How do I start shopping for a 2011 Prius?

My suggestion would be to start at Toyota.com and 'build' your car so that you know options and colors you want, and you have an MSRP for reference. Then email a number of dealers to see if you can get a deal. Personally, I'd look at a left over 2010 since you keep cars a long time.

 

I used Truecar.com and negotiatied with several dealers via email on the model I wanted. Once I had the best price via email, went in, and picked it up. Try Truecar, that will give you a starting point on negotiations for local dealers.

Good luck!

 

I suggest that you deal with a fleet salesperson. They seem to be able to give a better price.

 

Yes to all. We negotiated based on out the door (OTD) cost. IMHO it cuts through all the bull crap number games they play. I used truecar.com and then added the TTL to get to my OTD price. The E-Mail thing is the way to go. Save & print them all and bring them with you when you go in. Good luck, happy hunting.

 

I wouldn't expect any wait time if either the dealer has it on their lot or they can do a dealer trade. What are some examples of "custom requirements" you might have?

 

Good advice so far. See also the car buying advice in the April issue of Consumer Reports, either online or in most libraries. I bought mine remotely, getting bids from multiple dealers without driving to most of them.

Note that if a dealer suspects that you "must have" something (delivery date, particular option, whatever) much of your negotiating leverage disappears.

 

There's also a whole bunch of car buying advice at Edmunds. See Car Buying and Leasing and Car Buying and Leasing Sitemap.

 

You definately have more negotiating power if you take a vehicle that is already on the dealer's lot. I wanted a Base III with no options, but wanted it in white. The dealer had two white III's, one had Nav the other had leather. I ended up getitng the one with Nav for the price of a Base III because I was willing to negotiate on a vehicle they had on their lot.

 

Welcome to PriusChat and best wishes as you research your new car. I used Edmunds.com and email to purchase my Prius. In total, I email requested 5 dealers for quotes. Ultimately, I selected my dealer, called them and gave a credit card deposit over the phone. In the end, I was thrilled with the process, delighted with pricing and not opposed to traveling a distance to get my Prius. I ended up saving some money because I bought a Toyota Certified used Prius which was a dealer demo. If you're going to keep your car for many years, consider a 2010 model rather than 2011.

 

One more thing: don't sign for a car before you test drive it, regardless of the good deal. A few Prius owners report noisy cars (which I think is probably bad wheel alignment) while most are very quiet. Drive yours before you sign, and get it up to speed on the highway to check for noise and other issues.

 

Check out the Newbie Forum and the thread "I Wish The Dealer Had Told Me". You'll find lots of pro/con information that may help in your new car research. It's a good thread.

 

Fleet will not give you anything price wise that you cannot get by going in and talking to a salesman. You can certainly "buy" a car online but negotiate on a vehicle you have never driven? You may drive it and decide it isn't the right car for you... or the right dealership even.

Don't negotiate on the "Out the Door" price... your dealers can't do squat about taxes and license fees!

Want to save some time? Do a little homework by checking out the Toyota website. Go to the dealership you will most likely use for your servicing. Get a sales person to help locate a car with the features you want. Drive it... not just around the block. A real test drive should be 5+ miles!

Remember, the nicer you are to a dealer the nicer they will be to you. So many people come in with a chip on their shoulder and act like jerks, they won't get the best treatment.

 

I had a dealer trade done when I got my 02 Nissan Maxima. I wanted the GXE (lowest trim) and the dealer had none. He had one driven up from Oregon.

For my 06 Prius, that's a different story. Dealers didn't have any on their lots. There were wait lists back then. I put myself on a wait list and (IIRC) I waited at least 1.5 months, but also didn't want to accept a car until 1/1/06, at the earliest in order to take advantage of the tax credit that started then.

Seriously, as long as a dealer has one on their lot, if it's not the color or optioned the way you want, you should be able to get them to do a swap provided that combination is available in your region.

 

Read through www.carbuyingtips.com. At www.aaa.com you can build a car & get up to 3 price quotes. Know what the MVC charges for fees & taxes. A common scam is for the dealer to overcharge for the title & registration. The $1.50/tire tax is legit.

What is the dealer's policy regarding the customizable settings? If they won't make changes a couple/few times for free then walk away.

 

So are you saying that you and your dealership don't treat all customers fairly and equally? What exactly do you mean when you say that some customers don't get the "best" treatment.

 

I disagree completely with the OTD pricing. When I negotiated using OTD I was well aware of the TTL. I looked up the Title & license fees and used them in arriving at my OTD. Tax rates are known. I started with OTD and calculated backwards to a sell price. It got rid of having profit fees like "doc fees" added to the selling price. It puts the buyer at ease, as long as they have done their homework.

Each dealer uses a different fee schedule. I really don't care where the dealership puts their numbers, if they want to cut the sell price and add fees to boost the profit then fine by me. If the sell price is higher and they cut the fees then fine by me as well.

What matters to the consumer is what will I be paying for this car when we are done negotiating. Using OTD makes the numbers clear. My OTD price was a good deal for both myself and the dealership. I wanted to give them the flexibility to maximize their profit by moving numbers around, as long as my OTD did not change.

 

Fleet & Internet departments usually work on a # of units sold vs the salesmen who are waiting for "ups" are on commission & maybe a combo of units & commission.

 

I think what he meant was, if someone go into the dealership acting like a jerk, making unrealistic demands, and talking down to the salemen, don't expect that dealership to bend over backwards and accomodate them or give them preferential treatment. This is basic human nature, not rocket science...