Broken-hearted: Lost my Prius Prime Opportunity

Bummer.
My Prime Advanced fell off the delivery truck while it was being offloaded at the dealership.
At least that's what I was told. Unlike your situation my dealer ordered another identical
Prime and I like it very much. This was back in the May->August time frame.
Best of luck moving forward.
J
Does this hood look misaligned? | PriusChat

 

Angela,

There's a saying in Canoe-U which goes like this:
"Never look back unless you want to GO that way!"

I cannot comment on how a $35,000 Corolla will fit into your life except to say that I would probably concentrate on paying it off and then driving it until some external force (age, wreck, etc) forces a change.
Just remember that over analysis is just as bad no matter which end of life's telescope you're looking at a situation from....with the exception that in the case of a car purchase, there's really nothing that you can do about it, except to keep the car in really good mechanical shape and gift it to a family member when it's 20 years old or donate it to a charity.
ANYTHING else is just debt swapping, ballast arrangement, arithmetic gymnastics, or whatever else you call justifying dumping more or less money into the "transportation" slot in your budget.

Other than that?
Welcome to 2019!!

Happy New Year.
I hope that when 2020 rolls around this is still one of the bigger problems in your life!!

 

welcome!
you're letting your emotions control your life. you made a smart move with the prime, you certainly could have shopped another one.
a 35k corolla is going to be around for a long time. there is no reason to 'love' an inanimate object.
teach yourself to enjoy the corolla. it is a reliable way of getting from point a to point b.

i hope you don't make business decisions like this. we all make mistakes. learn and move on.
all the best.

 

$35K for a Corolla?? That's Clarity BEFORE incentives.

 

Sorry that happened to you. Just remember, everything happens in Gods timing. It sounds like he didn't want you to have THAT Prime. That doesn't mean you might not have a Prime in the future. There is power in prayer!

 

You made a mistake, but that's not the end of the world.

Let's do the math and correct that mistake:

New Prius Prime Advanced $35,000.00
Toyota rebate (NY,NJ) -$5,000.00
Dealer discount -$3,000.00
Fed tax credit -$4,500.00
Trade in -$23,000.00
Sales tax (on differences between trade in and sales price) $500.00
Title,registration and dealer fees $800.00
Life time fuel saving ($1 / 60 miles) x 200,000 miles -$3,333.00
Brake saving (change all brake pads 3 times) -$400.00
Total : -$2,933.00 (money back to your pocket)

Of course, I'm not sure which state are you in and whether the sales tax calculation is accurate or not. But roughly I think you can get back $3K, or worse case, breaking even, by trading in your corolla and get your loved Prius Prime. Don't forget, the insurance of a Prius Prime is lower than Corolla, so there will be additional savings.

I was in a similar situation (not as bad as you are). I owned a Prius since 2007 with over 230K miles, still with the original brake pads. Then I sold it and purchased a corolla XE with package, out the door price was around 22K. After a few months, I figured I really want the Prime, so I do the math traded in my corolla for only $13K and got my Prius Premium. I'm super happy with my decision and it worth it, for the life time of the Prime.

Be clear of what you want. Go for it. Trust me, do the math. There is a lots of hidden benefit financially that should be included in your consideration:
1. Fuel saving (I said $1 per 60 miles, with 200K miles, but it could be more if you have free charging or oil goes higher)
2. Brake replacement: my old 2007 prius has 235K but still with the original brake pads, last tire rotation shown it still has over 50% left
3. Insurance saving

There are other non-financial benefits too: Quiet ride, being green, HUD, and most important, get what you love.

I very sure you will feel a lot better if you switch for a Prime now and it won't cost you a dime. Why wait?

Try this to see if they can offer you a good deal:
New 2018-2019 Toyota Models | Warwick, RI | Balise Toyota of Warwick

 

You were right to reject the first Prime.
You were wrong to let the dealership employee bully you. You should have requested a meeting with the general manager, his boss.
There are few problems with the Primes. Ours has been flawless. (There are a couple of things I wish Toyota had designed differently, but all work as designed.)
Once a car has been titled it is now a used car. It doesn't, can't, have a value near a new (never-titled) car.

Enjoy your Corolla. You bought a good car. Wait for the next generation of the Prime---it'll be even better.

 

Your love of the Prime was based mostly on emotion.
Your disappointment in not getting it is based entirely on emotion.

You need to GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON.

Many people might feel that you made the right choice.......based mostly on non-emotional factors.

Please don't dwell on this. It will eat you up.......for no good reason.

 

Wow, what a sad Love story.

I'm sorry about your missed opportunity, but I am sure you will have another one very soon. Corolla holds resale value very well, in a few years, I am sure your Corolla is going to be worth more than same year Prime. Heck, if it makes you feel better, I would not mind trading my PRIME with your 2019 Corolla Hatchback XSE. It must be a beauty, although it is hard to believe you could load it up to make the final price of $35K. With Toyota site even FULLY LOADED will ALL OPTIONS and ACCESSORIES, 2019 Corolla Hatchback XSE final MSRP could not go over $30K.
Build Your Own Toyota | Toyota Configurator
Maybe the figure is with tax, fee, and financing cost included. In any case, it is now yours to enjoy. Cheer up!

 

BTW, do you have the pictures of the Orange Prius Prime? I really wanted to see how it looks

 

Stop making payments on the car and let them repo it. You’ll be out your down payment but that’s it. 35k is a huge ripoff, this is why women need to be very careful around car dealerships and car mechanics, and any other shady professions like real estate agents, financial advisors, insurance salesmen, lawyers.

Remember, anyone who is paid on commission is a liar, a thief and a crook. Especially in America where there is no sense of personal honor or shame. This post should be a sticky as a warning to all car buyers.

 

I am really glad to see that you aren't prone to making sexist remarks.

 

I am pointing out that these dealerships deliberately target women, particularly single women for scams such as what she described. It has nothing to do with sexism, it has to do with scamming what is perceived to be a naive customer.

 

Well, losing the down payment may not be the only thing. Her credit will be ruined, which will affect her ability to take another loan to purchase next car. Her insurance rate may go up, her rent may go up. Heck, she may find harder to get a new job. I would not recommend defaulting on a car loan.

 

Am I missing something or is the retail price of the Corolla XSE only about $23,000 from the Toyota website? How on earth did you pay $35,000??

 

I find this post difficult to believe.

 

Me too!

 

i don't know guys, i think we might have been hornswoggled here

 

AngelaHeartsPP, would you be willing to post up a picture of the vehicles sales worksheet? I want to see the charges for your Corolla. I have to agree with citiprius, the math will set you free. I have vehicle opex sheets that I monitor for my "fleet" of cars that I own. You wouldn't believe how many people are shocked when I show them how much money they waste on their car choices.

Also, get your trade valued by Carvana, sometimes they will pay top dollar for trades and/or to sell the vehicle outright. This could help you get out of the Corolla and into a Prime.