Did the salesman rip us off?

Sounds to me as though she never should have been let loose in the stealership in the first place. They obviously saw her coming and set the trap accordingly.
Remember the old adage .... "caveat emptor".
Especially in most car stealerships!

 

Did she initially order a II or III? If so, it sounds more like a failure to do research beforehand.

 

Maybe a little bit of both. When I bought my prius II, I was told the dealership that it did not have the SKS. It is a shame you can't trust the dealerships.

 

Did the salesman rip us off? Well it depends. I'm assuming that your mother purchased a II or III originally. As already illuminated it would of had a drivers door only SKS system. So if she was somehow under the impression it had no smart key at all she was mistaken or mislead. II's and III's have a limited one sensor smart key for the driver.

If the problem was not having the sensor for the pasenger door and the hatch then she was not ripped off because it is true that for the 2010's it's currently only IV's and V's.

If it makes your mother or you feel any better you're not the only people to buy The 2010 and discover after purchase that the SKS was different than expected. It is explained in the brochure but it would be helpful if dealerships and salespeople were better at explaining.

I don't think the salesperson necessarily ripped anyone off. If the car was ordered before hand it just might of been a case of your mother assuming the smart key system would be the same, and the dealership assuming your mother knew how things were packaged. As far as training goes, Toyota dealerships should be trained to honestly explain the new packaging as well as make sure customers are comfortable with what they are purchasing. Then you don't have the situation that you had where your mother is driving home a new car and then driving back and purchasing another.

If the dealership didn't ding your mother too badly for returning a new car, then I'd say it was just the way things go.

 

HER gripe forevermore about the $3,400 and the paint color that she doesn't like... So, did she get ripped off?

Why would she get a colour she did not like
She should order what she wanted
She really should reached what she wanted first and know what she can and can not get

Why did people also ask if they got ripped off after they bought the car

 

It does seem like a case of her not doing her research before the order/purchase. She probably just assumed that it had the same SKS as her Gen 2 Prius. The $3400 is probably the price for the upgrade from a II or III to the IV. She didn't have to take the color she doesn't like.

 

The best defense against sales people who might seek to take an advantage is to educate yourself before you walk through the door. If you fail to do that, you have no one to blame but yourself. Sorry.

 

All Priuses have SKS. If she says it "didn't have SKS" then either: 1) She means it had 1 door instead of 3 door in which case a II isn't enough for her. 2) It wasn't working: a) There was a problem with the system or the key b) It had been disabled (dealer change that can be made for people with pacemakers.) c) She was in an area of high interference: given the new car had no problem I doubt this. 1) She may have been ripped off depending on what she ended up with 2) Yes.

 

Yes that's probably true. But if I can play the "PollyAnna" idealist? Wouldn't it be nice if dealerships and salespeople were trained to be helpful in that education process? Quit laughing. It could happen. A good salesperson would of explained or asked before the initial purchase about the change in the SKS levels. Especially if they were knowledgable and knew the buyer had owned a Gen2 before hand.

Yes, people should be armed with knowledge, as much as possible. But people have varying degrees of time and ability and energy. Plus it's a little vague in the Toyota Brochure. If you are in hurry, I think a lot of people are just going to read Prius II with drivers SKS system and assume that is the same SKS system throughout the model line. Since it was consistent in most of the Generation 2 and now isn't, I think dealerships and salespeople could be more helpful in educating buyers to the difference.

It would avoid problems like this person had, and even could be used as a good tool to leverage before purchase for upgrade. I'd think salespeople would want to communicate a reason why you might consider spending more.

 

The salesman's job is to sell the highest priced vehicle he can get the customer to take (to maximize profit). He has NO other job.

As a customer, we have the job of knowing and expecting this, and of arming ourselves with information.

He didn't rip anyone off. He was doing his job, which happens to be to attempt to rip off EVERYONE that walks in the door.

 

As someone else already posted, "caveat emptor". The fact is, these salesmen probably have to go through many different models, trim levels, etc, and it would be unrealistic to expect them to know each model/trim very well. I believe the onus is on the potential buyer to research and study-up. Far more efficient for the prospective buyer to research/read about 1 or 2 models than to expect a salesmen to know in-depth all 20 or so models of a particular dealership.

Of course, that said, having basic knowledge of each model they are trying to sell is a plus. Expert knowledge, even better. I was really lucky in the one dealership on whom I'm waiting for a new Prius to have a salesman who was previously a service tech - he knew the system inside and out. On the downside, it's been hard to get in touch with him since he's been more on the service side recently than on sales (lol, recalls).

 

From your description, this seems like more of an issue between your Mom and Dad (her husband) than with the Toyota dealer. A salesman can't sell you something you aren't willing to buy. I don't think it is cost effective to add the smartkey to a prius without it, although I thought all of the 2010 Priuses already had the Smartkey as a standard accessory.

 

They do, just not on all 3 doors like Gen 2. I am puzzled why Toyota is somewhat vague about disclosing this since their objective is to sell more IV and V models by only offering 3 door SKS on those. I really think they could have made more profit by allowing 3 door SKS as an option on the other models. Lots of us SKS addicts would gladly pay for it.

 

Well despite getting off topic a little and this thread turning into a debate over the philosophy and reality of dealerships and salesmen a topic that has been debated before. The original question was Did the Salesman rip us off?

My answer has to be No. Sounds to me like the purchaser purchased the automobile she thought she wanted and was sold the automobile she thought she wanted, and then discovered it wasn't exactly the automobile she thought she was getting.

Unfortunate and avoidable with research and education from either the buyer or the seller if they impart the knowledge. But not a case of anyone being necessarily mislead or ripped off.

 

Anytime you take delivery of a new car and drive it off the lot and then take it back as it wasn't what you want and now want to trade for another new car with 4 or 5 miles on it, never titled, you are going to feel like you got ripped off no matter how honest and fair minded the dealer is.

Problem is the other car is now used because it was titled even if only a few miles were put on it.

As for the SKS there has been a lot of confusion by people on that and it may have just been an uninformed salesman and definitely an uninformed lady who did not know what she bought.

What are dealers to do, take a loss on every uninformed individual who says i did not realize what i bought when i bought it sorry i want a do over free.

Not saying the lady was in fact stupid but she apparently did not know what she bought as it wasn't what she really wanted.

You know car specs change every year on some makes and models, consumers have to be awake or suffer the consequences. May-bee the right questions weren't even asked!

 

The salesman didn't rip her off; she ripped herself off by not understanding the environment, the product, her needs, the differences in features, or how to negotiate.

 

Exactly. The salesman was merely doing what his employer pays him to do .... which is to maximize his return on the investment in time, money and material of the goods he has to sell. The buyers job is to educate themselves on the details of the car he/she wants, make a list of the features required at what cost, set a price point and negotiate from there.
Sounds as though none of that was done.