I'd like to hear about any good experiences people have had in the PNW. Seems all the dealers in the Seattle area are still wanting to charge a premium over MSRP. :cussing: Thanks, Brian
We bought our 2004 Prius in May of last year and paid MSRP from Wilder Auto Center in Port Angeles, Wa. Sales person was Joe DeScala. We would buy from him again. Harry
I bought my 2005 Package 6 at Downtown Toyota of Seattle and got MSRP (I checked specifically). The Prius sales guy there, Chris, is really nice. I gave him instructions on disabling reverse beep, and he now does it on request from his customers at delivery. (I also think he tells them where I got the data, and sends them here to PriusChat.) Chris is the only guy that does Prius deliveries there, and is really familiar with the car. They also don't get commission there, so that helps. When we got ours, the one available was the wrong color for the guy who ordered it, but it was perfect for us. I would have liked just about any color, except the White.
While Portland may by a bit out of your way, I purchased my Prius from Ron Tonkin at MSRP early last year. While they did have quite a long list at the time (who didn't?), the dealer was quite up front about MSRP and MSRP only. I also understand that Broadway Toyota in Portland had much the same policy. I am surprised that, with Toyotas increase in production, any dealer could still get away with overcharging. You may have better luck by checking out a few more rural dealerships outside of the Seattle area.
Capitol Toyota in Salem, OR. Can't speak for the "personal touch", but myself and another PriusChatter bought our Prii, via brokers, from Capitol at or below MSRP. Had to wait a while, but they got us just what we wanted.
Re Good Dealers in WA I would recommend Michaels Toyota in Bellevue, WA. I just bought my 2005 Prius with option package 6 from them two days ago. At first they refused to budge on the nearly 3k mark-up over MSRP. With some negotiating, I got them to make up the difference by valuing my trade at about 2200.00 over kbb and throwing in some options at no charge, such as the gold package. I also got my pre-paid maintenance and extended warranty at or below cost. With all that, I ended up at MSRP. This is the 4th car I have purchased from them. That says alot.
I purchased my Prius (BC or 6) from Foothills Toyota in Burlington. After asking about the wait (est. at 6 mo.) they hit the phone and found my car at Toyota of Lake City. The salesman drove to Lake City and returned it to Burlington for me. Our wait (after servicing) was just overnight. Foothills chrged me MSRP. A sticker from Lake City in the glove compartmrent indicated that they were asking $2K over MSRP. Have not used Foothills for servicing yet as I only have 2500 miles on it. But their sales department was excellent and really went out of the way to quickly get me a car by calling all over NW Wash. dealers.
I'll third the Ron Tonkin in PDX suggestion. Jon Geffen from the Alternative Fuel Vehicles group rolled out the red carpet for me. MSRP, no muss, no fuss. They even made a competitive offer on the extended warranty.. although not as good as the PriusChat deal. Highly recommended.
Thanks for all the replies. I currently have a deposit with Foothills Toyota and have contacted Ron Tonkin Toyota, hopefully I'll have my Salsa Red with AM package soon and I can stop being a Prius_Coveter (what will my new screen name be??) Brian
Michael's Toyota in Bellevue wanted MSRP + $3000 yesterday. Don't know how you people got MSRP at Foothills Toyota in Burlington -- I just called them and they said they're currently asking for MSRP + $1899.
Check out Lana Carpenter at I-5 Motors in Chehalis, WA. lanacarpenter .at. uhlmanns.com She completed most of my sale of a # 6 via email. I drove down and pick it up with _out_ any fuss.
Update from my previous post: I filled out some form at Edmunds.com or Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) to get free quotes from local dealers. Most of the replies were "...best selection blah blah excellent service blah blah call for prices...". The email I got from Burien Toyota said, "For the entire time the Prius has been sold at this dealership we have only sold them for MSRP which is what we are still doing currently." Gotta respect a dealer who charges a fair price when other dealerships are taking advantage of rising demand and jacking up the prices. I just gave them my deposit, and I'm now in the queue for my new Prius! :mrgreen: Lake City Toyota ran some ads on the Air America radio station in Seattle (1090 AM), and I was hoping to buy from them since they supported AAR. I told them that I had an offer at MSRP and gave them the opportunity to match it. Unfortunately, the lowest they were willing to go was MSRP + $499.
Interesting, because I put a deposit in to Lake City about a week and a half ago for MSRP. Makes me wonder if they are starting to gouge again after all the hybrid press recently. I also put in a deposit at Toyota of Kirkland after they agreed to drop the "VIP Package" which includes, among other things, lifetime pinstripe protection for a mere $590. So I now have 3 deposits in, all at MSRP. We'll see if they try to add on any more "value packages" at check-out.
I have been on the waiting list at Capitol Toyota in Salem Oregon and was told that they should have it August 9th. I called them back August 10th to see if it had come in yet and they said that it hadn't and that it was not expected until August 21st now. They would not give me a VIN number so I suspect that someone else got my car.
I suggest logging on to the Portland Prius meetup group, I posted the same question there a while back and received a few replies. http://www.meetup.com/ There are meetup groups in Spokane and the Puget Sound area as well.
I've gotten 3 Prii at Toyota of Kirkland and have done all service there for all 3. First was '01, MSRP, free "$590 VIP package" (loaners-for-life, a few oil changes, pinstriping, some protective trim), no trade-in. Second was '05, MSRP + $295 for "VIP", no trade-in. Third was '06, MSRP + $400 for "VIP", - $2500 for trade-in. I feel like they've treated us well each time and would recommend them to anyone living and/or working on the eastside. If you're not going to use them for service, though, the "VIP package" would be nice to get rid of (its biggest value seems to be the free unlimited service loaners). There seems to be a significant recognition and value to getting all service at that dealership. We've kind of gotten to the point where we trust each other, I think that has made the service experiences go much smoother. I've price-shopped the '05 and '06, but haven't found a dealer selling below MSRP in WA or in Portland-area. cheers Bob