Inventory is getting tight

i'm waiting on the phev, although, that will probably be backed up because of all this. ithink you lucked out, all the best with your new ride!

 

Um... Earthquake, Tsunami, Earthquake, Nuclear meltdown, Gas prices going up, perceived shortage, all that equals real shortage.

When Toyota figures out how to predict earthquakes, they won't have these problems anymore.

 

Supply and demand! I just checked out the value of my Prius. Blue Book says trade in value is more than what I paid retail for it 6 months ago!

 

Several dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky are asking $2000 above MSRP. I think it's outrageous and disgusting profiteering and consumer exploitation, because the extra cash goes straight to the dealers for doing nothing. If they had any sense of moral responsibility (which, as car dealers, they have none) they would donate the money to the earthquake victims.

OK, rant over. But supply is actually getting very tight - 22 days I was quoted yesterday by a dealer in Memphis.

But what about other Toyotas, and Mazdas, Hondas, Subarus etc? You can still get good discounts.

So I think it has as much to do with high gas prices as much as tight supply.

 

Yep. That is why I jumped the day of the earthquake. I guessed what was coming after a couple hours of CNN. Since we were planing to take advantage of the low interest special that was expiring within weeks, we decided to jump before they really knew what was coming. We paid $31,500. for our v with the tech package. No regrets other than color. I wanted silver but black would have been a deal breaker at any price. I ended up with Blizzard White. A month and 700 miles into it, I have no complaints. Glad we jumped when we did.

 

It never happened. The plant that was supposed to produce them (IIRC) hasn't opened for production.

Other automakers are having problems due to supply chain issues as well. You might find the stuff below interesting.
http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...unami-effect-automakers-suppliers-thread.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...ysis-lack-chips-cars-can-cost-76-billion.html

 

And how many times have I said this car should be second sourced by a company that has a pair, Ford, GM, Honda, anyone.

Weird. It's like, no, no one should copy the Prius. Yet, someday, they will.

You can't have a car that nearly sells consistently in the top 10 of all cars (excluding trucks) and not copy the darn thing. Waiting lists to get a daily driver car, what a joke. Should not be that way, and it's not really Toyota's fault. They just have a phenomenal car that like I said, no one else has a pair to compete head on with it.

Camry, Accord, Altima, Fusion, Mazda6, Sonata, Malibu, Jetta, etc, etc, etc....

they are all copies

btw, read a marketing thing about GM in 2006 ... they believed the way to get more hybrids on the road is to build hybrid versions of what people are already driving. Oh, yeah, that worked really well huh GM. Not. Because hybrid versions cost quite a bit more, so customers just buy the regular version.

Good hybrids are unique and purpose built, like Prius.

 

Dubs' v for $31k sounds like a steal right now! Lol, good buy!

 

Supply and demand. Think of it this way, if they sold it with no markups as if their normal supply was happening, then they would run out at some point. So if they have 5 now, they would eventually have 0. Everyone coming in to look at their Prius stock would be told they have none and walk away. If they have 5, but are priced $2k above, the people will come in and look. Maybe fall in love with the Prius, maybe the Camry but they will be in the store.

If they like it and want it NOW, they can pay $2k more. Then when there are only 4 left, they will be $2.5k above MSRP. If they say no, then they can go on a waiting list or buy another one in stock.

But none of that would happen if there were 0 in stock. Having store shelves empty is worse than having slightly overpriced shelves with a reason behind it.

 

I bought mine March 11, the day of the earthquake. I think my timing was very good as I also got an excellent trade in on my 2007 FJ Cruiser, and a good price on my Prius. Already, the trade in allowances on trucks are falling and the prices on Prii are becoming less flexible.

 

I suspect there are a lot of lurkers (potential buyers) who want a Prius, but have been turned-off by dealers' pricing antics, and lack of inventory selection. You can't do anything about lack of inventory except to buy something else. I hope the dealers gag on their Prius pricing antics. It'll come back to bite 'em in the arse. It always does!

 

I would have thought Toyota would have a strict rule that dealers could not sell above sticker or risk losing their dealership. OR, maybe there's a law that says they can sell for whatever they want?

 

It's sort of a catch 22. There are always people willing to buy something regardless of mark-up. The dealer isn't MAKING them buy the car. Also, with gas prices increasing, the other cars on the lot may not be selling like they used to...if at all. So, the dealer may simply be trying to recoup some of what they're loosing by having the other cars sit on the lot while they wait for more Prii.

I'm not trying to defend the dealer, because I hate price gouging as much as the next person...but I'm trying to see this from both sides of the fence.

At any rate, I'm VERY happy that I bought my Prius back in January. I looked up my car on Kelley Blue Book today, and it's worth more now than it was when I bought it. Score!

 

There's no law. That's why it is called a "suggested" retail price.

 

Yes... But have you followed any news from the other side of the world where the Prii are made? These are not normal circumstances.

 

Ah, but the same thing happened the last time gas prices flew up and Prii were in high demand. Dealers had no clue where they are, what they would be, or when they would get them... no earthquake to blame back then.