Hi everyone, I have been lurking for a while thinking about buying a Prius, and after I found out that my old, unreliable car required over $2000 in service, I am ready for a new car. Of course, I have been told the wait for a Prius is anywhere from 3 months to 6 months. I have not added my name to any waiting lists yet. The dealer I was at today quoted me a price of $31,500 for a #6 package. They are adding a $3000 premium to MSRP. I found another #6 at a dealer for $32500. I also looked at a Nissan Altima Hybrid today and it was a really nice car, but I didn't like the small trunk space. The milage wasn't as good as a Prius as well, but an improvement over what I have now. I can at a maximum get the Altima fully loaded for $30,000 (Costco price) and a $2350 tax credit. I cannot find a dealer who sells the Prius discounted through Costco. I also tend to keep my cars for a long, long time and want to buy something that is very, very reliable and I know Toyota has this reputation. Not so sure about the Nissan. What do you think? Is $32,500 too much for a #6 Prius? Anyone have better luck with prices in the past week in the NYC area? Thanks for any advice! By the way, I test drove a Prius for the first time tonight -- very nice!!
I've seen some pretty good pricing from some dealers in NJ. I found them using Yahoo autos but.... use the used car search instead of the new car search When the used car search results come up, at the top of the listing change search parameters to New and 2008 and voila... All new cars, dealer or otherwise. You should see some from NJ. ZC1
unfortunately, Prius' are going to be over msrp for a while. i paid, in total, about $30,000 for my package 6. this was before toyota mandated a $2000 price hike, which my dealer could have added but thankfully didnt. id say given the niceties of the package 6 its probably worth it, but of course it makes recouping the costs through gas savings that much harder.
Yes, but what do you think will happen when the 09s are available? I already have my Prius, but if I were looking now, I'd wonder what will happen when they are shipping new Prii this fall. They won't be able to ask $2-3K over MSRP, will they? Also, what if gas prices drop, even slightly? Given US habits, I think that if gas prices calm down a bit, the enthusiasm over Prii will dampen a bit.
I signed for a Pri yesterday. I can't figure out HOW you know what MSRP IS, as they don 't have any on the lot (they have used ones to test drive). I believe they can say X is MSRP and have a new sheet printed and posted on the car before you see it. I tried to use the on line info (toyota.com and Kelly Blue book) as a guide. I got mine for "sticker price" according to the salesperson; and $500 LESS than what Kelly is showing for MSRP. **shrugs** Not sure what to believe. I then went to another dealer to see if I could 1. get on another waiting list and 2. save myself any money. He also claimed his price was sticker price, and it was $1500 MORE than the MSRP from Kelly on line. !!! I got package #3, so I can't help specifically re #6.
toyota.com has the MSRP for every new vehicle that is available along with any factory and port installed option. They only way it will change is if the dealer adds anything on after they receive it.
I think this is a personal decision based on a persons financial ability. In my opinion anything over MSRP is not a deal in my book, but that is just my view on it. I would never pay over MSRP for a car no matter how good it was. I also would never pay more for a used car than a new model was selling for. If I had not bought my Prius when I did 2 months ago, and I was stuck in the current situation and absolutely had to have a better car for fuel economy, I would buy a Yaris or something else that got better gas mileage than an SUV and was cheaper than an SUV. Then I would wait until the supply of the Prius came back to a sensible level and then buy. I also feel that if someone goes out and buys a new car that does not have current car payments and ends up buying a car that is selling at thousands over MSRP, what kind of deal are they really getting?? I have a friend that has no car payments at all and has a 14yr old car getting about 25mpg and only drives to the train station a few miles away from her Condo. She wanted to buy a Prius, but could not justify having $400 a month car payments, when she does not even put that much gas into her car a month, and paying $3,000 over MSRP, let alone more expensive car insurance for a new car with full coverage. So she opted for a used Yaris and thought that was the best way to go. I still had car payments on my SUV and have had car payments since 2000, I have always had a new car for the past 8 years, so dumping the SUV and getting the Prius was an OK situation for myself as my current car payment is just a bit more than the SUV, but now I am actually saving a lot more in gas money, so I am still ahead. But if I did not have the SUV payments and found myself in the current situation, dealers selling at thousands over MSRP, I would wait out the current frenzy and buy next years model at or below MSRP.
As others have said, I also believe anything over MSRP is too much, and I define MSRP as what I find at KBB when I have researched car prices in the past. If I were in the market now I would wait for the '09s to come out, hopefully when that happens we'll see a big supply enter the showroom floor and that will eliminate the price hikes we are currently seeing - prices should drop back to MSRP and under (just my opinion here). According to the Costco rep at a dealer I've used in the past, the Prius has been removed from their lineup because of the current market conditions and difficulty in having/finding cars available for sale. His hope is that it will be restored once the '09s come out. The unfortunate thing is if you want one now, you'll have to either pay a premium or wait till approx. August/September for the new MY cars to be shipped.
Just checked, I paid UNDER MSRP!! Not a lot under, but still UNDER!!! WAHOO!!!!! Thank you SO much for the reminder;I'd been using the Kelly Blue Book number.
Anything over MSRP is a mistake. If everyone just said no, they couldn't get one cent over it. If you overpay for the car, what have you gained?
Depends on the situation. We didn't have car payments on our '94 + '97 Civics, so buying the Prius was a large expense for us. However, we weren't looking strictly at the economic deal. From a safety standpoint, we wanted a car that would have all of the features of a more modern car. The Prius is also noticeably larger than either of our Civics--we no longer can stare at the undersides of F-150s and F-250s...and it is a more comfortable car for long drives and passengers. We recently rented a Yaris for a week on vacation, and while we enjoyed it, it wasn't as comfortable as the Prius. The car payments certainly aren't cheap, but when you factor in safety, comfort and the reliability of a new car, its purchase made sense to us... That, and the fact that we drive much slower and cautiously with the Prius!
Only you can decide. The more you're willing to pay the sooner you can get one. Someone who really needs to minimize total cost of ownership and drives less than about 12,000 miles per year would instead buy a used Civic or a used Kia Spectra.
His hope is that it will be restored once the '09s come out. The unfortunate thing is if you want one now, you'll have to either pay a premium or wait till approx. August/September for the new MY cars to be shipped.[/quote] I asked my dealer when I might be able to get an 09 if I didn't take the 08 coming soon, and he said it would be Dec. Also with the price of gas going up instead of down, what's the chance the demand for the Prius will drop or the prices either for that matter? I'm not in a real squeeze for a pri now and would really like to wait for the 09's since it won't be long, but I'm afraid if I don't take the 08, price and demand will go up along with the cost of gas - they're expecting $7 a gal. before it's over. my 08 offer is 29,100 for a pkg 5 with leather and xm.
if it was the exact color i wanted, then i would take that deal hey! that's just me though there are two types of Prius buyers: the people who can afford to wait a few months....... and then there's the people who can afford anything
well that's what i'm thinking too - take the deal - it's the color - it's what i asked for. one minute i'm telling myself to take it and the next to wait for the 09! i think it's all this waiting, and reading these posts!! surely when i see that beautiful barcelona red on the lot i doubt seriously i'll want to wait another 6 mo. to own it.
