Price Sanity Check - New Noob

Translated as “dealer profit added on.”

Don’t negotiate relative to MSRP, negotiate relative to invoice.

In the end, all that matters is your bottom line price - the amount of the check you write. They can break that out anyway they want, but the total is all that matters.

Some paint colors are extra money, and the delivery fee is a fixed price regardless of model or trim or color. Some of the factory options can be deleted - i.e floor mats.

 

Hey Jim!
Most of these price listings and discussions are "unknowable" in my opinion. Even if someone here tells you they walked out paying XX,XXX.XX you have to take it with a grain of salt. There are so many variables and so many local variations the only person who knows what a particular car's bottom price is on any given day is a person you will never see or find. Dealers are experts armed with the latest weapons in the price game and we are walking in naked without experience and no maps. They hold all the power and we have little. Even if we have first hand knowledge of what something is really worth, that may have little bearing on what we will be allowed to pay. For every expert buyer there are many coming in ready trade in a car and sign papers for whatever price they are told.

There are dealer to dealer variations also: One dealer will offer free oil changes for life and others some other deal that makes it hard to compare apples to oranges.

What is your time worth? How many hours and days do you have to spend working on the best deal? I think the only way to get the best deal is to play the field and hold out till an end of month or end of year situation.

My only advice: Never ever... ever ever... buy any type of extended warranty or protection or anything else they might try and sell you. In my opinion that is where they make their easy money and laugh all the way to the bank so to speak.

Best,

Richard

 

Seems high to me. I just bought a 2019 LE for $24.2k including 8.5% tax and fees, in SF.

I emailed and called 4-5 dealers, letting them know that I was more interested in buying a late 2017 or 2018 Prius Two (for the blind spot monitoring etc), but would consider a 2019 LE if the price was comparable.

It soon became clear that the dealers weren’t willing to negotiate the price of a certified used Prius much if at all, which was too bad as I would have preferred that. But they were willing to lower the price of a new LE to the point where it was only $2k more than a 2018 Two with 33k Miles.

At that point, I had two rounds of going back to 2-3 dealers asking if they could do better than the other dealer’s best “out-the-door” price.

I agree that the “out-the-door” price, with taxes and fees, is the price to negotiate. In the initial quote from dealer I ended up going with, the car price was $300 lower, but the out-the-door price was $750 higher, compared to the final quote/sale.

Hope this is helpful.

Seems

 

welcome!
i find it amazing that in this era of suv/truck sales and catastrophic hybrid/ev sales, that prius aren't commanding a higher discount to get them off the lot.
perhaps a strategy of intentionally low inventory so they don't have to be too desperate.

too bad you weren't looking a few months ago, peeps were buying prime for less than the lift back.

all the best with your decision!

 

Jim........FWIW,... you may want to revisit this; using your numbers, a spare tire & some serious safety advantages represents only 6% more $........IMHO (I know, you didn't ask), a fair trade........again FWIW

 

Agree with Tande. What's the best OTD price they are willing to give you on a Prius LE?
Comparing quotes on 2 different models may give you some ability to negotiate.

If it's helpful in calculating a comparable price, my OTD price of $25.2 broke down to a car price of $21.8 (with a $1k rebate), before taxes and fees. It included all-weather floor mats, which I didn't request.

 

Got it. Just imagine all the car you could buy with a year of college tuition!
If you don't need the newer safety features, what's a used 2016 Prius running in your area? I think the Toyota lease runs for 3 years, so there should be 2016s around, and with the leased cars, you know their history.

 

This is why he's a salesman. In their eyes, profit margins on all models are very thin.

 

I'l agree with you on that. You already have three mirrors and a backup camera to do all those things, plus a head that was designed to turn on your neck, along with eyes that also swivel. I passed on all these features in the step up from a Prime Premium to Prime Advanced and I don't miss any of them.

 

Jim, what sales tax is that OTD offer with, and what - if any - options did the dealer put on the car?

I'm about to go negotiate for a L Eco myself.

 

Putting this here since I can't find a pricing thread for 2019's.

So this is what my work today got me. I did get to spend more time behind the wheel of a Prius LE (not what I want - I want a White L Eco, but everyone is out of them... the deal was to test drive an LE, then make a deal on an White L Eco). Anyway, it was a nice car to drive again. Tested it out at slow speeds and at 88 MPH, seemed OK.

I'm dealing with the internet department, so they were cool with me leaving (especially on a very busy Saturday), and they sent me this. I'm really not sure how it turned into a Blue LE, from a White L Eco, so I'm awaiting a call or email from the internet department manager. The lady I was working with is nice, but she is not a specs / details person at all... it was a painful experience working with her out in the lot.

Anyways, thoughts on this price?

 

The dealer service fee is a dealer markup. Negotiate that off the price. I would offer them $25,600 cash and work from there.

 

Thank you. Seriously, thank you for any good advice. I may need to use that.

I am still awaiting my call back or email back regarding the switch from the L Eco to the LE. I like the cleaner lines of the L Eco, don't like the added complexity of the sensors, and certainly won't use what I consider antiquated little lights to tell me traffic is on my right side. Theoretically, the L Eco should be about $1,700 lower than the LE. I honestly feel that, since the 'upgrades' to the LE are plastic sensors and little lights, plus a pocket behind the seats, that $1,700 is nearly all profit for either Toyota or Toyota and the dealership in as far as money they get outside of the sales.

 

For this kind of money, you could probably get a Prime and after the $4,502 Federal rebate (if you can claim all of that, it is a non-refundable credit). you might find a Prime to be less expensive in the end.

 

Just how does that credit work? Is it credit off of my taxes at the end of the year?

 

As a non-refundable credit, it is taken off your taxes up to a zero tax bill, but no lower. Assume your Federal tax bill is $6,000. Subtract the $4,502 and your net tax bill is the difference. But, if your Federal tax bill is only $3,000, then you can only claim $3,000 of the EV credit. The Federal government won't pay you money back (it's a non-refundable credit), so the credit will be limited to your tax amount if your Federal tax bill for the year is less than $4,502.

Note that the controlling limit is your total Federal tax due for the year (line 15 on the 2018 Form 1040), not the amount withheld or your refund.