I went to a couple local dealers on Sunday to see if they had any '08's. They were out and most that were coming in were pre-sold and no Touring were available. They had some used '07 rentals returns that had 9-11000 miles on them. New car warranties were in affect. I drove one and the drivers seat was a little tight but doable. They were the base with either a #5 or #6 package and were selling for as much as a new '08. I think I'll just wait for the '09's This morning I called Toyota and was told that beginning June 1 I could order a new '09. If the dealer didn't know how to do that I was told that I could go online to Toyota.com and build the car, print it out and take it to the dealer and tell them to order it. I was also told that if I oder the first part of June I could expect delivery in September. Hopefully they will have the drivers seat improved. So... we'll see what the real seal is come June 1.
Do they have price increase for the 09 Prius too? I heard Toyota has to bump the pricing up to match the falling dollars.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion Pressroom: Toyota Announces Mid-Year Pricing on Certain Toyota and Lexus Vehicles "The MSRP for the 2008 Prius will carry a new base price of $21,500, an increase of $400, or 1.8 percent." Ken@Japan
so is the 2009 not a new redesigned model? i thought it was supposed to be redesigned with a new body & 80mpg
$400 US on May 7. If demand continues unabated I'd expect another $400 or so for the 09 continuation model.
Nope. There's probably 5 different threads herein on this subject. It's very slick marketing or just bad understanding by the writers of some pieces....or some of both. The 09 will be a continuation of the Gen2 for the next 12 months or so. Mr Watanabe will make a major announcement about Toyota's hybrids in January of 09 at the NAIAS. Expect the new Gen3 Prius to arrive in Aug/Sep/Oct of 2009. See the source of the misunderstanding? Oh and it was never expected to get upwards of 80 mpg except in some Brit's dreams. Reality is a nice redesign with a US EPA rating around 55-60 mpg at best. BTW that's a 20% increase in real world everyday driving.
i fell for that scheme last year, was told to order an 08 since 07's were few...went to dealer with the build i made and he told me i need to put a $500 deposit and the car was msrp + all the other add ons they like to include and OTD would be $34k i told him i'd wait to see what happens in sept/oct 07 and low and behold there were many available even on the lot which is what i got with exactly the options i wanted. no deposit ever req'd...unless something unusual happens, just wait til september/oct and see what is available from several dealers like i did, in fact when i chk'd inventory, the dealer didnt even know he had my prius on the lot. ran down that day in mid november and got what i have today. ps. the drivers seat sucks and doubt it will be addressed on the 09 models
Thanks for the price-adjustment news update, folks! Glad I joined the Prius owner club earlier this year....save on both ways.
I wanted to bump this to the top to see if anybody knows of any minor changes from 2008 and the prices.
Hmmmm well todays June 1st and I dont see any changes on the toyota website...Anybody got anymore info.
If there really is a 20% increase in "real world everyday driving" then I would be looking at 70mpg and a solid 2nd place in the rally.
If someone in the UK or Japan talks about mpg (without specifying which gallon measurement), chances are that person has in mind the Imperial gallon which is 20% greater than the US gallon. 80 miles/Imperial gallon is equivalent to ~67 miles/US gallon. Then the next question should be what test is employed to determine the 80 miles/Imperial gallon - if it is slower speed and more gentle than the current US EPA test, then a higher result will be obtained.
