Inventory is getting tight

I guess I am a little lost, If people are willing to pay that much over MSRP it will make their return on investent pretty sick. That is why I refused to pay the premium. If you pay an average of 4 thousand dollars over Book price, that's the price of 1000 gallons of gas!!!! I just dont get it.
Ordering a hybrid or electric vehicle and waiting for it at MSRP makes more sense to me than paying that type of premium.
Heck you could use that 1000 gallons in your existing vehicle and drive almost the balance of this year and still be ahead.
Of course if you want one and just HAVE to have it now, good on you but sure makes no sense to me!
7 weeks to go on my Prius, I can wait!!!
Roger

 

Some people would rather pay the premium to reduce their fuel consumption then wait until it makes "cents". (pun intended).

$4k USD may buy 1000 gallons today. What about tomorrow?

 

When I test drove my 2011 prius the salesman told me that toyota was very strict in that dealerships were forbidden to sell the car over MSRP. I'm wondering now if this was some sort of ploy - but he said another salesperson in the store sold one for $3k over MSRP and was fired for it.

 

I call dealer BS.

First, dealers are not owner by Toyota, and by law Toyota cannot dictate what price dealers charge.

Second, here in the bay area, nearly every dealer was asking thousands of dollars over MSRP (who know how much they actually got) when the 2010 Prius was released. FWIW, I got a modest discount on mine because my dealer (Toyota Sunnyvale) always charges below MSRP.

 

Dealer told me to hold on to my 2011 until July or August, then sell it, probably get more than what I paid for it new!

 

Dealership where I bought my 2011 Three last Saturday had 13 Prii of various models. Today they have three cars and don't expect to be getting more anytime soon.

 

Inventory has improved (if just slightly) around here in the Twin Cities. Oil and gas prices are falling right now too. The economic fundamentals that would support $4 gas simply don't exist. The price had absolutely no business being that high. Same goes for the price of oil.

Combined, I'm hoping these factors will contribute to further inventory improvement.

 

I visited our local Toyota dealer a few days ago, and a salesperson told me he had heard Toyota was looking at opening up the plant in Mississippi (in October) they never finished due to the economy. Has anyone heard this? That could really ramp up Prius production.

BTW, my 2010 III had 12K in hail damage, and the insurance company didn't even blink on fixing it because their value is so high right now.
​

 

My 2010 III was bought in June 2009. It too is worth more than I paid for it 23 months and 25,000 miles ago, per KBB. I think it's time to buy "The Club"
Since when does a III (3) come with leather?

 

No way. Our gas is dirt cheap. Europeans pay $9/gallon.

Slap a $2 tax on gas and we'll never see someone buying a giant SUV again.

 

Still confused. Why does everyone when talking about a prius always jump to cost of the investment etc. What about gas guzzlers that cost thousands more and have higher insurance and repair costs. I like the car, technology, and doing my part to slow the consumption of oil the high mileage is just the icing on the cake.

 

+1 At this point it's just fun.

 

I thought the Prius was made in Japan.

 

It is, but they have a plant ready to go in Mississippi that can build the Prius (or anything else, I guess). They just didn't open it in 2008 due to the poor economy.

 

I agree. Gas in this country is too cheap, and we can use the tax revenue to rebuild our crumbling highways.

 

For those in the bay area looking for a Prius, a buddy has been shopping, and SF Toyota has ~50 in stock, and they don't sell over MSRP.

 

On Wednesday, there was not one new Prius on the lot at Roseville Toyota in northern CA.

 

True, our gas is cheap but it's not like the Europeans don't get nothing out of the $9 gas. They get Universal Health Care, higher education cost subsidies, longer vacations, more sick time, etc.,

Try buying a DECENT health insurance policy as a individual here in the US with even the smallest illness or injury and you'll be thankful to pay $9 gas like those in Europe. Many people say I'm young, I won't get sick and bla bla bla but father time eventually catches up to all of us.

 

Picked up my IV with NAV at $100 under MSRP today. Could have done better had I waited - but I couldn't wait.

I say take it.

 

Yes, let free market work.
Why dealer can not adjust price based on supply and demand? What if the demand went down?