need immediate help with already purchased Prius

Sorry, can't help you. Don't know anything about CA consumer law. Typically there is a "cooling off" period, not sure if it applies here

 

Your biggest money-saver is going to be through cancellation of the warranty, so I'm glad you've found out how to do this (do it immediately!). Next savings will be on pre-paid maintenance. Act on that quickly, too.

I can't tell just what you want to do about the Lojack system.

I can't advise you on California law, but I can suggest that in other states a contract is the final document when it has the proper information and is properly executed (signed). There are some things that could alter this, but if you've already taken possession of the car, I can't see how you could, unilaterally, alter the provisions. Perhaps your dealer will help you out, but if you are looking to get rid of the Toyota financing, I doubt they'd be very interested.

Most of the "cooling off" periods are for items where you, as the consumer, have been approached by the retailer. It also typically applies to home refinancing, but I don't know of it applying to automobile purchases. Again, if you are in possession, then you'd have to pay, at least, the amount by which the car depreciated, unless it is deemed the title never transferred and you have very low miles.

Your credit union would be a better source for the correct information. If there is no prepayment penalty, why not ask the credit union to refinance the car and payoff Toyota?

 

By the way, you have 5 days to cancel the additional insurance you purchased, if you want to undo those - Federal Law.

 

Re: need immediate help with already purchased Prius--warranty question

On that specific point, that's true of all car manufacturers. You need to be able to provide evidence of their required periodic maintenance, but as a practical matter, at least oil and other recommended fluid changes, at the suggested interval. Even if you have it done at a non-Toyota facility. They can't warrant a power train if the oil is never changed. Warranty work, however, can only be done by a Toyota dealer. You have a brand new car with a great "free" warranty--3 years, 5 years on power train, 8 on hybrid, so it's worth protecting with recommended service. The other warranties and service contracts....it's got to be an individual decision. My advice is always take the stuff home and decide since they can be purchased after delivery.

 

Re: need immediate help with already purchased Prius--warranty question

The less you say the better. You don't have to give her any reasons except that you changed your mind and don't want the extras. She will take anything you say and use it as a tool to argue against what you want to do.

Be firm, stand your ground, and don't try to explain yourself.

Good luck!

 

Since you are in California, you have 150K warranty on the hybrid and all emissions equipment.
You can cancel the extended warranty at least. Sounds like they really ripped you off all around and you would be better off if your credit approval failed and they made you return the car so you could start over somewhere else.
You would have been better off buying through Costco or CarBargains if you are unprepared or easily scared, intimidated and confused by aggressive salespeople and finance managers.

 

Gosh your dealer was super greedy. The suggested retail price of the 7 year extended Toyota top of line zero deductible warranty is $1,800 but I just offered my dealer $1,100 and they accepted. It was based on the $1,055 quote on this web site. Instead of going through the application process on this site, I decided to finance it since the credit union interest rate was only 3.5%. If Toyota gives you a hard time, remind them that no dealer should be allowed to charge more than the price on their national web site.

I don't live in CA so have normal hybrid warranty...and being an AC freak, am sure something will go wrong in 7 years that would cost $1,100 or more. I prefer to have no surprises. As for the pre-paid maintanence plan - I skipped it since it saves no money over the retail toyota oil change price, etc. Unless one of the dealers around here has $30 oil changes like my Honda dealer does for my CRV, I will not be using Toyota except for periodic larger "required" maintanence.

Don't know about LoJack pricing but some other threads on this site have noted that Prius' don't get stolen that much due to the electronic keyless system and so even if flatbedded out, only use is chop for parts (not that much demand yet), so not sure you need it either unless you live or work in a rough are...

If you credit appliation fails, try a credit union since the rates are 2 or 3% lower then bank, S&L and Toyota financing. And get rid of GAP insurance on the loan from the dealer. I was quoted $600 at the dealer, $300 at the credit union, and $90 for three years from my auto insurer Allied. It will buy me a new car and pay off my loan...so worth a hundred or two but again, dealers are greedy.

Last but not least, I agree with web1b about using Costco...I am from the east coast so don't mind the bargaining, but Costco comes out about the same when I considered them for my CRV a couple of years ago. I did not use them for my Prius because I wanted a specific color and had to go outside my region. Good luck!

 

not sure if this helps you or not, but I have seen dealers offer specials on lo-jack installation for as low as $450, after the car has already been purchased. Also, you can go to any dealer to get a lo-jack installed.

 

Newly redesigned cars are not frequently stolen. Maybe it 5 years there will be a big demand for used parts, but not now. Not too many kids interested in joyriding a Prius either.
A Lojack of any kind is very likely a waste.

 

Not to mention the big brother factor :tinfoil3:

 

Does anybody know the actual code (for example BB9, or AA7 - I think I saw the Finance manager pull down this book that had all the diff. codes in it for each plan) for the 7 year, 100,000 mile, $0 deductible Platinum Extended service warranty. I think I got the right one for only $1060 (thanks PriusChat for educating me ahead of time as to what this should cost), but the finance guy conveinently checked the 50 deductible box and wrote down only 6 years, not 7. I went back in to get it corrected and he changed it without much fuss but I'm not sure now if BB9 is the correct code or not?

 

Its ironic how you found this site AFTER you got ripped off. Since you came here in the first place it is obvious you know how to conduct a search. BEFORE you bought the warranty, prepaid maint and GAP you should have researched it first. You got so ripped off it is absurd!!!! DEMAND your money back NOW!!! I paid less than $1,000 for my extended warranty back in 2003. As for maintenance, you're just going to need oil changes and a few other minor things for the first 100,000 miles. No way will it cost $800. Crap like this makes me so annoyed because other people like yourself get ripped off daily by certain dealers.

 

Don't buy Lojack. It does not help you anything. 1) The saving from comprehensive insurance is minimal. Definitely, it will be less than $900 on what u paid for the Lojack. Your new Prius is equipped with RFID wireless entrance. It is the toughest key lock system available in the market now. I would rather to have my car stolen completely (I hope not... ) and claim the insurance (using GAP to minimize the loss). What if the cop recover the car but the car is in limbo state. You will be sticking with the junk car forever. For as long as your car is not declared "total", you won't be able to get a new replacement car (assuming the GAP will cover your nice person). So, why bother to pay $1000 on something that won't benefit us (the consumer)? I did install a LoJack on my Acura Integra in 1995. I swear that I won't do it again on my new Prius.

As long as the LoJack has not been installed into your new car, I think you can still pull it off from the deal. I don't see any reason why not.

For the extended warranty, I think the price could be ranged from $900 to $1055 for the new 2010 Prius. For the prepaid maintenance service, check out the service discount coupon from Longo Toyota (google its website). 5K service is $60+tax. 15K,30K service is ~$199+tax. If u add them up, the total amount of service up to 55K would be somewhere at $825 (give and take). It will be less than $890 for sure. If $890 is cheaper than what you need to pay locally, pre-pay is a good way to go. If not, why bother to pay interest for it? There is a downside that the service center at the other local toyota car dealer may not honor the certificates. I heard it from the other member in the Prius forum. Though, all toyota service centers should honor the coupon. But who can guarantee that? Keep the money in your pocket is the best way to save $.

From the dealer perspective, you should go revise your contract before the end of the month. They want to close their book by the end of the month. Do it ASAP. I think you have all the right to get a loan from someone else.

-Kel