2010 Prices Paid and Details

Actually, I believe anyone who has ever served (retired or not) is eligible, as are their immediate family members. I've never served, but my father did, so I was eligible to be a member. USAA apparently relaxed membership requirements a few years back.

 

This is true, check their website, they list the eligibility requirements....

 

Nice to know. I'll keep that in mind next time I buy a new car when my prius starts rusting and the wheel falls off. For CA the prices are different. Price on overstock.com for the same car/options came out to $31,868. For USAA $30,563 Cant check out consumer report b/c registration is required.

 

That is interesting. Before I checked Atlanta I had previously tried the Denver area and the prices are the same when comparing same car/options from overstock and usaa, so I just assumed that would be the same across all regions. My bad!

 

LED headlights and the 17" wheels.

 

I think it might be a case of there being fewer V's to begin with and the fact that the smaller number of customers who are shopping for a V are probably willing to pay the premium for a V, so not too much wiggle room. The V with the Nav is selling for about $32,500 OTD in Los Angeles. I was originally going to get the ATP but OTD price would be close to $35,000.

 

Just bought a Prius G3, Model IV for $29K - ie sunroof and solar. More than i wanted to spend, but can't wait until it's prepped and cleaned up and take delivery neact week.

 

Congrats! What color did you get? That's the model/option package my wife wants!

 

If memory serves USAA was only eligible to military officers (active or retired) and their immediate family. My father is a retired colonel, so I've been a USAA member ever since I started driving.

I believe it was last year where they opened up membership to enlisted as well.

I think as they've grown they've wanted their membership to grow.

Personally, I love USAA. I finally got fed up with Bank of America and switched all my banking to USAA. Love it. Deposit checks with my iphone. Also have my home owners through them.

They just make life easy and their customer service is top notch.

 

got mine 7/2
paid $24,800 plus the following bells & whistles
remote start
protective film
side moldings
bumper applique
carpet mats
2yr free toyota care

pacific NW dealer
NW weather not so much for solar option
the Navi is overpriced, rather get a ipad with gps

 

It was actually the late 90's when they opened it to Enlisted Members. I also love the fact I can use any ATM anywhere and they reimburse the fees!

 

Sandy beach.

Not sure if it's a popular color, but I like it.

 

Bought my Trim V w/ Navi on 8/9/10. Invoice came out to $29,692, talked the dealer down to $29,200 ($31,300 OTD in Troy, MI).

After doing my research, I think the best way to get a good deal is the following:

Find the car you want on a lot you are willing to go to - you have infinite more power over the dealer when you can just point and say "for the right price you can get that off your lot tonight!"

When you get to the pricing part, ask them directly for the dealer's invoice (not the generic 'here is MSRP and here is invoice' totals, the one that shows the breakdown of TDA, Dealer Holdback, etc). Don't let them fuss about whether they are 'allowed to show that to you' - if they are serious about getting you to buy something, they need to be upfront. It also usually summons the sales manager (who will be calling any 'below invoice' pricing shots) to you, instead of the dreaded "let me go talk to my boss" back and forth that runs people's time and energy down unnecessarily.

Once you have that, calculate your offer right in front of them. This shows that there is no haggle more than a few $100 going to happen for them. The calculation also shows that you aren't just pulling the number out of the air - its a fair formula, and that you are taking their profit into consideration (regardless, be prepared for the 'how will i ever be able to feed my kids and pay the maintenance department and keep the lights on in my dealership' song and dance. happens every time. Every time they do the dance, you point to your "generous" profit offering, and tell them they can dole that out as they please).

This was my(roughly) dealer invoice:
Dealer Cost
Prius Trim V 25,288
Navigation Package 2,124
Carpets & Bumper Applique 172
Destination Fee 750
TDA 506
Gasoline 11
Dealer Holdback 561
Wholesale Financial Reserve 280

Total Dealer invoice: 29,692

Calculation:
25,288+2,124+172=27,584 = Actual Vehicle Cost to Dealer

27,584 * .03 = 827.52 = Your offer to dealer for profits on sale of car. Depending on how much (or how little) power you feel you have over your dealer, you can tweak your profit %. Edmunds lists 3-5% as reasonable.

27,584 + 828 + 750 = 29,162 = Your offer on the car. The destination fee isn't usually waivable, so it has to get tacked on, but make sure you add that back after your profit calc, not before.

Using this method, you can tell the dealer, yes I see your $1350 TDA, holdback, etc. fees, but it's not my job to pay them - you even get some of them reimbursed after l buy the car, so it's a win win situation for me not to pay them. You can allocate your profit as you see fit.

At this point, my sales manager countered my calculation with dealer invoice - dealer holdback +$100 = $29,231 and I settled for $29,200. I accomplished this all within about 40 minutes, although it helped that I walked in 20 minutes before closing to cut down my wasted time loss.

Overall, a pretty painless experience. Hopefully my notes above can help anyone nervous about going in feel confident they have a plan. LOOK CONFIDENT even if you aren't. Don't give up your price - you know what's fair and you know when to walk. Even if you do, they'll call the next day and you'll have another chance. You'll get it eventually =)

 

Hello, this is my first post.

I bought a 2010 Prius III, no other options except floor mats, so the MSRP was $24,819. I got $750 off the sticker, plus the $750 factory rebate. I thought that was pretty good for Toyota products and especially the Prius.

 

i think you could've gotten away with $1000 under invoice. Remember the dealers make profit off those $400 bogus documentation fees as well. The USAA discounts people are talking about here are $3000 under invoice as well. Your strongest negotiating tool is to get the lowest price they can offer and then just leave. Their desperation to get you back will drive the price lower. I tried to leave my dealer twice. First time they dropped price by $1000. Second, they dropped another $200. I didn't bite, and i left. They called me 6 hours later and dropped another $150. I drove back that evening and bought my Prius II for $21,660 + TTTL. Floor Mats, Tint, Paint Protection Package, the works included. MSRP was $25,100. As for the destination fee, no the fee can't be waived, but many dealers will bite on it to sell the car. Hell, you might have even been able to purchase it in the vicinity of your calculated "actual cost to the dealer." At the end of each month or year i forget, toyota sends extra incentives to dealers that meet certain sales quotas, and these incentives and bonuses aren't calculated into the car costs.

 

He She bought a V. Dealers will not discount a V like a II. If you're in a market for a V then you'll understand. Supply and demand. Dealers have boat loads of II's and III's. They have to power to discount them to move them. Not all dealers have V's on their lot. If they do, they may only have a handful of V's. They will not discount them like the II's or the III's just to get rid of them. Overall, he she got a V for an excellent price.

 

+1 Great Point and very accurate regardless of region. I think your point also applies to the IV (based on my shopping experiece) to some extent.

 

+1. Good point. I didn't realize that. I was assuming that with the higher cost, there'd be more room to discount. Personally i think the V is a waste =) since it is the same or around as the expected price of the CT 200h.

 

The USAA discount previously mentioned was for any trim level Prius, as long as it was on the dealer lot, so if I had been in the market for a V, and the dealership had one in stock, I could have purchased it at the same $3000 below Invoice. Again, this is dependent upon location, and this example is for one Dealership in the Atlanta area.

 

V has the nicer headlights, which really make the car for me. I do not like the exterior styling of the prius AT ALL (I drove an 07 Mazda3 up until Monday, and I am in love with 'sport sedan' styling. I would give anything to have the prius insides come in a Lexus IS). So, the prius was a sacrifice on external appeal, but the nicer headlights help the overall look a lot (for me, anyway). Also, the 55mpg and making a profit on the $100/mo mileage reimbursement I get from my job magically makes it prettier too.

Also, per some above comments, I am a she =)