2018 Prius Two - OTD Dealer Price/My Buying Process

I wanted to post my experience with purchasing our first car from a dealer to help others who are new to this as well. I feel like there is a lot of information on negotiating but not a lot of specific information on the entire car buying process for first timers. Definitely youtube earl stewart in florida. Here are specs and pricing info

Year: 2018

Model: Prius

Body: Sedan

Trim: Two

Exterior: Blue

Interior: Moonstone/Black

Options:

• Bluetooth
• Backup Camera
• Fog Lights
• Safety Plus Package

o BSM (Blind Spot Monitory *Must have*)

o PA (Park Assist *Novelty*)

o LA (Lane Assist *Good for long trips*)

o RCC (Radar Cruise Control *I don’t dislike it*)



Shopping:

OTD = Out the door. This is the price you want to shop. Not sale price. You definitely do not want sale price after trade in. You just want whatever price it takes for you to get the keys and leave the parking lot with that car belonging to you. This does not mean you cannot finance, it just determines total amount you will owe. It also helps to compare real offers.



Time Spent:

• Several months research
• 1 week online & over the phone

o Best offer I received was $23,496

o Highest offer I received was $26,500

• 2 twenty minute visits with dealer closest to me

o Did not get much respect here, limited inventory

• 1 hour with next closest dealer – including test drive

o Had the exact car, options, color I wanted


Price:

• Sale Price - $21,802

o This is the price they try to get you to focus on. What I found confusing with KBB/Edmunds was the fair purchase price. Does it include taxes, title, registration, fees, etc.? If you only negotiate sale price it is difficult to know if what price you get is fair. Taxes and fees vary a lot from state to state.

• Taxes - $500

o Flat rate after $10,000 in SC

• License & Title - $115

• Closing Fees - $443

• Registration Fee Refund - -$60

Out The Door Total - $22,800

Negotiation:

All the dealers said the same, the best price they can offer is in person. However, if you get reasonable offers online, you have an idea of which dealers really want to compete. Also there are a lot of rude online sales people, and you can avoid those dealers all together.

Our 1 hour experience – included 5 min test drive

We went in end of the month on Friday after work so around 4:00PM. Not busy, which helped when talking to managers. Also managers were out in the open, not in separate offices on the other side of the dealership.

1. $23,600

a. Said it was 5000 off MSRP and had crazy incentives

b. We contested that best offer we got was $23,296 (it was not)

c. My wife *wing-woman* came in to say well we should at least keep our appointment to test drive Hyundai Ionic (legitimate new competitor to the Prius) before making a decision.

d. I reiterated in saying the ionic did offer lifetime warranty on the battery.

e. Manager came back and asked if they got it down to $23,000 would we buy today. I said we would be closer but there is no point talking about if they could, it was whether they actually would or not.

2. $23,000

a. They offered $23,000 out the door on paper and then stepped away

b. Wife and I mulled it over for a while

3. $22,800

a. I countered by saying if I *considered* them for financing would they take off a couple hundred.

b. They contested how would that help them, I told them they could make it up on the back end. They agreed.

Financing

Sneaky financing, first offered 4.68% using my lowest score. I told them I would have to look at my credit union, because that was high. She then took my highest score and tried to offer me 3.6% I said no thanks. They did throw in $60 charge for registration fee, I contested but not hard enough. Wife needed to get milk to baby so I wanted to be done. I ended up going with my credit union at 3.25%.



What I didn’t know

Offering perfect survey scores can be used to negotiate price down more. They receive bonus/incentives based on these surveys, and they must get 10s, not 9.

I did call back and told them I wanted to give 10s but was not happy about the surprise $60 charge more than otd price agreed. Manager agreed and is sending $60 check refund. I also asked if they could turn off reverse beeping. Found out it was $65 charge, but agreed to cover the cost for me. Manager insisted I could score survey however I felt. If they follow through I will give them 10s.



I believe I could have got a better deal, or maybe even floor-mats/cargo liner. But I felt it was fair. I just did not want to get bent over. We are happy with the Prius. Wife and I commute about 100 miles a day 5 days a week. ¾ highway/bridges ¼ residential/city

AVG MPG Lifetime: 63

Best MPG over 15 miles: 75



I know this is super long but I hope post can help some first time buyer. Also any feedback on buying process or on the Prius in general would be appreciated

 

Thanks! only one month till 2019's come out, im sure there are dealers motivated to move the 2018s. I heard they are making style changes to 2019s.