Buy now or wait for better deal after 2016 annoucement?

welcome! with current gas prices and cars sitting on the lot, i think it would be best to wait. color and package selection might be your only issue at some point. all the best!

 

I always like to buy left overs....

 

If you wait 60 days or so you might save one or two hundred, is it worth the wait? As soon as production stops (I think it is this month) color selection will start to be limited. If you are interested in bragging rights you can wait and maybe just maybe they will be a little cheaper, your choice.

 

It depends. We would have purchased a gen III but I couldn't tolerate the flying buttress console (claustrophobia issue). If it wasn't for that I'd be taking one of the great deals available today.

So my input would be if price is a big concern buy now. The 2016 won't likely be available for a few months, and then there won't be any reason for Toyota to offer discounts until this time next year. I'm guessing you can save at least $2K if not more.

Sure the new model will get perhaps 5mpg more but it would take a very long time to equal that $2K+ savings in lower gas consumption.

There are other factors but they are mostly subjective. How the new one looks, new electronics, etc. But just based on price but now.

 

The 2015 models (Prius 2/3) are available at around $6k off MSRP in Northern California. Guessing that the 2016 models will be available at close to MSRP for a while. Am tempted to pick up one of the 2015 models at these prices but am planning to wait for the announcement just to see what the new one looks like.

 

First generation of any car is a bad deal. Every year they add more tech into the lower trims and on top of that you have more negotiation room on pricing.

 

It's possible they might remove the cash back incentive entirely if they meet their sell quota. I am seeing prius all over the road now, its insane.

 

I'm in the "wait" camp if you don't absolutely need a car right this instant. Once they start revealing more info on the Gen 4 prius, you can start to shop around a little bit and get a better deal overall if you're not too picky on color and/or trims.

Or maybe the Gen 4 will have such awesome stuff on it that you decide to wait for one of those instead.

That said, I'm not terribly interested in the Gen 4. But if the Gen 2 Plug-in Prius has an all-wheel drive option, and at least 30 EPA rated miles in EV mode, I'll admit this will make it much, much more tempting to get vs the Gen 2 Volt. Unless Toyota restricts the sales for the Gen 2 PiP to certain regions again like with the first one. Or charges an arm and a leg for it.

 

I don't believe that in the case of the Prius, the first generation has been a bad deal.

They have made major improvements at generation changes, the 1st year of each generation has had relatively few problems and the 1st year looks current for 6 years longer than the last year of the cycle which tends to affect how long people keep the car and as well as resale value.

I don't believe that many people would want a 2003 Gen 1 rather than a 2004 Gen 2.

I believe that most people would rather have a 2010 Gen 3 rather than a 2009 Gen 2. In this case a few things went backwards but in my opinion, the improvements were far greater in number and far more significant.

Why are you so sure that you want a Gen 3 rather than the Gen 4? I believe that the Gen 3 is the best car to buy that is currently available but its not perfect and there is a real chance that the Gen 4 will be significantly better in important respects.

 

If you see the difference between the Gen2 and Gen3 Prius then you can expect/hope this difference between the Gen3 and the Gen4 too.
So, I would wait for a little more...

 

One thing is for sure, the Gen 3 has been out since 2010 and all the bugs are out of it, they are some fine cars, issues addressed and fixed. I would factor that in.

 

Keep in mind we are getting aprox 6,000 plus off MSRP for a car that has all the kinks worked out and will save us a lot of money in gas. Its a very sensible purchase.

 

I was in the same boat and I decided to just go for it since the color I wanted was hard to find. Only one of the dealers in my area had the Nautical Blue Metallic color that I was looking for. I still got a really great deal and I don't think I could have done much better. With rebates and negotiating the price down even more I was out the door, taxes and fees at just under $24k, and that was for a Prius Two. I live on Long Island NY where prices the prices seem to be a little higher than they are in Cali, but I am still super stoked with my deal and I love my new car! Good luck with what ever you decide to do!

 

In 2009 those buying the Gen2 were happy getting a great car at a bargain price (historically). Those buying the Gen3 were happy getting a great car. For some the cash is worth more than the generational change. For others the new features are worth more than the cash.

 

I debated the same thing and bought a new 3 on Saturday. So, since I bought already, the answer to your question is Toyota will add another huge amount of rebate Monday after the 8th. Truthfully though, the discount was about 18% off MSRP. I wanted the car and decided it was worth it now.

 

Hey Totoro - they increased Toyota's cashback from 3000 to 3500 just last week. I'm in the same camp as you are and I think we're just going to take the plunge today at just under 19k (no odd incentives like previous Prius owner or military).

FWIW Toyota Sunnyvale has been the most aggressive in pricing down in the SouthBay (at least at autotrader and sfgate). I'd definitely check with your local dealer though to see if they'll match pricing. One thing I found from looking at pricing the past few weeks is that the Toyota incentives aren't always advertised properly, so they just might have 3500 total cashback from Toyota.

It will definitely be a pisser if they announce 4k or 5k incentives in the next couple of months, but I guess life is a risk.

 

New is not always better.