Purchasing a Prius - Year end

Well I recently became a owner of a new 2012 Prius 2 as of three weeks ago. After haggling most of my Saturday away at the local (Michigan) Toyota dealer I came to one conclusion. The dealer is either going to make their money on the price of the vehicle or the financing. From my research the Prius's are marked up approximately $1,000-$1,500 dollars. So there is a little bargaining room but not much. And the demand in your area will dictate the amount the dealer is willing to negotiate. When I purchased mine I was able to take advantage of the $1,000 Toyota rebate and the dealer kicked in an additional $1,000. So out the door I paid around $23,000 and change (no money down) @ 1.55% for 60 months for my base 2 model. Not a bad deal from what I can tell.

 

It might be too late to get great deals on 2012 models because inventory might be low now. Have you considered a 2012 PiP? If you are willing to buy one from the East Coast, the OTD price after all incentives and tax credits will be cheaper or very similar to a Prius 3.

 

From what I've read and heard 2012 is when they more or less re-vamped the Prius with it's features and looks. When I asked a dealer the difference between the the 12 and 13 he said it was very slim, merely what was offered and or standard on different generations of Prius's had changed.
I'm not in your area, but I do know that here on the East coast the dealership is selling 2012 Prius III's for around 23k. They have a few used for a bit less, around 21-22k, but nothing significant. The only thing I'd suggest is checking what your loan APR rate will be, right now if you qualify you can get as low as 0% (at least at the one I talked to and that offer may be gone by the new year) on a 2013 Prius, and while the sticker price might be a bit more on a 13, the interest rate might be less than that of a 2012.

 

If you are in the LA market then you should get in touch with Dianne W. I have yet to hear about anybody not feeling extra special because of how they were treated and how good of a deal they got with her.

Here are her latest posts regarding Gen III deals and inventory:
Dianne's Southern CA deals for all things Prius LIFTBACK & PHEV Liftbacks | PriusChat
Dianne's SoCal inventory thread for Prius liftback and Prius PlugIns for 2012/2013. | PriusChat

 

IMHO, Dianne's prices are quite high.

I just bought a Prius 3 (2012) with solar etc., list at 28085 for just under $26K OTD, L.A. County sales tax (8.75%), DMV etc all in.

The deals are out there. Just watch the ads and swoop-in when you see one you like at a good advertised price. Cali law requires dealer to sell at advertised price with no add ons, even if ad car has additional equipment and dealer added junk (appearance packages etc.). The dealer may have a different story but they have to follow the Vehicle Code law so push.

Arrive before opening time on the first day (usually Friday) your local dealers ads run in the paper and ask to see the ad car and buy immediately. You will likely save big.

PS I liked the '12 over the '13 for the zero financing, otherwise would have gone with the '13.

 

No disrespect to Dianne or Carson Toyota but I over-paid as well. I certainly hold myself accountable but will echo previous posters comments, deals are out there....

I got into a Prius Five (No AT Package) for $31,116 (OTD - includes sales tax). ---- totally overpaid ;(

 

We just paid $25,600 for a 2013 Prius Model 3... A 2012 was only going to be $175 less, so we thought we might as well get the later model year. Nice thing about Oregon: No Sales Tax. Decided against the extended warranty.

 

If your price otd INCLUDES taxes and fees, I think you likely got a great price. How much were your taxes and fees? Doesn't a Prius Five sticker over $30k with dest. fee?

 

Yes, price includes taxes and fees.

Can you support your assumption with some facts?

Thanks

 

I might be able to if all the facts are known, such as selling price incl destination, but before taxes and other dealer and DMV fees. But I'm willing to speculate with the following assumptions; I used to live in Orange County when sales tax was about 8.5% and CA personal property tax/DMV fee was about 2%. Is it same or higher now? So, from your OTD price of $31,116, using 8.5% sales tax, your net selling price was $28,678. If your OTD price included DMV fees your net sales price would be down to $28,159. Am I way off yet? MSRP for a 2013 Prius Five is $30,800, incl destination, assuming no options. Invoice is $28,725. By my numbers you're at or below invoice on a 2013 model, so I think you got a very good deal. Now if you meant to say you overpaid because you bought too much car, then I understand your position. But for what you bought, I think you should be proud of the deal you got.

 

Where at in Oregon? I'm originally from there and do miss not paying taxes. Here in SC the max the sales tax can be on a car is $300, which is nice. Now we pay property taxes on it though.

 

Moving from CA to SC, I too don't miss the sales tax. $300 sale tax cap on vehicle is nice here, but I wonder how long it will stay like that? And when you buy another vehicle, you can transfer the license plate from the old to new vehicle for $25 instead of paying in full again, even if you just renewed it. Property tax on vehicles is comparable to CA.

 

So when I go to buy a new Prius, here in SC I can transfer the plate over? The property taxes I already paid are for the plates right? So ideally I would have already paid property taxes on the car...it's so confusing here!

 

Generally yes, you can transfer your current SC plate from the old car to the new - the dealer should handle that for you. I've purchased 3 cars so far and each time that's what they did. When you drive off the lot, you can mount the plate on the car and not have a temporary tag. Just keep your paperwork handy in the glovebox until you receive the updated registration card from the state.

 

That makes sense. I've only bought 1 car so far here, but it's the one that has been in an accident. So eventually soon here we will be trading it in, for another new Prius. SC drivers are a bit nutty...the morning report about all the accidents gets a bit insane. They should just say "Stay off the roads!"