I owned a Prius for 10 minutes

My first new car dealer experience was in 1979 when I bought a brand new $5200 Datsun 310 hatchback. I paid extra for the undercoating and never got the right side mirror I was promised. I loved that car. It met emission standards and still took regular leaded gas while everyone else was waiting in line for unleaded.

My second new car experience was this weekend. I walked into a NYC, borough of Queens, Toyota dealer on Saturday, asked about hybrids, and was shown a silver millennium option 5 Prius ($23,967 MSRP) still in the shop with the protective plastic still on it. Yes, it wasn’t even prepped yet. I wanted to see a Prius on a whim so I could see how much smaller than the Ford Escape and HiHy it might be.

I was astonished at how roomy it was, especially the back seat. We went back into the showroom and I asked if we could make an appointment for a test drive. Again I was shocked when the salesman said "no problem wait here." He went back into the shop and brought the Prius up front on the street.

The wife and I gave it a drive - fly by wire shift, power button, on screen display, park button, wow, we loved it and most important the wife felt comfortable driving it. We parked it in front of the dealer and everybody that walked by checked it out. Another salesman even brought another customer over to look at it. I told my salesman that we just started looking and I was worried that the 4.9 ground clearance might be a problem with the hump in my driveway. He said, "Measure it and give him a call." I said "will you hold the car for me until Sunday?" - he said "sure give me a call and you can make a deposit payment over the phone."

During our test drive he told me that the B shift was for extra power, I said you mean like boost and he said yes. The car hadn't been prepped yet and after we parked I saw two slots behind the rear wheels and asked if that was for a trim package that was not installed yet. He said the slots were vents for the battery. After reading these forums afterwards I now know what the B is for and I think the empty slots might actually be for the lower rear spoiler but I am just guessing. Okay no big deal, not the first salesman that didn't know everything about what they were selling.

I measured my current cars ground clearance, measured the driveway hump, called my insurance for an estimate, talked to the wife, and we finally decided the heck with the driveway, we liked the car, and any car we purchase might have a problem with the driveway and we didn't mind parking on the street anyway. We loved the car.

I skipped the Memorial Day parade this morning, went to the dealer and told my salesman "it's a go." He said, "great, have a seat" and then he went to talk to his manager." He came back and we started filling out the order forms. I asked what he could do for me, low APR financing, mats and cargo nets, etc. He said that the other person that looked at the car while I was there the night before was willing to take the car immediately and was willing to pay $1500 over MSRP. He said his manager was angry that he promised to hold it for me. He said he was only giving it to me at MSRP because that is what he told me when we test drove it and the only reason he can do that for me is because he is the Asst. Manager. I told him okay, I'm easy, I don't need to haggle but I would appreciate anything he could do for me. I said I was going to need the VIN for my insurance and he said I would get a copy with the papers. I said I also needed the mileage and he said it was about 5 miles. We filled out the order forms, he ran my credit card for the $1000 deposit and then we filled out an application for financing. He said he would try to get the best rate for me.

And then it happened. He said to me "The car I am going to give you is coming in on Wednesday." "It's the same car with the same options but it is brand new coming off the truck. The car you test drove was sold last night.â€

I said, "Whoa, you mean the car you wrote me up for is not the car I saw and test drove." He said, "Yeah but you are going to get a brand new car. The car you looked at was sold and anyway everyone that comes in has driven it and it has 60 miles on it."

I said I understand but I wanted the car I saw and thought I was buying. I liked the way it rode, I looked for dents and scratches, etc. how do I know the car coming in on Wednesday will be in the same condition with the same options. He said take a look at it when it comes in, it is exactly the same car.

I said I am not very happy about this. Why didn't you tell me all this before I signed all the papers? I said I probably would have said thanks and done the deal but now I feel like I was tricked into buying a car that is not even delivered yet when I thought I was buying the car I had driven and was going to be able to pick it up as soon as it was prepped and paid for. I even said to him well if we are waiting for a shipment what about getting a different color because my wife would prefer a color instead of silver. He said that they were only getting a silver model the same as the one I looked at. I asked why didn't he tell me before signing all the papers and he said he didn't think it would be a problem. Then he leaves me alone while he gets the manager who comes back and asks me what the problem is. The manager says to him "Why didn't you tell him first? And he says he didn’t think it would be a problem and then they leave me sitting alone again.

My salesman comes back and says okay will get the one you looked at back and give the other customer the new one when it comes in. I said I don't want the original one now if everyone has been driving it and it has 60 miles on it. Then he yells to the other salesman don't call your customer yet to tell him about the new car and he leaves me alone again. He comes back to me and I finally say refund my deposit and cancel this. I have bad feelings and I will never recommend this dealership to anyone. My salesman finally rips up the paperwork and processes a credit card refund slip for me.

I walk out of the dealer and get about 20 feet away when the manager comes out and yells to me "so you cancelled the sale." I said yeah what was I supposed to do, If I can't trust you about buying the car how can I trust you with anything else, especially if there is a problem. I said buying a car is like a marriage; you don't wait until after get to altar and say, “I do†and then say oh by the way I didn’t really mean it. He said, “No it isn’t.†Then he said come here, I want to show you something and he showed me a car with the protective plastic still on it and started telling me how that was a new car and the one next to it with no plastic was in the lot for a week. I said thanks and walked away.

Well first of all - thanks for letting me vent because I am upset about this whole situation especially about almost owning a Prius for about ten minutes - must be a world record. I am also upset because I would have understood that they couldn't hold the car for me and I would have been grateful to get the next one in. But tell me up front. Having me sign all the papers and then telling me I was getting a different car then the one I thought I was getting made very suspicious about this whole deal and dealership. How many times have they sold this car and told a customer to wait for the next one. What happens Wednesday when they tell me the shipment was changed or they didn't get the car they thought they were getting or it's a different option package or whatever. If I am going to wait for weeks at least let me order what I want.

I hope I did the right thing and didn’t overreact because I would have loved to get the car but my intuition said this was a bad deal to get involved with.

Thanks

 

Thanks for your comments. I am lucky I am not in a rush. Waiting for a 2006 with the features I want is still an option.

I started out looking at the Ford Escape Hybrid but got hooked on the Prius after the test drive. Perhaps the Highlander is a better choice for me but I need to drive it first to find out. I don't like the reviews and ratings that the Ford is getting compared to the Toyota.

I just think that spending more than 26k after taxes and fees entitles me to better treatment.

It puts doubts in my mind about everything else I was told or will be told later on by this dealership.

 

Hello All,
Thanks for all of your comments, I appreciate the support and this is a great forum. I learned more reading the posts on this site than I did reading the Consumer Guides and other magazines or even the manufacturer web sites.

So here is a quick response about my rationale.

Our family car is a 1992 Dodge Dynasty, great car, roomy, comfortable ride and 80K mileage. My better half drives it every day in Queens, NYC, she drops me off at the train, grocery shopping, picks up our son at the train, etc. My gas bill is $75 to $85 per month or more if our college boys are home from school. The A/C stopped working recently and the expense of fixing it - $1500 plus - was not worth it to me to spend on a 92 car.

So we decided the beginning of summer was a good time to get a new car. We thought a mid-size SUV would be a good choice to give us the comfort and room we wanted so we looked at the Escape - right size, plus good mileage but $35K. That turned me on to Hybrids. As you all know the Ford Hybrid is licensed from Toyota. Hybrids turned me on to Highlander - 35K plus. Highlander got me into Toyota dealer. Toyota dealer gave me a test ride in a Prius.

What more can I say. As you all know, how can I think about any other car after driving a Prius and knowing it's 10K less than the Ford or Highlander.

So I am not in a rush to buy, hence the 2006 thought, and Highlander Hybrid is an "unknown" until I actually see one and drive it. The salesman that started this whole thread told me the Highlander they were getting in at his dealer was priced at $46K.

The Prius is somewhat of a mid-size starter into the Hybrid line and most important of all is that the wife liked driving it. The only concern we had was in regard to roof racks, luggage room, and driving with friends on occasional trips but those are not show stoppers.

Obviously I am somewhat impulsive but on the other hand my impulses are generally based on an analysis of the situation.

So Prius seems to be the best choice for us (for now). :?

 

P.S.

In regard to the new car promised??? to me this week instead of immediate delivery on the car I drove --

I didn't expect to have a problem with another new car although that is what I said to the salesman. My true fear was that the story would changed each week and I would wind up waiting months for my car to show up or a totally different model would appear and I would be offered the option??? of paying much more to take delivery.

When I was 10 yeas old my dad let me lose around $50 at a carnival trying to win some stupid prise I never won. I learned when to cut bait.