Suspiciously low price for a new 2013 Prius?

I am on my second Prius, I had my first for 94,000 trouble free miles. My wife has 90,000 on her 07 and I have 10,000 on my '13. There is no guarantees, but from our experience, an extended warranty or maintenance plan would be a total waste of money... Unless you are a worrier, then you would have to do it for your peace of mind. But, we sat in front of the finance guy on all three cars and said, no to everything! I don't regret it for a second!

 

Some dealer sales people are slimy parasites. The managers will turn you upside down and shake the last nickel out if your pockets and go to church on Sunday.

Geez I must be in a bad mood.

Some are good and reputable but many are not.

Just make sure they don 't switch the deal around in you and increase the price. Typically they will say I Sold that car but i have an identical model. However the price I gave you I cannot honor cause this is a dealer trade new car and my cost burden is different. It will cost you $500 more.

They have about 20 ways to raise the price.

Just make sure you get what they offered and if you don 't stand up and walk out.

Make sure you hold on to your keys and driver license. They like to confiscate one or the other to keep you at the dealer. Psychologically you feel you have to buy something to get your stuff back. Watch out for the bait and switch on car models.

They negotiate every day and prey in weak buyers. Be strong and don't get suckered

Car sales parasites live on one omen. There is a sucker born every minute. They buy cars.

You need to out fox the fox

 

Fleet/Internet can get you better deals. A few minutes of time, quick sale agreed is easy profit for them. Also, if you're doing Internet they know you're shopping around. A good deal on a car can be a matter of timing, willingness to take a less popular configuration, miles on the car as a dealer demo or simply being a quick sale at a volume dealer. A couple of k off a car late in the model year, after a down sales month isn't incredibly suspicious.

There can be also be all sorts of crap they pull but that's just a matter of you being diligent and walking in knowing what you want and walking away if it doesn't meet your expectations. Always be willing to walk away, no matter how long it took you to get there or how long they try to keep you there. (Testing your patience is why they keep you there for hours for what should only take minutes. They usually have wireless, so just keep yourself busy with a smartphone or something while you wait. ).

 

My local dealer had a billboard posting $21,399 for a new 2013 Prius. Recently, I saw they changed the sign to show the price at $20,999. Obviously it's for a Prius Two, but seems to be a good price. Don't know the fine print though.

 

First of all, I know it's difficult being so wary of tricks dealers can pull on you, but if you show any type of fear of being taken advantage of, that's exactly what will happen. It seems you may be a newbie when it comes to car shopping? Each dealer will be different in how they operate, but they all know you as a consumer have access to a lot more information than 5 or 10 years ago. What you need to do is be armed with information - you don't need a huge folder or file of stuff, just know what the invoice is, and what the lowest price other dealers are willing to sell the vehicle you want. Based on how my experience went when I bought in April, here is a suggestion. Establish contact with a salesman at the local Toyota dealership, typically in person - face to face always carry more weight than a phone call. Don't go on a busy day or at the end of the month for the first meeting. Go when a salesperson can be a bit more relaxed talking with you. There's also no need to tell him/her "I'm not buying today, but....". Most reputable sales people know you likely won't buy on your first visit. Establish a relationship, tell them you're looking at the Prius Three, do they have one you can look at and sit in? Naturally after you sit in one, they will ask if you want to test drive - you decide if you want or need to, depending on if you've driven one before. You will be asked when you want to purchase. Let them know you're close to making a decision, exchange contact information and leave. Next arm yourself with as much information as possible as to what other dealers will sell the same car for - you may have to widen your search to within 100-150 miles to get the best price. There are various car-pricing sites you can use. Then contact your salesperson, if they haven't already contacted you, and let them know what it will take to get your business. If they say they can't do the same deal, tell them you're willing to drive to the other dealer to get the deal. It's up to you if they get within $200 whether to quibble over it or not. Once you agree on a price, set an appointment to take delivery. It can be that easy - that's exactly how my transaction went - total time between first contact and purchase was about 2 weeks. Good luck!

 

take a look at the pip, some northeast dealers are selling them as cheap as a liftback.

 

Bring your quote with the VIN and make sure everything matches. Like others said, do not hesitate to walk if they change anything. Good Luck.

 

Don't be bothered about the below invoice quote. I bought my 2013 Prius v5 for well under invoice. I think "invoice" price is a mislabeled, misused term that actually has no bearing on the actual cost the dealer has in a vehicle. I used TrueCar to help me find out what I should be paying. I just checked the website and for my area, and best price for new 2013 Prius v5 is roughly $2,600 below invoice, about the same as when I bought mine in April. I checked again for a 2013 Prius Three and it's roughly $3,200 below invoice ($22,411). Now I would likely have to drive about 150 miles to get this deal and after you register to get down to the dealer offering it, there are some fees like $399 dealer handling that would be added to get to the final price. That's your bottom line and OTD price goal. I will say that TrueCar helped me where I live. I have seen others state it wasn't much help in their location. The key is to do a bit of research, check a couple different sources, and have at least two dealers you are working with before making a final purchase decision. You're the buyer with the money, you have all the power - just let your local dealer know you can buy the car you want at 'this' price at another dealer but want to give them the business. I told my salesman I would truly appreciate not making the 150 mile drive if they would sell me their car, but was prepared to do it if needed. I ended up scanning and emailing the guaranteed online price quote to him before they agreed to the deal.

 

Sorry - double post. Must be a hiccup on PC this morning.

 

With TrueCar, are you talking about Invoice or MSRP trends? My experience was that the monthly pricing trends they quote include the $$ below MSRP and cite an "average" TrueCar Dealer Price % below MSRP. And that price wasn't "OTD" but rather the $$ you would be expected to pay off MSRP. I see where they list invoice in one area but looks like all of the trends posted reference MSRP.

Just curious. Thanks..

 

BTW, couldn't agree more about research and TrueCar. Got an exceptional deal and would have paid so much more without taking the extra time to thoroughly research. Internet was the way to go.. could easily bounce prices off numerous dealers on the exact model/options. Couldn't be happier!

 

You can look at either way since both MSRP and Invoice prices are given. Yes, the site will show the difference from MSRP because it's a bigger number. Whichever way you look at it, it's still the same bottom line. I should have specified the OTD price before accessories added and taxes. I assume most people are smart enough to figure that out.

 

Sorry to hear your local dealer won't 'deal' with you. When I bought, I contacted the internet sales person at the remote dealer and after confirming the Truecar pricing, set up to meet them in an appointment. My local dealer fortunately came through, saving me a 300 mile round trip drive. Be careful if you have a trade - that's where a dealer may try to make back their potential profit. The thing is, the dealer is still making money, which I'm in favor of since I need them there for service and future sales. Good luck!