I'm hoping, since I'm waiting till mid 2010 and possibly late 2010 to get my 2010 Prius that I'll be able to get a decent deal on one since the 2011s will be coming out by Oct/Nov 2010. At least that's my current strategy. We'll see how that pans out. Sometimes I'm a patient person and sometimes...not so much.
I was a bit miffed when I heard Honda's advertising for their 2010 Insight. They boasted at it's starting price of about $19k. I got excited thinking the 2010 Prius price would be announced as a comparison. Instead, they boasted about how much cheaper it was than the "2009" Prius. They are not comparing apples to apples in any manner other than the fact that both cars are hybrids.
In Maryland the 2009 package #2's are going for $20508 before sales tax and $100 dealer fee. This is a no haggle just walk in and get it price so it may be possible to get one for less from another dealer. I know nothing about Russel and how good a dealer they are. Russel Toyota: Inventory Search Results
It's kinda hard to say you're cheaper than the competition when the competition hasn't announced pricing for their latest product.
Yes, but the "invoice" the dealers (gleefully) show their potential customers is not the real price they actually paid for said car on their lot. It's marketing hype. Dealers don't include in those fantasy invoices the special incentives THEY get, dealer holdback $, advertising $, etc, etc. There are many ways mfgs incentivize their dealers to get them more profit. Believe me if you paid 'only' the amount on that printed invoice the dealers would still be making profit, and they know it. Try to get one to admit it though.
Absolutely. I have bought most new cars at invoice, one $150 below but of course not a Prius. Holdback is around 3% so if a car is sold at invoice the dealer usually makes 3%. There are cases where that is not true and there are special deals where the manufacturer offers even lower prices. Unless a car is wildly popular it can usually bought at invoice. Any end user rebates further subtract from that price.
When I went to talk price on purchasing my Saab (this was in 1997) I was literally thrown out of a Saab dealership in San Fran. for bringing up all these extra incentives that the dealership gets (holdback, advertising, etc.). I was dealing with an older man and he did NOT like a young woman (alone, at that) trying to negotiate price AND knowing some of the insider secrets. He was furious and told me I could just get up and leave because they had to make their profit. So I left. And bought my Saab from another dealer...one who wasn't so annoyed at the fact that I had done my homework. I mean it wasn't like they weren't going to make a profit...they just weren't going to gouge me.
Consumer reports has a special charge service that tries to ferret out the real dealer cost. If I were shopping I would start at that price, and go down depending on how sluggish sales are. I imagine the dealers are going to try to play stubborn for at least the first month after the new Prius comes out; after that, supply and demand in a recession/depression economy favors the consumer who is patient and demanding of the lowest price the market will bear. Not so long ago dealers were happy to tack on 'market adjustment' fees. Now they can tack down, happy or not.
http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-toyota-prius/60094-u-s-price-pickem.html Adding link to above "game". Let's guess!! Link on first page to predictify! MSRP for 2010 Toyota Prius - Predictions and Opinions - - Predictify
