I got a new Prius last Saturday. I paid $ 800 under the MSRP. So, I think that the shortage of Prius seems to be almost at the end.
Where I live, in Merced, CA, 2 months ago, they had none. They also said the waiting list was 6 months long and weren't even taking deposits any more. Today, they have 6 on the on the lot (non touring though) and are selling at a discount again. I guess that means most of the people on their list dropped off or they got a lot more allocation than they expected. Probably the former.
Seems most people realize the low hanging fruit (oil) has been gotten - in these parts there is usually a Prius to test drive but if you want one there is a line ...
Around here, there was no low hanging fruit a month ago. The surplus is only recent as the gas price has been headed in the down direction......temporarily. We went down to our local Toyota dealer. They're small. Their allocation is 8 a month. It's been 2 months since they even got a touring model. Last week they had 6 on the lot. This week, they still have the same six. I took my wife down because she hasn't actually sat in one yet. Fortunately, the current seat height is perfect for her. The only thing we'll end up doing is having a splined 1 inch steering wheel spacer made to bring the steering wheel back a little. We're currently at the front of the waiting list at a much larger dealer, Sunnyvale Toyota. Their allocation is 80 / month. They got 39 on the last allocation and only two touring neither of which was a color we'd accept. The previous allocation also only had 2 neither of which had colors we'd accept. Since half of the colors are on our list, you think we'd have 1 in 2 chance of any touring coming through being a color we'd take (Siler Pine Mica, Barcelona Red, Spectra Blue, Mag Gray). So we called our local dealer who two months ago not only had none, but said it would be a 6 month wait. 2 months later, there's no wait and they 6 on the lot. But no touring. They said they'd sell us a touring if they get it for $500 off, but said they could do even better if we'd take a standard model. So in case anyone is watching, Merced Toyota has Prii on the lot ready to sell now at a discount.
Hi,all, Was at my local dealer (Lynch Toyota in Manchester,CT) on Friday & they had 2 2008 Priuses on their lot (both with "sold" tags on them). One was a model 1220 base Prius & the other was a 1224 standard Prius with a Pkg #2 (& a $600 discount right on the MSRP sticker). This dealer always sells with no markup or unwanted add-ons, so I'm sure they would honor the discounted MSRP. I haven't seen any of these discounted MSRP stickers since late 2007 or maybe only a few in EARLY 2008. I wonder what gives with this one (it did have the $720 destination charge, so it's a recent one). Maybe the leftover 2008 pkg 2's aren't moving too well, so Toyota corporate decided to apply the discount again to a few of them. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
Why? The 2009 is $500 more and is identical to the 2008. If anything, that would make people scram to get left over 2008's.
Here we have been quoted from sticker at one dealer (of course they add on for wax/sealer, etc.) and other dealers have asked for as much as 3,000 above. It almost seems they ask sticker until they have a couple in stock then the bidding wars start
Just went by the Dealership earlier this week for 70K maintenance. Every other time I've been there they've had at least a half dozen Prius and and equal number of Camry Hybrids. This time, 0 Prius and on Camry which apparently just came off the truck.
I went from 318 on list to 252 at Toyota Sunnyvale in only 2 weeks and 2 days. Bought from Piercey the next day, who has only 1 black #5 available on lot. Big dealer. They have a bunch of used ones.
Traditionally, manufacturers have had to take a big cut from MSRP to move last year's model, because when it comes time to trade that car in, the new model will be worth a lot more. Given the resale value of the Prius, that deep discount may not be necessary, but the future is hard to predict. I think you may find a few people have read all the plug-in hybrid news and decided to wait. If you have a newer vehicle that already gets decent gas mileage, waiting for the PHEV Prius might be an option (I didn't think I had one replacing a 7-year SUV getting 14 mpg with a fuel pump replacement just barely optional [$850 I'm quoted]). And Gustav may help clear a few 08 Priuses off the lot too.
