Buying a Prius - Not so easy

Welcome!

Back in 2005 it was the same way for me. I wanted a package without NAV, but with the JBL sound system. That package wasn't available in So Cal, so I decided to "bite the bullet" and get one with NAV and found one 120 miles away after about an hour's search.

Can you get one without NAV? You can add leather later and save money by getting a third-party NAV system.

 

I think this is a timing issue.

The 2008s are coming out soon. If you have to wait three months, better to get a 2008 touring #6 in black.

 

When I first started my Prius Search I was depressed by how unavailable they were (completely unaware of prius sales) and I needed to buy a car immediately. I was looking for a black one and the most I could afford was package #3.

First day - went to a dealership that had a #3 silver and test drove it. That night I called around to the 5 Toyota dealerships around me. somehow one of them told me they had one, a black touring package 3. I couldn't believe my ears and told him to put it on hold for me.

the second day I went in and the rest is history. 3 days later I was driving the car off the lot

They dealership had actually traded one of their other cars to a dealership in NJ for this black prius so i just happened to call at the perfect time. It'd been on the lot for a week.

 

http://www.toyotatex.com/NewInventorySearch.aspx

This dealer is in Grapevine, TX and is one of the largest in the country. He does have a few available. However, I am not sure if he has a touring in Black #6. Its worth a look and he is 5 minutes from DFW airport. I bought a 2007 white touring #6 and a Camry hybrid from them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Jul 18 2007, 07:42 PM) [snapback]481291[/snapback]</div>

I'm in North Florida, and just took delivery of my black 2007 about 5 weeks ago. I'm far from expert, and others on here should be able to elaborate on more details of what you SHOULD do, but I thought I'd pitch in with a warning/lesson learned. In the Southeast all of our cars come thru SEToyota and they will put extra "options" on your car that you may pay thru the nose for. Things like $700 for a paint protectorant, sealant, etc. And the dealer will tell you they have no control over those items - they're put on in the port and left on your buyers order, unless you take notice and fight it out with the dealers! It had to be negotiated when we found the car we liked that already had the "options" that weren't really "optional". Just my 2cents--

Good luck on your search!
~Emily

And by the way - last time I checked, Jacksonville dealers had a pretty good inventory of Prii around town - especially Coggin Toyota at the Avenues. Don't know if you'd be up for a 6 hour drive in your new car, but I thought I'd mention it.

 

up until about 4 days ago there was a black touring #6 available...in the SE region..it was shown on toyota.com...i thought of getting it but wanted bisque interior and thought i'd wait for the 08.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Aug 9 2007, 07:37 PM) [snapback]493267[/snapback]</div>

The time may seem to drag. There's always a chance the (or a) car will become available sooner. Everything works out in the end and you'll be happy with the car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Aug 9 2007, 06:37 PM) [snapback]493267[/snapback]</div>

Is it a 2007 or a 2008? And did you specify to them you didn't want any of their "options"?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Jul 18 2007, 04:42 PM) [snapback]481291[/snapback]</div>

Welcome to the forum. Trust me, it isn't just Florida!

I experienced the same thing here in Southern California. When it comes to a low-supply, high-demand item like the Prius, the salesman are lazy order-takers. If they have to do any work to get your deal, they will just go to another customer who they can serve with less effort.

This isn't unique to car salesman. I am a real estate developer, and during the "housing boom" of the past few years, many of the "top salespeople" were equally lazy order-takers. They didn't "sell" anything. They took down your name, handed you brochures, and if you had questions about the unit, many times they wouldn't deem it worth their time to answer them. As luck would have it, the market changed and now you have to earn people's business and know how to sell if you want to earn a living doing this. Most of those folks I was talking about are now unemployed, or doing something else.

I originally wanted to buy my Prius through my local dealership. I went in, test drove a base-model one, and then told them I wanted a Classic Silver/Dark Gray Leather/Touring/Package #6. What I expected to hear was "We will look at the inventory at every dealership on the West coast and see if somebody has one of these that we can trade for". But what I actually heard was "Well, give us your phone number, and if our next allocation from Toyota in a few weeks happens to include one of these, we'll give you a call". Please note that I was an all-cash buyer ready to purchase within the next few days, they understood this, and this was their response. If they don't want to do 30 to 60 minutes worth of work to earn roughly $28k of my business, then they can (insert your favorite applicable phrase here).

So don't feel like this is limited to your experience. You will have the best luck if you are willing to actually call around to dealerships. If you think about it, these lazy salespeople probably get 30 fishing-expedition E-mails a day, and they understand that each time they see one, perhaps eight of their colleauges at other Toyota dealerships had the pleasure of receiving the same E-mail that day as well. Why would they invest their time? Calling takes more effort, and forces them to respond to you in some way right then and there. It is also easier to tell if they are BS'ing you if you can hear their voice (at least for me) vs. just reading their E-mail. Finally, take advantage of the fact that many dealerships have up-to-date inventory search tools. Always use one of these before you call them. Not only will you get a quick idea of their general inventory situation (i.e. are they overstocked or not), but you can often see in advance if they have your car. Then if the salesperson says "oh, that is going to be hard to find", you can tell them that it will be easier than they think

If you want to see something interesting, you should check out this thread:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=3...mp;#entry494216

There are folks here who think you should be able to walk in and demand 10% off MSRP for 2007 Prius vehicles, and that you should not be paying more than MSRP for a 2008 Prius It's always fun to see different people's perceptions are of the same marketplace!

UPDATE: I did not realize you had already ordered the car you wanted. Congrats!! Interestingly enough, they are in such high demand here in So Cal, that I was not able to find a single dealer that would allow you to specify options and order a car. All of the dealer's said that even THEY can't specify what colors/options they get in their allotments!! Either that is the truth, or for some reason, the salespeople and fleet managers thought it would be better to lie and not get my business instead of getting an easy, no-effort presale.

 

to mari ,i used to work at a toyota dealer in calif and have sence moved to fla ,you cant order a prius anywhere or at any dealer !!all we do as sales people is basicly locate one at anouther dealer who is willing to part with a particuler color package etc.so you are waiting for either a car that is on there allocation or a dealer trade!!,If you want to keep looking around for your car you can because even if you gave a deposit for that incoming unit and you find one elswere that is on the lot and lets say a better price the dealer has to give your deposit back !! unless you agreed to let him keep it if you backed out ,fla dealers have some really strange ways of sticking you with all kinds of fees i.e. dealer fee ,paint protection,interior protection,,also known as toyogaurd a complete ripoff it doesnt even repel water ! interior doesnt even beed up and if it does stain theyre not responsable to repair it " fine print in boucher ".well i hope you get your new prius soon . ps make sure it doesnt pull to the " left " because ive been reading the horror stories about cars swerving all over the road ,and it all starts with units that pull to the left ..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Jul 14 2007, 11:24 PM) [snapback]478918[/snapback]</div>

Hi:

My husband just bought a new prius from Steet Toyota in Utica, NY they have 3 black ones. I don't know what packages they have but it can't hurt to call and ask them. The # is 315-736-8241 Good Luck

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mari_FL @ Aug 12 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]494314[/snapback]</div>

While it is fair to ding Toyota & their dealers for your experience I doubt you will find the dealers of other manufacturers treating you much better under the same circumstances. If the Honda dealer has 25 Civics on the lot I'll bet they try to talk you into one of them before they try to find or order the one you want. The sad truth is that you can buy a lesser car anywhere. When the New Beetle was hot VW dealers acted the same way. When the PT Cruiser was hot Chrysler dealers acted the same way. It doesn't help build a long term relationship but that isn't valued very highly by a lot of people in the business.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Aug 12 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]494351[/snapback]</div>

I 100% agree with you JimN that this sad situation is not unique to Toyota. When I bought my Audi A6 though about a year and a half ago, the local dealer did not have what I was lookign for in stock, and the first thing they said was "We'll see if ther eis one like that at another dealer and see if they will let us trade for it". They were willing to make a little effort (or at least make it look like they were). Sad that this is the exception and not the norm.