Dealerships who are NOT charging a premium?

Toyota needs to be the one to stop this. If everyone starts calling Toyota then something may be done.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for instance Apple maintains strict pricing guidelines. You can't sell for less than essentially a set retail price, nor can you charge more. If you do you no longer get the products. Toyota should follow suit because they will start to get a really bad reputation projected on them from those sleazy CA dealers, and when a glut of hybrids start to role out in a few years this won't be good for them.

For Toyota's reputation, long waits based on unprecedented demand are fine, price gouging is not. Even though its the dealers, it will be seen as Toyota. Hey, this is America and anybody can charge whatever they want for a product as it should be. But if they do Californians will sour on Toyota and take their business not only to another dealer, but another manufacturer. Of course right now, the Prius is really the best hybrid option.

 

I just ordered a couple of weeks ago in MA they told me that Toyota was increasing the MSRP by $500, but would throw in carpet mats wheel locks. My prius with PKG 2 was priced at 24,600. I've been checking around and don't hear that any where else. I got a call from the salesman and told me it would be in 6/17/08. Then he asked me to come and pay for it. I'll wait untill it comes in and give it a good look over before he gets anything else $$$$$$$$$$

 

there are dealers that are charging msrp. you just have to look for them. and most of the time their wait list is longest since they are not charging a premium.

 

Dealers should be able to charge whatever they wish for any car, what with our 'free economy' and all. If you think they are charging to much, shop elsewhere. I happen to be fortunate in that the ONE Toyota dealership within a 300 mile radius was offering the Prius at 2% below MSRP. If they had tried to charge me above MSRP, they would not have sold a car to me, and I would have looked elsewhere. Or I wouldn't have bought the car.

 

Just bought my prius from Lithia Toyota, dont know where they have more toyota dealers, Texas and Oregon for sure, probably more though.

They have a wait on new orders like all do, but charge msrp "for now" as the salesman said

Good luck


Dominic

 

Toyota can't force the dealers not to charge a premium any more than they can force them not to offer discounts off MSRP on other models. Dealers are independently owned, and you're talking about price fixing which is illegal.

Who'se to say which is better? I'd pay a couple K more not to wait 8 months...

 

Sure they can! Plenty of car companies have a no haggle policy. You pay what the sticker says, or you don't get the car! Toyota's own Scion brand has this policy, I think it's called "Pure pricing".

Dealers may be independently owned, but they have rules that are set by the corporate offices.

 

Thats actually not true.

Saturn for instance, widely understood as a "no haggle brand". Saturn the dealer reccomends that the dealers not sell for less than the MSRP price, and for the most part the dealers do business that way, but they don't HAVE to and the brand won't punish them if they don't, and dealers in some areas don't. Thats how they get around it. Thats why the MSRP is the Manufacturers SUGGESTED Retail Price. Its just a suggestion, the dealer can charge whatever they want. Some dealer owners, like Fitzgerald here in Metro DC have no haggle pricing but thats individual to their private dealership. Its an antitrust violation for a bunch of individual business owners to get together and agree to a price. Its PRICE FIXING.

It works for the most part for Saturn because they're more careful with supply and demand (Toyota over-stocks dealers) and their dealer network is very "family based" and its been that way from the start. Accomplishing something like that at Toyota would be next to impossible without violating anti-trust laws.

I spent years consulting with auto dealerships and that information comes from an individual who used to be a regional manager for Saturn.

So it goes both ways. People were getting discounts on Priuses before the gas crisis hit and they weren't complaining then. Now you've got to pay more because demand has outpaced supply. Thats how it works folks.

 

Well put,

This is America, we sell for what the market will bear, its called capitalism :usa2:

You and I may not like paying more than msrp, but, thats why we can go find another dealer, ebay, used, etc. Or buy another car.

You will never get a manufacturer to control the price of the product that closely, it just wont happen.

 

Just shop around, you'll find dealers that are charging MSRP. When we bought ours there was an 8 month wait here and people were charging $2500 over, we drove 6 hours to WV and bought what we wanted right off the lot for MSRP.

Just shop around.

 

It's normal business to charge a premium for in demand models... they live for that.

 

I picked up my Prius (package 2) with a $600 package rebate off of MSRP two weeks ago from Fox Toyota in Auburn, NY after putting a $500 deposit down at the end of April.

 

Re: $5,000 Premium in Scottsdale

Today I asked a salesman at my local dealer while my car was being serviced how they were selling. He said he wished he had a car lot full of Prii - it was the only car selling well. He said the premium was around $1,000 in April and had now increased to $5,000.

I wonder if the same folk complaining about price premiums also insist on paying full price when sales are depressed and dealers offer incentives? I doubt it.

Mike

 

I was in Toyota of Pasadena on Saturday to buy some parts and was curious about the Prius and asked the salesperson if there were any in stock and he said no and I had to put my name on a waiting list and there was a $5,000 markup over MSRP. I tried to negotiate on the markup and it appeared they were pretty firm on it. He told me that they received a 2006 package 6 with 1,800 miles (yes 1,800 miles) from trade in and sold it last week immediately for $30,000.

Personally, I would not pay a markup much less MSRP, but that's me and for some people, especially those who drive a lot, I could see it might make sense. I would rather wait until there's more supply or if I needed a car now I'd rather buy something else. I know its difficult to compare the Prius to any other car, but for the almost $28,000 ($3,000 markup) they're asking for a package 2 one could get another car (perhaps Matrix) and with the savings can buy a lot of gas. And with the prices they want for a Package 6 you could almost get a Lexus. That's nuts.

 

I drove a Hybrid Highlander today, MSRP was $46,000...$4,000 less than the Lexus RX400h!

And thats MSRP! Tack on an overage and it totally makes no sense.

 

Look...I don't believe in price controls nor do I think that Toyota should "force" dealerships to conform to any sort of price stipulation...but... It is pretty clear to me that for the entire life of the Prius...that the car has been under supplied in relation to the latent demand that exists for the vehicle. The first few years...when there was less history to deal with...there was an understandable and large risk to overproducing the car...but that's just not the case any more. Any two bit cracker jack school MBA could do a better job estimating demand for this car than Toyota has over the last few years. Even when there has been short or no waiting lists (which I've personally never seen in this area) the supply was extremely tight and many people likely gave up on the car rather than wait around for one. So, while Toyota might not be responsible for the price of the vehicle directly...they are certainly responsible for the supply side of the equation...and therefore they are complicit in artificially (IMHO) keeping the price of the Prius high...even close to price gouging high in many cases. Regardless of what any of you feel or think...I find it disappointing and disheartening if only for the reason that it means many will continue to drive more polluting and less efficient vehicles that will in the end...hurt everyone. You know what they say about opinions...

 

Thats called business! Of course they've held back production of the Prius and other Hybrids to keep interest high and keep profits up to encourage dealers to hype them up. Thats called marketing! Very smart.

A lot of you folks seem to think that Toyota is some philanthropic organization that has a responsibility to flood the world with Priuses. Get real, they're a business and the goal of a business is to make money!

They don't give a crap about the earth, its a market demographic. If you think its not, then I have some world-worn seals in Arkansas for you to save.

 

Ethical and Philanthropic behavior are not necessarily interchangeable. Just because some person can do something (even if it ultimately benefits them) does not make it an ethically supportable choice... A lot of you folks apparently can't realize that...