy 'stock' seats strike me as dirt magnets, but I have found that they clean up fairly well. We shall see. I've considered adding aftermarket leather, but decided I'd wait and see how the regular ones hold up.

 

If you buy, before you get it read and take with you the delivery checklist:
http://www.vfaq.net/docs/pickup_checklist.html
It's still valid for 2008 except maybe the part about valet cards.

Sit in the car on the dealer's lot for a half hour reading the relevant parts of the owner's manual.

 

I would allow your local dealer to beat the price. Look at it this way: They will not sell the car to you unless they are making a profit. So, give them the opportunity. If they can't match it, then go with the best price.

 

Glad to hear you didn't show your cards.
Any dealer that would throw out that big of an enchilada and leave it hanging there without any qualifications deserves the response of, "GREAT! Let's see it."

No. Don't show them your lowest quote. It's up to them to beat it, not for you to show what you think may be a really good offer in your mind - but what in actuality is much higher than what they would be willing to beat. Let THEM back-up their words.

 

You told dealer #1 you wanted their best price. They give it and say but we'll match a lower offer. Either tell them they are too high, try again, or low ball them with the invoice price if there is some reason why you believe these people actually deserve your business.