Something is not adding up. Why would they, out of the blue, call and make such an outstanding offer? Consider this. The 2010 is a known factor. The 2011 may have issues (and then again, it may not), you have to go through the break-in period again on the engine and then transfer insurance, pay for the tag, etc. My gut says to go slowly and investigate thoroughly as this sounds too good to be true. We all should know the usual results of a "too good to be true" deal.
As Tony said : "My gut says to go slowly and investigate thoroughly as this sounds too good to be true. We all should know the usual results of a "too good to be true" deal."
Salesman gets pay for selling a new car and probably has a buyer lined up on the 2010 car , so if it meets the dealership numbers for profit the saleman wins
I agree. Additional tax, license fees and slight bump in insurance make it more than $2K PLUS any upgrades you might want to install such as mats, tint, radios, etc. I wouldn't do it.
Pthth, if the dealership wants the swap so bad, they should be paying *you* the $2k. Don't take the deal.
Do you really need a new car? Maybe save the 2 grand for retirement. Also, don't forget the cost of license and registration - that's a whopper here in CA., and for some, a dealbreaker.
Perhaps the dealership feels it can add more markup to a used Prius than a new one, and if the shortage continues, they can make a big profit on the '10, and not run afoul of Toyota corporate for excessive ADM. My guess is that Toyota cannot tell an independent businessman how much to sell a car for, but they can alter the allotment of cars that the dealer gets. That's the only reason I can see a dealer making that offer and if it's legit, go for it---I would.
Get everything in writing, make sure the 2011 has the same equipment, etc, make sure the financing (assuming there is financing) is all comparable or better. If it all adds up, I say do it. I bet he's got a buyer lined up for the 2010, profit margins are bigger often on preowned cars than new cars. He can sell you the 2011 for cost, and make money on the trade. You get a newer car for a small amount of money, he makes money, the buyer he's got wants a used one not a new one. Its a win win. Thats IF the deal is legit. I think you're wise to be skeptical.
See if you can get 2k plus all the sales tax you paid when you bought it. Better yet ask for 4k plus the sales tax. Seems fairer.
IF (and this is a BIG IF) the OTD, total cost is $2k then think of the offer as a lease. You would have paid $167 a month to lease your car for one year. That is a really good deal if you are a leasing kind of guy. Personally, I think OP will find that the money down is in fact $2000, but his monthly payment and/or loan duration will be higher than the terms on his current car. I am agreeing with everybody else that this offer is too good to be true, and am only suggesting how the actual higher price will attempt to be hidden.
Some commodities have tanked in the last week or 2. Some see that as a buying opportunity . I consider buying a car a different type of investment (a depreciating asset). In other words I bought silver Thursday for 25% lower than it cost the preceding Friday. The chances it will be worth more in the future are almost 100%, the chances that my 09 Prius will be worth more in the future is almost 0%.
If they will indeed trade for $2,000 out of pocket, it is a great deal. Typically, vehicles depreciate about this much each year, so you are basically breaking even cost-wise. You should probably double check, but your sales tax is probably only on the difference, so $2,000 X your local sales tax rate. Get all the details, and if there are no strings attached, go for it! I know I would.
Here's what actually happened. The original offer was for a silver (ugh!) prius II with no floor mats. When I told him I wasn't interested in that color and wanted a white one he offered me one that was coming in BUT white is a $220 option along with $200 (?) floormats and a $69 rear bumper applique. He offered me this one for $2200 out the door and I accepted. We picked it up May 26th. I wrote the check for $2200 which included tax, title transfer, license transfer, everything. I got a one year newer vehicle with 12000 less miles. It may not have been the greatest deal ever, but it was good enough for me.
The $220 option is the pearlescent paint job I believe. "Blizzard Pearl" perhaps? Sounds like a good deal for those with cash in hand. You need to update your car stats.
If you are going to keep the car for 5 years or less, you did very well, for among other reasons, a new warranty. If you are going to keep it until the wheels fall off, not so good. Anyhow, congratulations and enjoy the new car smell once again! PS I agree the color was worth the $200, would have gotten one in that color if available at the time I purchased mine.
In the end....if it was a good deal for you...it was a good deal. Good luck with the new(er) car. FWIW...I think that the BWP paint is well worth the extra 200 bucks.
This thread got me to thinking about checking into doing a similar thing. I have a 2010 III with 16,000 miles, picked up in Sep 2009. It has the Nav system which I do not like as well as my simple Garmin 1350 but the real problem for us is that almost always when my wife gets out she generates a static charge on the cloth seats. By the way, she does not wear synthetic fiber clothes. I talked with my original salesman on May 17th and found that with the current high price of gas, my car is probably worth about what I paid for it if not a little more as a trade in. Of course the new Prii are higher priced and we would be stepping up to a Four to get the leather seats that I don't think will shock Pat all the time plus a few other add ons that come with the step up to the Four, but not the Nav. Anyway, we ordered a base model Four with a price of about $28,150. At the time I was talking with him my car was worth about $25 - 26,000 depending on condition. It goes in tomorrow to be detailed (my expense) in order to keep that price up. I also want the gas prices to stay high for a little longer, at least. I will plan to add a Kenwood GPS system which will give us the Garmin system and it should cost about half the $2300 Toyota wants for the stock system. This is contingent on us getting a pretty good price for the trade in. Sales tax in Washington State is paid only on the difference but there is a dealer paperwork fee and probably a few other things that get added on. They thought ours should arrive in about a month from the 17th although I understand they will get a better idea on the 1st when they get something from the factory about what they have coming in the month. If the price offered on the trade in is too low, the deal is off and I'll have a newly detailed 2010 and will maybe look into leather seats for it. But those butt warmers would be nice on cold winter mornings.....
just as a reference point, I recently sold my 2010 II with 24k miles on it for 24,500 (after paying for a $500 dollar dealer assisting transaction fee - it was a lease). Then I went out and bought a 2011 II with Bluetooth (old one did't have it), for 24,389. Net net, it was basically a free trade. I had made 12-13 payments on the previous car, and after payoff, I had a check roughly equivalent to my total payments.
Yesterday i traded in a 2010 model 2 with 20k miles and purchased a 2011 model 3 for $3,500 plus sales tax on $3,500. What struck me odd in view of the lack of Prius inventory was that they didn't sell the car to a stranger off the street for a premium over msrp.
