2010 invoice pricing @ edmunds

Once Toyota invoices the vehicle to the respective dealers then everything beyond that is out of its hands. Toyota is not a retailer although it needs close contact with the retail buyer. The local stores are the retailers.

The local stores conform to local practices and the local stores actually set the final price. That's why it truly is an MSuggestedRP. The local practices are sometimes fixed by state laws while some are set by demographics, local economies, regional needs. Toyota has no say in the matter. It's not a retailer it's a manufacturer.

 

There are two independent regions.

SET is the distributor for the SE states. It was begun by the late Jim Moran and is now run by his company JMA.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Toyota_Distributors_LLC]Southeast Toyota Distributors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

GST is the distributor for the Gulf states. It was begun by a different family the Friedkins.
Gulf States Toyota - Company Description - Hoover's

 

The answer to both questions is 'It depends'. The reason I say this is so that you don't get unnecessarily frustrated.

In the beginning when there is almost no inventory, where every vehicle that comes in is likely preordered and there is high interest in the new model you'd be dreaming to expect a purchase price close to invoice. That's just reality. I've been selling these since they first arrived in 2001 ( Jan 2001 to be precise ). When the Gen 2s first came out in late 2003 they were over-sold for almost 2 years. Not only was the invoice price irrelevant but the MSRP price was irrelevant. Many many many buyers outbid other buyers to pay over sticker prices.

At other times in the last 9 yrs as the economy has slowed or gas prices ebbed sharp buying and quick reactions can get transaction prices close to invoice. Quick reactions. Last year on March 1st there was plenty of inventory at almost any dealer in the US. On May 1st last year there were ZERO units anywhere in the US.

The Edmunds pricing is for info mainly. An informed buyer is considered to be a satisfied buyer in Toyota's world, that's why Toyota provides this info to Edmunds and to other sites*. Edmunds also provides a 'TMV' number based on its own opinions of what buyers are really paying across the country. Often in the case of the Prius it will show
Invoice price $22500
MSRP.......... $25000
TMV........... $26000
*BTW do you know any other business where the manufacturer tells the final buyer the details of the retailer's cost? Weird. [ Toshiba advises you that the 37" LCD you are looking at in Best Buy for $1900 actually costs $1200 at the wholesale level? ]

The TMV which is really what you want to know depends on the market, overall demand vs overall supply. No surprises here. If there are no new Gen 3 Prius' on the lots and each store has 5 to 50 orders for future deliveries then you'll just have to get in line if you want one.

As to what you're supposed to get or what you'll be happy with, that's only a personal situation. To me $300 - $500 either way means nothing. For some the last $50 is a deal breaker. For some anything at MSRP is verboten. For some getting early one is most critical. Every one of these is 'right'.

The definition of a good sale in every business is when the buyer sees enough value in the product to exchange his [ funds / money / payments ] in order to acquire that product.

 

If the dealer ad fees are really going to national, then some recent quotes from national are somewhat disingenuous, but still better than what I'm likely to be able to do for myself (unless I'm willing to wait for the inventory to build up). However, that doesn't explain why the ad fees seem to be different for different regions or dealers. I thought there were regional marketing fees that go to the distributor, at least here in GST land. Just curious.

 

GST and SET are independent businesses from Toyota. They have to make a profit in some way or another. Broadly speaking there are..
1.) Toyota, the vehicle manufacturer, which sells the vehicles to
..............................................\/..............................
2.) TMS ( Toyota Motor Sales ), the US wholesaler, which sells the vehicles to

..............................................\/..............................

• 3a) the independent distributors, GST and SET*
• 3b) its own regional distribution offices**

..............................................\/..............................
4.) the retail stores
..............................................\/..............................
5.) finally there are we the buyers.

The answer to your question:
* GST and SET have to make a profit in order to stay in business. They buy from TMS, add their own fees in order to make a commission ( it's very normal in import/export of finished goods ) and then resell the finished good to the retailer. This would be the SET Admin Fee for example.
**TMS may not actually 'sell' the vehicles to their own regional offices but they do have to cover the costs of maintaining these sales regions so there's a cost in there somewhere.

In addition each region has its own advertising strategy. Each region's advertising costs and budget is different. Ergo the differences in Advertising Fees.

 

I'm more confused now then when I started reading this thread. My dealer told me I would pay sticker price plus the 750 transport fee. Will the sticker price be the Msrp that was listed on the Toyota web site? Will that price be on the window of my 2010?

 

You've got it right. Essentialy a Prius II ( model 1223 ) will be $22,750 with out floor mats. He's being straight, but prehaps less than clear!

 

I'd think you should use the info to know where the bottom is. On a car that's negotiable of course, use edmunds TMV & invoice pricing to know where you ae in the deal. If you're buying a Tundra....your sale price should be really close to invoice. If you're buying a Corolla, then maybe you're no more than $700 over edmunds invoice price.

 

Been checking Consumer Reports about 3X per day for a couple of weeks and still no invoice pricing. Does anyone have a feeling for Edmunds vs. Consumer Reports - besides having to pay for it on CR?

 

I find CR to be confusing, there's actualy too much info, in my opinion. CR reminds me of trying to select the correct options in www.kbb.com new vehicle price application. More options than are offered in my region.

The 2010 Prius brochures arrived at our dealership today!!

 

I was being sarcastic in my reply. The info is all over the internet, my helping to ease the confusion of who's invoice is correct isn't going to bother Toyota in the least. I guess I should make more apparent with emoticons next time

Is he charging a separate fee? As in MSRP + 455?

 

I don't know the specifics of course of what each dealer charges but it appears confusing somehow. Let's clarify using what we know about the Prius thus far.

The Prius Team and Toyota have given us MSRP prices for the different models beginning at $22000. Freight,Processing and Handling is determined by Toyota and is charged to each dealer on each vehicle. For the Prius 3 it's $750. Thus $22750 MSRP.

As Jon noted above this price does not include mats ( CF ) or cargo net or first aid kit ( Z1 ). These will be extra and added at the Port. So for round numbers the Prius II should have an MSRP of about $23000.

However, this MSRP should include all these Admin Fees and Advertising Fees we've been discussing above. I'd be surprised if they were added to the MSRP price. But as noted before the dealers and Toyota are two distinctly different business entities. Each one can do whatever is best for their respective businesses, volume-wise, package-wise, price-wise, etc.

 

I'm Nate, I work for Jon Lancaster Toyota.

Let me clarify your clarification. Prius II (2) or model# 1223 is $22,000 plus destination $750 for a delivered price of $22,750. Add carpet floor mats and your most likely at $22,949.

The admin fees ( holdback and all that crap) are included in Toyota's MSRP prices. No surprises other than those that you mentioned: Carpet floor mats or Preferred accessory package ( Z1)

Place your orders!

 

Since brochures are beginning to show up at dealerships, when can the 2010's be expected to start hitting lots? I've read late May, but like the week of May 25th, or what? Thanks in advance!

 

Delivery window for the priority program is May 18 to June 15. Every dealer will also be receiving at least one early car. Since they say the boat has already left the port with the first load, it may be possible for some cars to appear on the west coast even sooner.

 

Not sure about the quantity but my dealer in Memphis, TN, told me they expect to have a new Prius by Memorial Day weekend.

 

I expect that we'll have the Prius here by the last week of May. I just ran a locate to see if anyone in the country has one, but I came up with no results. Generaly I look at a 4 week time from allocation to dealer delivery here in WI. If Toyota has these guys stacking up at port, they could allocate them and ship from port shortening my wait to 10-14 days.

We submited our sold orders on Thursday ( 4/30/09 ) and should have the "laptop allocation" on Tuesday. We'll all have a better idea of the number of cars and dealer arrival dates come Tuesday.

 

Very interesting thread Nate and Deadphish- thanks for posting.

Concerning GST and SET......why do they exist at all for the Gulf and Southeast states? If there is a "need" for such middlemen, why doesn't every region of the United States have their own version of a GST and SET with their associated markups?