I'm Prius II shopping - what's a "good" price on a 2011?

First off, you've posted in the wrong forum. 2010-2012 models are Gen 3. 2004-2009 models are Gen 2.

It sounds like you're looking for a 2011 Model Two as Toyota moved away from the Roman numerals starting w/2011.

I posted a bit about pricing at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ing-advice-2011-prius-owners.html#post1447978 and http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/102016-good-deal.html#post1446886. I helped someone buy a 2011 Prius Three (but she was originally looking at a Two) end of last month.

Keep in mind there were $1000 incentives from Toyota for Nor Cal, at the time. Check your region at Toyota Dealerships - New & Used Car Deals & Special Offers | BuyAToyota.com.

 

Look at True Car

100% Haggle-Free New Car Price Quotes from Local Dealers - TrueCar

 

Hey, spicegirl,

cwerdna is helping you with the pricing question already, so I'll just make a comment about that lifetime warranty you've been offered. The official Toyota Financial Services extended warranty (for beyond what's left of the factory warranty) is priced at about $1,000 here [do a search here to find exactly what Troy (screen name TOG) can offer you through "Warranty Shack"---he sells the official Toyota one (he works at a Toyota dealer & sells it at a good discount)].

Other dealers try to sell the same Toyota Financial Services extended warranty for 2 to 3 times that price, but most only offer a 3rd party warranty which has so many exclusions that it is practically worthless & if it does happen to cover some necessary repair on your car, it most likely requires the work to be done ONLY at your selling dealer (so good luck if something happens while you're miles away from there---like a cross country trip or something). The Toyota Financial Services one is good at ANY Toyota dealer & you have until just before the factory one expires at 36,000 miles & 3 years from the original "in service" date to buy the official Toyota one (a Toyota dealer can use the VIN # to look up the "in service date of the Toyota car you're considering, but please don't reveal where you intend to buy your extended warranty, as Troy has already received threatening phone calls from other dealers irate about losing their double or triple-priced, bottom-line-padding, warranty sales to him).

So save your money now by NOT being swayed on the extended warranty (or the maintenance program some dealers sell too---the current new Priuses come with at east 2 years of free regular scheduled maintenance) & see what things fail over the 1st 2.9 years (giving you time to decide whether you really want the extended warranty before the factory one expires by either the miles or 3 years from the "in service" date). And then if you still want the extended warranty, come back here & get it from Troy at a good & fair price. He's a pleasure to deal with as you will see if you have the time to read any of the many, many postings in the extended warranty thread.

One more comment regarding the maintenance of the Prius you intend to buy. Don't get suckered into accepting any other service than what is required in your scheduled maintenance manual (it used to be called the "Passport" manual---I don't know if it still is). Take that with you when you schedule & talk to the service adviser & tell him/her to do ONLY what is required on the page for the mileage level you're at. In other words, NEVER show up & just say "give me the ??,000 mile check-up?? or you will end up paying some un-necessary big bucks for things that can't even be done on a Prius. Some owners of the 2G Prius (2004-2009) have paid $300-$400 for services that should only have been $100 or less if they had only specified to have done just what Toyota requires in the "Passport" maintenance manual.

Good luck in your car search & selection & I'm sure others will soon be posting their advice to help you as well.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Welcome aboard! Great time to buy with the incentives. Good luck!

 

At this time I would say any number that begins with 21, not including Taxes and License fees.

 

Where is that ? I'm in South Florida and I have it down to $22.9k for a 2011 Prius ii. I have to add tax and tag/title fees, but no dealer fees. Is that a good deal? Anybody know any Florida dealers selling them cheaper?

 

Southern Cal, not in the dreaded southeast region.

 

Check truecar.com. See how close your price is to the invoice and market average they list for your area.

 

I know you guys have mentioned TrueCar and I actually had never heard of them until a dealer brought them up when I went car shopping w/a friend. The salesman made claims that TrueCar was in trouble and that sometimes they'd give figures that were way too low, as in below their cost. I have no idea how true these claims are but do Google for truecar honda issues, truecar honda fight, truecar regulators and truecar colorado, for example.

I've generally looked at Edmunds for invoice prices, holdback percentages and incentives. I've looked at places like cars.com for incentives as well.

 

The thing with truecar is that they don't only give you the sticker, invoice, incentives, and cost prices (which is what Edmunds does) but they also give you actual prices that people are paying in a particular area for a car. Not only that, they actually communicate with dealerships to see what they are willing the sell the car for. TrueCar FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

I'll admit I had a great experience with truecar.com, buteven if I didn't, I'd find it hard to believe that truecar.com will guarantee a price for a car without checking with the dealership first. Even in that article I found when I searched for "truecar Honda fight", it suggests that the dealership was responsible for giving truecar the below invoice price advertised on truecar.com... not that truecar pulled a number out of the air. I think the salesperson is trying to put the blame on low prices on truecar so that he can sell for a higher price.

 

I agree. It would be heck of a deal if you can get a number that starts 20. My OTD was $23,300 in So Cal two weeks ago for a Prius II w/mats.

 

TC

They are in trouble - big trouble - for a lot of reasons I won't go into. We were a truecar dealer till the first week of the year when certain issues were brought to light and we dropped them fast.

They do things that are not within the letter of the law in their individual states. And, I had a lot of trouble with the integrity of their data, including their WILLINGNESS - not their ability - to change out the incentives when the incentives change. That pissed me off the most. When rebates vanish or they change, Truecar does not go in and adjust data for DAYS. In certain cases, in my own experience, sometimes 3-4 days. And, when their invoicing is off, it's like pulling freakin' teeth to get them to make changes, even when the documented data is emailed right to them so they can verify it.

Selling cars using Truecar was, at the end, a grind. The problem was that buyers forgot we're real people at the other side of the desk and that truecar's data was often flawed and inconsistent. Their method of offering the consumers pricing on cars their dealer parters DO NOT HAVE is really kinda sneaky and worse: the way they make it appear as if the pricing certificate is coming right from the dealers themselves was also in question. It made it look as if the dealer was offering a car at a certain price, even if the car was nowhere in the entire country.

I asked them OFTEN and constantly to just set up a database flag where it would say in a pop up box or printed large in red to explain to a customer that the car they were selecting wasn't normal for the area in which they are seeking it... but they continued to refuse to do that. It wouldn't be that hard to warn a buyer that they were seeking and going to be getting a certificate for IS NOT NORMALLY BUILT THAT WAY - or some such warning.

I'm over the arguments.

I will say tho - them being in trouble doesn't affect you as a buyer financially, but with so many larger dealers and groups cancelling them, it sure affects your variety of dealerships to be able to purchase from. Dealerships such as myself who would probably do the truecar deal you have anyway! Just ask!

Dianne