Newbie-Dealership Woes...Need advice

Anything with a solar roof is fairly hard to find. When I bought three weeks ago, I bought the only on-lot solar roof within 150 miles. Orders from the factory take 4-6 months, since it's in Japan.

You can find pricing throughout these forums. In a lot of places, they're selling at or near MSRP. My dad in South Carolina stopped by his local dealer, and they said the average time on lot is two days, even at that price. Calling around, I didn't find a dealer in Louisville, Cincinnati, or Indianapolis under MSRP. That's what I paid.

Some quick suggestions:
1) Try other dealers. There are three dealers in Louisville, and they varied a lot in quality. One was horrible and I walked away. The other two were better.

2) Use an online locator. I used cars.com, but since you're in the Southeast, you can use buyatoyota.com. It's one stop online peeking for all dealers in the Southeast, and can be helpful. I got a count of 237 Prius IVs throughout the Southeast, but I don't know how many of them have the solar roof.

If you were going to look, I would go to a larger area - not smaller - one with more dealers and potentially more competition. I don't know, though. Charlotte? DC?

 

Van York Toyota, High Point, NC claims to have this car for immediate delivery. It is Package IV, pearl, with solar.
336-885-9016



Fuel Surcharge $0 50 State Emissions-FEAT $0 Special Color-PCAT $220 Carpet Mats and Trunk Mat-PV50 $219 Solar Roof Package:-SRAT $3,600

• Tilt/slide Moonroof with Solar-Powered Ventilation System and Remote Air Conditioning System

• Voice-activated Touch-screen DVD Navigation System with JBL AM/FM/MP3 4 disc CD Changer

• Eight Speakers

• Integrated Satellite Radio Capability

• Hands free phone Capability and Music Streaming Via Bluetooth Wireless Technology

• and Backup Camera

• Navigation System comes XM Nav Traffic Ready

6-Gallons of Gas-UF60 $0 Southeast Toyota Distributor Plus-FP50 $0

• Final Quality Inspection

• Certified Technician 46 Point

• Picture Asset Program

Toyoguard Plus Protection Group-XY70 $699

• Roadside Assistance Program

• No Charge for First Oil and Filter Change at any Southeast Toyota Dealership

• Vehicle VIN Etch Glass Product Protection Program

• Exterior Paint Sealant, Undercoating and Interior Protection Application

• Rental Car Assistance for Warranty Repairs

Standard Features of this Vehicle

Mechanical
1.8L DOHC 16V VVT-i 4-Cylinder Engine - 15" Aly Whls w/Cvrs & P195/65R15 Tires - 4-Whl Disc Brakes / Front Ind Suspension - Electric Power Steering (EPS) - Hybrid Synergy Drive System, AT-PZEV
Safety
3-Point Seatbelts w/ALR/ELR Pass Belts - Dr & Fr Pass Advanced Airbag System - Dr & Fr Pass Seat Mounted Side Airbags - Dr & Fr Passenger Active Headrests - Eng Immobilizer, Tire Press Monitor Sys - LATCH(Lwr Anchor & Tethers for Children) for Outboard Rear Seating Positions Only - Side Curtain Airbags & Dr Knee Airbag - Star Safety System includes: Enhanced Vehicle Stability Ctrl w/TRAC Anti-Lock Brakes w/ EBD & Brake Assist
Exterior
Clr-Kyd Foldable Pwr Heated Outside Mrrs - Front Variable & Rear Intermittent Wiper - Projector-Beam Halogen Headlamps w/Auto- Off Feature and HSD Blue Accents - Rr Deck Spoiler, HSD Blue Accent Badges
Comfort and Convenience
3 Dr Smart Key & Leather Seats & Str Whl - 6-Way Adj Driver Seat w/Power Lumbar - 60/40 Split Fold-Down Rear Bench Seat w/ Fold-Dn Ctr Armrest & Adj Hdrests - Auto Climate Ctrl Sys w/Plasmacluster - Center Console w/Sliding Armrest/Storage Compartment & Dual Front Cup Holders - Cruise Control, Instant MPG Meter - Dual Glove Box & (2)12V Pwr Outlets - EV/Eco/Pwr Modes & Touch Tracer Display - Htd Fr Sts, Autodim Rrvw Mrr w/Homelink - JBL AM/FM/MP3 6-Disc CD Chgr w/8 Spks, Integrated Sat Radio/Ant (Req Subscr), Bluetooth Wireless Tech & Aux Audio Jack - Multi-Information Display w/ Trip Info - Pwr Locks & Pwr Windows w/Auto Up/Down - Rmte Keyless Entry & Push Button Start - Tilt/Telescopic Steering Whl w/Controls
Unclassified

Footnote

 

You are not going to find one significantly under MSRP -- particularly with the solar roof. I bought the PriusIII without the roof, and got it for a small discount. At the dealer I went too, the only cars that people were looking at is the Prius

 

any idea what the interior is? i'm looking for just this with dark gray.

 

For what it's worth, I don't think you can expect a Toyota dealership to behave like CarMax or Saturn. Those two companies have a business model that is different from the typical car dealership. Most salesmen (Toyota or otherwise) just can't suddenly change their way of doing business. To get below MSRP, you will probably have to do some haggling.

BTW, according to the New Owner's Poll, 64% of people who responded paid MSRP, 31% paid below, 1% paid above, and I guess the rest didn't answer the question.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/64558-2010-prius-owners-poll-really.html

 

Witht the CARS program you will have to deal with a dealer that honors that program (most will, some will not). I wouldn't worry about a discount. Best you'll probably get is $500 and on a $30,000 car that's not enough to kill a deal for me, especially if what you want is tough to get.

Ordering a car from port is a crap shoot. Your dealer may take a while to get a specific configuration whaile a dealer nearby may get one on the lot unsold.

A lot of people on PriusChat are getting IV's w/ solar and they typically seem to be getting them from a dealer that got one as they were calling and checking. A dealer won't really know until about 10 to 15 days before it hits their floor if they have one coming, so you may have to check every 5 days or so as new allocations come out. But in NC you probably have a lot of dealers within 100 miles that you could check with. The large flush sales are probably taken care of by now (except perhaps for solar models) and you you have an easier time of just finding one rather than trying to obtain one through just one dealership.

 

Hi NCKevin,

After doing internet research I narrowed my car search to the Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Insight Hybrid. I visited dealerships and test drove two Prius, two Fusion, and one Insight. One of the Ford dealerships was charging a $6,200 over MSRP for their fusions (not a typo - six thousand two hundred over sticker), the other four dealerships were all charging MSRP or very, very near MSRP.

I was looking for a different color, but the same Prius IV with the Solar Roof package. Neither of the two Toyota Dealerships I visited were suggesting anywhere near a four to six month wait. They were talking about a wait of a couple of weeks depending on specific additional options I was interested in including.

I have a deposit on a Blue the dealership has on their allotment list and they are willing to hold it for me while the CARS program details become available. Unless, of course, I can sell my Dodge Durango privately sooner.

Good luck, TK

 

Considering an Insight? Read the Aug09 issue of Consumer Reports, p. 63; not sounding like a great vehicle to me.

NCKevin - When I placed a firm order I was told 8 weeks to delivery; my model II arrived in about 3 weeks! Paid MSRP. Funny but I was not contacted enough, imo, by the dealer; I had asked for email contact, primarily. Suggest that you place a deposit at a number of dealerships in order to better your chances of getting the car you want. I had contact w/ four dealers within 2-2 1/2 hours driving time - one way!

 

Sound like people are paying MSRP or near MSRP pretty much coast to coast. There seem to be quite a few IIIs and IVs with sun roof and nav available in red white or black on dealer lots in this area. Even saw one blue one. Haven't seen any IIs or Vs though. I ordered my V after agreeing to pay MSRP and making a $1000 deposit, estimated delivery time 2 to 3 months although the salesman indicated yesterday that it "may" be here a bit sooner. That would be nice.

 

Kevin, I had a hard time finding the a Blizzard White with Dark interior and not a lot of the SET stuff (like Toyoguard) added on. I used buyatoyota.com (Southeast Toyota Distributor) and searched all dealership inventories within 2-3 hours and found what I was looking for. I'd prefer to drive a little than wait that many months. They are out there, just do the homework and you'll find it.

 

If this dealership has any kind of decent allocation and there is not a long waiting list for a specific option like the SR, then I can't imagine it taking that long. They may just be covering themselves so you don't hassle them every day to see if it's in. If you say no, they know someone else will still come along and buy their allocation.

BUT, if I didn't like this dealer if I was going to wait I'd at least go to a dealership when I felt comfortable.

 

Misty Gray

 

Martin37 - Thanks for the tip. I haven't seen the Consumer Reports evaluation, but I already rejected the Insight and the Fusion. I have my deposit on a Prius IV with Solar Roof.

TK

 

NCKevin,
What dealer did you try? I have a III on order from Leith and have had no problems?

 

We also went through Leith after having gotten quotes from three other area dealerships. We paid MSRP but they didn't add on any crap (Toyoguard) and gave us a *very* good price on our trade.

DH and I have had separate negative experiences with the other Raleigh-area dealership.

 

The followup situation is a local issue so if you aren't satisfied find another dealer.

What they are telling you about supply IMO is accurate. This is not like any other car in the US. We were sold out for 18 months in 2004 and 2005 when the G2's arrived. We were also sold out - the whole nation was - for 6 months last year.

Right now we are sold out again after an initial rush that sucked up every available model....and we're the largest store between you and DC.

Toyota made these G3's unbelievably affordable by dropping the prices on the II and III models by about $2500. This has encouraged a whole new group of buyers. The good press that the G3 Prius is getting all over the globe and in nearly every press report is spiking interest as well.

The Sunroof issue on the Prius IVs has been discussed here in several places. It's likely to be a continuing issue for a while.

 

As others have said, I don't think you are being taken.

Even so, I would read the confessions series on edmunds.com. Especially the Finance & Insurance one.