Actually I'm still in Ohio... I leave for Arizona on July 3rd and will be driving out there (and visiting family along the way) from the 3rd-9th of July... So i'll be getting one more complimentary car wash right before I leave... and yes... taking one's car in for an oil change does imply having others work in close proximity to one's vehicle... As long as it is a carefully trained and Prius-certified Toyota technician :-D
It may not be illegal, but it sure seems shady to me. That they did not cash your check seems like further reason to think they had planned a bait-and-switch all along.
It started a few weeks before that. I finally put down my deposit on Memorial Day weekend after 2 or 3 weeks of research and discussions with dealers - no one had any when I started looking in early-mid May.
Well, it was the talk of gas going above $4/gal (which has already happened), followed by the talk of $5/gal and higher (which is going to happen fairly soon unfortunately).
My wife bought hers in January 08 and she is thanking God now for her change in habit to buy as soon as her deal was to her liking.(Usually she takes forever to make a deal on a new vehicle, but don't tell her I said that!) Just got back from a trip and was amazed at the Prius Taxi's in Vancouver, BC. they were everywhere! I think now some people are whining (yes they are) about having to pay over the MSRP. This is the classic "you snooze - you lose". Too many people are trying to analyse their future purchase of a prius to the point they are pricing themselves out of the market. If you want one then find one you like and then BUY it! Waiting only invitesbad things to happen.(like up charges)!
it might be interesting to revisit this thread in about a year. if fuel prices keep rising, the above MSRP premium on a new prius might be significantly higher than today.
This dealership has left a sour taste in my mouth. Will NOT go back there for anything. Had the oil changed in our 02 Camry there and got home an oil leaked all over new garage floor. Ended up having to get a "New" oil pan. Service manager tried to make me beleive it was a "Wear and Tear" item. Yea sure. All service was done by Toyota in the past with NO issues. Pat Lobb Toyota in McKinney got my business for the Prius and all further services on the Camry also..........
My bad, I meant the part about washing it. I also let highly trained others change the oil, but not wash it.
I agree it falls into the Shady category, if not unethical. Unethical would be what a dealer tried to do to me last year and get me into negotiations for a Prius only to turn around and try to sell me a Corolla instead because they didn't want to honor a Toyota ad of $259 + tax a month for a package #2 lease. Luckily I found a dealer who would honor the regional Toyota ad. It's short sighted of dealers trying to capitalize on one sale though. I've only had a Toyota now for just over a year and I have referred 2 people to the dealer I got my Prius from and both of them have walked out of there happy with a new car. Imagine if those 2 people refer 2 more people and then those 2 people refer 2 more people. I think you see where I'm going. It equals way more then raking someone over the coals only to not ever do business with them again and them spreading the word on how "shady" your business is. Just my 2 cents.
You are absolutely correct and there is a very famous business book written about this very subject. However, all dealers and independently owned and they make their choices as to how to do business. All you can do is support dealers that do business the right way.
If it's a matter of them offering a Prius earlier if you pay a higher premium, I can tolerate that. If they strung you along only to gouge you in the end of 8-10 weeks, then they kept you from pursing other alternatives based on a betrayed trust. If such is the case, then this dealership is sleazy, unworthy of anyone's business, and shame on some of the other posters for offering their support of such practices.
As others have stated, that's just business. Buy low, sell high ... you know ... market conditions determine price ... It's all very elementary. And there's nothing unethical about it. You never signed a thing. With that said ... I must say that you are not very persistent in your search. I just visited CarsDirect.com -- America's #1 way to buy cars online!, entered a Plano ZIP code (75023), and *poof*! Every Prius can be purchased on there at MSRP with a few clicks and a phone call. Drive on, soldier!
I'm thinking about selling my 6 month old 2008 Prius. Is it unethical of me to get as much as I can for it, even if I can get more than I paid in January?
Now that everybody on Earth, including the folks from that tribe in the Amazon that supposedly never had contact with the outside world, has corrected the original poster, maybe we can give it a rest now?
According to your logic I should be put in jail for buying the Prius at ~$600 below invoice. Nope, I will instead thank Danny who made this site and Bob64 who had just walked in from the dealer basking his $20790 price and saving me $1k from my other offers. It's bargaining.
I'll agree with unethical. Gouging may be opportunistic - but not ethical. It is a choice to buy or not -but - I bought my Prius at Newburgh Toyota in NY (the home of shaky ethics) and paid MSRP 3 weeks ago. I waited two weeks for the car and the service has been excellent. Taking advantage of a tight market may be just business, but it also shows how devoid of values some will are. Just my .02 David
How about you just don't read the thread if your tired of it. As you can see, there are still people that think this is unethical.
Of course there will be people who say it's unethical. But then one day they'll graduate college, move out of their Mom's basement, and get a real job and learn that making a little money isn't a sin.
Idealism and naiivite are everywhere I guess. I do agree, this is beating a dead horse. LOL! Well put.
Well sir, I would submit that by interjecting such a jab at people's education and/or background that you somehow harbor a sense of shallowness in your own. In any case, such behavior can be unethical yet still be perfectly reasonable and/or even acceptable in society. I feel it safe to say that history has proven that most ethical actions are typically not highly self-serving ones... I.E. most of the true heroes in this world are dead due directly to their own "heroic" choices...
