DO NOT buy from Tustin Toyota or North Hollywood Toyota

dont want to burst bubbles but everywhere you go in CA will either have a mark up or some sort of premium attached to it, even the actual sticker prices on these cars from what i have noticed have gone up!!!

just purchased 2 cars at Tustin Toyota last week, and it was great, i didnt deal w any of the people mentioned above, when i was in the market for my prius i found them to have the best price locally, a few months ago, they had quite a few in stock, last week they had 1 pkg 6 and thats it

so i went to cars.com to search a p6touring in white and found cerritos to have it went there with the internet advertised price and they agreed and a few hours later walked out the door prius keys in hand

lastly, we cant really knock the entire dealership because those are individuals, my 1st impression with cerritos toyota was awful but years later they did improve and got my business

as an example Newport Lexus has a 2005 p6 prius advertised for $36K with carpool stickers, a freind of mine who doesnt blong on this forum, jumped on it immediately got it out the door for $32K done, no questions asked...point is there are people out there who will pay the premium, good luck on your adventures

 

I too purchased two 2008 prius package 2 from tustin toyota and agree with the comment above. We dealt with internet sales and there wasn't a lot of b.s. throughout our process.

 

I saw that on the news. Its sad. The dealers are trying to cash in on the gas prices in SoCal. I bought my prius in Norcal a few months ago. The Sacramento area usually has lots of 08's. But not so true in the San Fran area. Take a flight on a weekend from LAX to sac for $60 and drive home in your new Prius. You can do that drive with less than a half tank. You just might save $4940.

 

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum and really want a Package #2 but I too have been told (just a couple of days ago) by Tustin Toyota that the price is about 5,000 over MSRP and that a white one went for this about a week ago. This sounds outrageous and unethical. I am flexible and willing to pay a fair price, but this is just insane. I noticed others here have recommended Longo Toyota here in So CA or using the Costco discount. Do others agree? What other advice can folks give me so I don't go broke just trying to get a decent hybrid? I think someone said they called an Internet Department and actually went to retrieve the car herself. Maybe I should do the same (?). Thanks in advance for any out there who can guide me..

 

if you dont want to shop for yourself and not have to deal with dealers then COSTCO is the way to go!!! my buddy got his that way and he saved about $900 on a 2008 p6 touring

i also heard the power cerritos toyota has a few in stock, u may want to give them a call, from what they told me, is that POWER is not allowed to mark cars up, so u might wanna give them a call and ask for the same guy i dealt with Pat Felix

-good luck

 

go to DealerLocator and get a price quote from like 8 places around your area. If they are over the MSRP, fine. Keep checking places farther from where you live. The 8 places will call you and give you a price, say thanks alot, let me ask others to see what they are pricing at. Price match the lowest price you got from a dealership that might be far away to a dealership near you. If your finding out that you have to pay more then MSRP, you'll just have to wait! all about supply and demand

 

Thanks everyone for your terrific advice. Unfortunately, COSTCO is not so helpful these days--I've now tried two referrals here, and both proved disappointing.

The first one (Anaheim) quoted a 14-week wait period (absurd)!

I asked for another referral and got one for Poway Toyota. They quoted a much shorter wait time (about 4-6 weeks), but the manager was VERY RUDE--he kept talking over me and he insisted on my driver's license and other personal info. (in addition to me giving my credit card deposit of $500.00, which I was happy to give).

I asked why he would need so much info. for me just ordering a car, and
he said they would need to do a credit report on me to make sure I could pay for the car!! I couldn't believe it. It felt very invasive. I mean, goodness sake--I'm not buying a home! I've never heard of such demands--especially with a car like this that will sell whether I change my mind or not.

My sense is these guys simply don't want to do business because they are likely getting enough with non-COSTCO buyers who are likely paying over MSRP.

My best response thus far has been with LONGO Toyota--they are clear and very organized and while they don't necessarily offer a discount, they insist they will not go over MSRP and have been very clear with pricing and with communication.

In this sort of market, you need to go with who has the best access, and so far it seems that Longo here in So. CA does.

What a bummer about Costco. I am a long term committed customer, and this was a real disappointment.

Thanks again everyone for your guidance. If anyone else has any other words of wisdom or advice on the best way to go about this, please don't hesitate to respond.

I know it's about supply and demand, but it's clear that some are outright LYING about the supply--given the wide range of quotes I've received, it seems to be about politics as well--some are simply playing into the current needs and fueling a panic and exploiting the reality of what is available, IMHO.

KIND REGARDS TO ALL WHO HAVE HELPED ME HERE!

 

Re: DO NOT buy from Tustin Toyota or North Hollywood Toyota - $5000 over MSRP

I tried to deal with a knob from Tustin. The worst of any of 5 dealerships. Deceptive and fond of pressure tactics without a real knowledge base of the supply and demand economics he tried to school me with. I wrote about it a couple of years ago..No Class.

Stay clear of that bunch.

I had great dealings with the folks at Longo a couple of times. No markup over MSRP and straight shooting (just don't buy the extended warranty) get it from PriusChat if you have to go that route.

 

Don't buy from Toyota of Glendale either. They are marking up $4-$5K AND they are really rude to boot.

Hollywood Toyota has cars....but they are marking up even more. Got a quote from them on a non touring Package 6 at 36,000. Guy said it would sell that day. I wished him well.

I actually did buy from Glendale and knew I got hosed- but wanted the car and they had the color I wanted come in that day. I just would never go back as they are SO unpleasant and lied their way through the transaction (I ducked all the lies I could but I did pay a bit of a markup in the end).

Longo is good people but you will wait a while.

 

Yeah,
Mike from Toyota Orange just called to tell me there is a Magnetic Grey package #2 available now.

"Will you guys stick with the MSRP"? I asked

He chuckles and adds quickly:
"No--They're going for at least 4 grand over that".

"Have a nice day then", I replied.

You know, I am eager to have a good gas mileage car, but I will NOT compromise my ethics to do so. Normally, I get a car less than the MSRP,
but to go over and to feed into the panic is just not right IMHO. It gives the wrong message to the dealers--it tells them we will pay anything.

I don't mean to preach, but I say you need to be careful about your integrity here, and wonder if it's worth a four week wait versus paying 4-5 grand more to some huckster who has no scruples.

It's up to us consumers to start saying no, and to the degree we do that, they will indeed back off some.

But if we collude with this insanity, it will continue and only get worse.

I realize this is a personal and private decision, and for some folks, they just don't want to wait it out. I have no judgment about that. But I do think folks should think about it and know they do still have choices.

BTW, Costco in Poway is now offering me 250.00 discount off MSRP as a COSTCO member. I will get on the list and we will see. Longo will probably come thru sooner.

In any case, thanks again for everyone's support. I think someone also mentioned Rancho Santa Marguarita (?) as being committed to not going over the MSRP.

Keep the faith and keep patient

 

I would add Santa Monica Toyota and Manhattan Beach Toyota to the list of don't waste your time.

Santa Monica lied about several things and force you to buy some 3rd party battery accessory.

Manhattan Beach charges a $2995.00 premium!

 

Thanks, it seems that those of us here in So. CA. only have a few dealers to choose from who are ethical enough to stick with MSRP. If you can wait 4-6 weeks, I say do. Get yourself on every list of every ethical dealer.

I have good word that Toyota is indeed aware of the problem and they are upping the supply--but of course, that's gonna take a good six weeks.

This forum has really been invaluable for me. I love Toyota's and I love the Prius,


AND yet I'm not going to pay over MSRP because that's just plain and simple consumer abuse IMHO.

 

+1 for Leo at Longo Toyota! I work very close to North Hollywood Toyota, and I live in Thousand Oaks. The dealers in both of these areas were unprofessional, rude, condescending, and stereotypical of old school car dealer tricks. I was definitely treated as a "mark" by both of them.

Leo at Longo was great. Extremely professional, no tricks, no dealer add-ons - heck, I never even set FOOT in the dreaded F&I office! Best car purchase experience EVER in 40 years of buying.

And I typically despise all car dealers... yet they won me over!

 

I just bought a bought a new Prius Touring with package #6 at Longo Toyota for $2884.00 which was the MSRP. They were great to do business with and I would definitely do business with them again. Very straight forward deal. Ask for Victor Zang. I highly recommend Longo they are honest and awsome and the starbucks at the dealership is great too... No Brainer Longo is amazing whole deal took less than an hour and i was driving home to Santa Monica. Definitely worth the drive.

 

Sorry to press report post button... new to forum... didnt mean to report post

 

bought 3 scions from Longo, would have bought my prius there too, but no touring at the time

 

Everyone I know who had a good buying experience bought at Longo. I still can't believe how crooked Glendale was. I thought I avoided most of the lies (oh, like quoting me the wrong APR for my excellent credit rating, telling me package 2 had a CD changer, saying $1995 was hakf price for the platinum warranty) but I keep coming up with new ways that they scammed me or tried to.

I actually feel pretty bad about buying there and hope that my new car makes up for that icky feeling.

 

Try Rancho Santa Margarita Toyota. They were great on our deal. No messing around with the numbers, good on our trade in, and no pressure on anything. This was in Feb. but I felt like they were very professional.

 

Those crooked salesman that rip people off will get ripped off from someone else. When it comes to money, people lose ethics and professionalism. Dirty world. But PC has been a great source for public for the Prius. We just have to be informed and research all the data to fight with the majority of the dirty dealers out there.

 

Amen! I love this community! Week 2 and i am loving my Prius. Longo even called to ask if i needed anything from them and they are having a Prius owners night with dinner and demos! So with Longo it isn't just about moving the car out the door!