Just bought a V3 way under MSRP!

Yep. We're in East Bay. Just got ours $500 below invoice, and I kinda regret I didn't press for more. I know now they would budge more. Oh well... It was my first ever experience with buying a new car. Live and learn. Next time (hopefully this year!) I will press harder.

 

Hi! I'm in South Bay and I'm also looking to buy. If you don't mind me asking which dealership did you go to? I'm getting quotes and they are all over a thousand over invoice. It's also my first time buying a new car, do you have any tips for me?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

hi
I sent you a PM.

 

It's not hard to get below invoice u just have to stick to your guns and how much your willing to walk. The motto I used shopping is go hard or go home but never go home hard. I believe I got one of the best deals for a 2012 prius v 5 for 26,822 before taxes. If there was a Prius v5 with ATP I believe I could of got it for 32,000 OTD. There are awesome deals on the 2011's now and I got an offer of 26,100 OTD for a Prius 3 with navi but my wife wanted leather so I went for the 2012 Prius v5.
MSRP is around 29,800.
Factory invoice is like 27,800.
And dealer invoice is close to 27,050.
The prices above are a close ball park but its about right.
Just remember that invoice and MSRP is two different price points and that u usually want to negotiate the MSRP on down not from invoice.

 

I'm not sure I got it right. Could you clarify it for me, please?
Our (as a buyer) goal is to get it as close to the dealer's invoice as possible, right? Why should I even bother to look at their sticker price if I know the true cost...

 

Dealer invoice is not dealer cost. Dealer invoice is a made up number to make people think that is there cost.

Dealer cost on these cars is around 900 to 1100 dollars lower than dealer invoice. On top of that, if they move the car quick they make another 3% on it called Holdback, so if you bought one for 100 dollars UNDER dealer COST, the dealer still makes about 800 to 1000 dollars on that car. THAT in my opinion is your target range to haggle.

 

Goto TrueCar.com and start your shoping there. You can get offers of $xxx above invoice (may not be from the closest dealerships). Then use that offer as a starting point, and ask/make your favorite dealer to beat that deal. TrueCar does a great job of showing and breaking down all the key terms (Invoice, dealer cost, MSRP).

Oh wait, I forgot to plug our awesome PriusChat forum/website. They have recently started a preferred dealer program that will deal up from invoice instead of down from MSRP. If you are near one of their dealers you may want to work through them and give back to our great forum.

 

Chazz8, is correct, its all about working your way for a good deal, I had to travel to numerous dealerships, shopping and getting to know a few salesmen along the way so they knew I was a serious buyer. I even told the dealer if they can match or beat the deal another dealer offered me, I would happily purchase their vehicle. As Chazz8 stated truecar pricing will give you a reference point but some dealers don't offer that. The dealer I went to did not honor Truecar or the USAA pricing but instead we worked out a compromise in the end for a satisfied OTD price. You just have to find the right dealer who is motivated at selling cars at a great price. A few of the dealers I dealt with the USAA invoice price, offered great deals online until I walked into the dealer with the printout and they weren't as helpful, it seemed their goal was to just get us into the dealer, then the dollars started rising.

What I meant about taking from MSRP....
It really depends on how you haggle, always walk in prepared, in the back of your mind you know what the invoice price is, and start taking away from their MSRP; then haggle; then negotiate OTD; not happy with deal walk. Dealers want to leave that wiggle room to squeeze more money out of you, to make it seem like your getting a great deal, but instead they have room to lower price. It's all about negotiations and coming out happy on both ends of the table.

 

And that's the real key: Out The Door price.

If you let them box you into talking about one segment of price, then they're working you. Listen for the change of topic. If you are talking about the features you want and the sales guy brings up your trade, he's trying to reframe the conversation as a discussion about the parts that make up the bottom line, which allows him to try to manipulate your perceptions.

Be persistent about only having bottom line, out the door, what-do-I-write-on-the-check discussions.

Even if you are trading a car in, don't get caught up discussing the trade value. Talk about the bottom line only. And know the number you want when you arrive.

 

I see that PriV5 dealer cost is $$28,597. Where did you find the lover price (of dealer cost)?

 

I found it very helpful NOT to go to a dealer, if I know and test-drove a car (which can be done at any dealerships near you, right?).
I find it surprising that dealers don't honor the TrueCar Certificate price. If they don't, I'd contact truecar and complain.
I led all negotiations through emails only, not over the phone and definitely not in person.
I asked about out of the door cost with each line separately (saving a hundred bucks on lic/reg/doc fees alone) and had it in hand, too.
Why would I haggle from MSRP if I already have truecar's price? That is my starting point.

 

Oooh, I like your preferred operating procedures Masik.

I preferred email or phone contact over in person contact any day. I had TrueCar verbal offers for $400 over invoice from two dealers 30miles on either side of me. Then I went back to my poker buddy, who happens to be a local toyota sales person, and made him match it. Well, I actually let him counter with $500 over invoice so that he could look good infront of his sales manager. It still took some convincing, or so my buddy says.

I was told that by my Buddy a month earlier that his dealership could not go below MSRP on such a new model. The only reason that was not true, was because I had a better offer trough TrueCar to fall back on.

TrueCar also breaks down all the line items that Masik is so wise to ask/demand from the salesperson. I think TrueCar is a great place to get educated in preparation to buy a car. I think it is so good that it probably will not last long. Toyota USA can find some small print violations in the dealership contract and demand they stop doing business with TrueCar or risk vehicle allocations. That is what happened to CarOrder.com after I used them to buy my 2000 Lexus RX 300 below dealer cost because CarOrder had to eat $1100 worth of options (sunroof, roof rack, rear spoiler) that I said I didn't want. I was stretching my budget to get it and I would have been happy to order it and wait until it came from the factory.

 

Wow, wish I could buy mine in Oregon. We have to pay 6.85% tax on the $34,900 plus license, reg, and doc fees in Utah.

 

Ballpark? I don't think so. MSRP on Toyota's website states a Prius V Five is 30,750! Just about 1k more than you stated. And all my research tells me factory invoice is more like 29,200, $1.4k more than you stated! And that would make dealer cost somewhere in the mid $28k. These are my "ballpark" numbers. Even if I'm off on the Invoice and Cost prices, you can't argue that your MSRP price is way off.

So IF my numbers are more aligned with reality, that means you got a v Five for nearly $2k UNDER COST. Even with kick backs and what not, the dealer is losing lots of money.

 

A couple reminders. Toyota actually increased their prices in early January approx $1,400 increase. So I think his original price was correct. Also, when negotiating don't say "kickbacks" they illegal and could lead to an argument with the salesperson..trust me haha. Prius V, 5, ATP, $34,200 plus tax and license.

 

Well, I really wasn't trying to put the exact numbers out there but I wasn't trying to pull anyone's leg. I'm just trying to put my 2 cents out there so maybe I can help other few interested people in a better shopping experience. My wife warned me on putting what we paid for, because I didn't want to start anything, especially if Dealers may be lurking on the website.

As for why I don't just go for invoice and work my way up, It's because a lot dealers hate that, and you don't just want to low ball the sales representatives. In my opinion, I believe its better to work your way down.

I'm from the bay area, grew up in Daly City and I know how much Dealers ridiculously mark up the vehicles, so you have to haggle to get a good deal. Serramonte dealers were sleazeballs back in the 90's especially when you got to the finance manager.

I just looked at the sticker price on my Prius v.
MSRP 29,990
Delivery, Proc and Handling 815
Total 30,805
Plus the Carpet Mats w/Trunk Mat 399
and Toyoguard Elite 699
to a final total of 31,903.

Respectfully,
GOOSE

 

If Toyota increased the price in January, it wasn't for the Prius v because all the MSRPs for the v on the website are exactly the same as what they were back in Nov 2011 when we bought our Prius v. Maybe you're thinking about the 2011 vs 2012 liftbacks? Kickbacks, incentives... whatever, all the same to me!

MSRP does include the Delivery, Proc and Handling fees, so your 30,805 is MSRP. In fact for some reason, it seems your dealership charged a little more than the typical 760 for fees, which usually brings the typical MSRP to 30,750 (as shown on the Toyota website). Sorry to nit pick about this, but I just felt everyone should have an accurate definition/description of MSRP and what not before going out shopping, especially since you said MSRP was 29,800 in your first post. I still think your invoice and dealer cost prices are a little off, but I guess we will never know what those really are unless a dealer has disclosed that information to one of us!

Also, $399 for mats is much more than the $225 our local dealer charges out here. Looks like Florida is overcharging compared to Nor Cal, at least in terms of the sticker price But regardless, it seems you got a great deal in the end on your v Five seeing how you got your car for a typical INVOICE price of a v Three.

 

In Orange County, California a dealer is advertising all Prius v in stock at:
Model 2: 24998
Model 3: 25698
Model 5: 27998.

Curiously, they are discounting the 2012 Prius V more heavily than 2011s (example, a NON-AT Prius 5 is 30488).

I purposely have not named the dealer so as to not upset any other local dealers, but these prices should be a good benchmark in So Cal for Prius V negotiations.

Best,
Bob.

 

I think people need to post if they had a trade-in as well. That heavily impacts the negotiations with the dealer. They can say that they are giving you $1k under invoice but if they offer you $1k less on your trade-in than what they normally would, the delta is $0. Remember that used car values are super high right now. It is also difficult when people say they paid $XX,XXX OTD. Taxes, license, and registration fees vary by state and dealer, so that makes comparison difficult.

Ultimately, all that matters is feeling like you got a good product for a good price.

 

I'm looking to also get a Prius V in addition to my Prius 3, I've gone back and forth with a few dealers and for the Prius V3 and i've got them (in so cal) to

Out the door $28,000 ... is this a good deal or should i grill them to go lower?