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Prii in Atlanta?

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by bigdaddy, Jun 13, 2005.

  1. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
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    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    OK. New poster, first post. Been wanting a Prius since 2000, finally have driven the 95 Jeep long enough to warrant it's cost, and now is the time to switch.

    Been looking around town in Atlanta but this appears to be a crummy place to buy a prius. Most are presold, and the 4-6 on the lots around town are jacked up by $1500 - $4K over MSRP ($4K was opening bid by a 'sucker' dealer in town, but the $1500 over MSRP seems to be the best deal either in person or over the internet). Also, the sales folks here are generally apethetic towards helping you get one of these cars.

    To me, the honesty and helpfulness of the dealer speaks volumes about how our 10-year relationship will go, so I've decided to give the entire town the boot and expand my search, and have located a dealer in Charlotte (4 hour drive) who is willing to work with me to get what I want for MSRP. I hate to go so far, but I'm tired of the local rip-off attitude.

    Also, no matter where I go, "documentation fees" are coming in at an extra $599 pretty consistently.

    Few questions:
    1) Am I overreacting to situation in Atlanta? Are there good dealers and deals within 2 hr drive?
    2) In the SE, are people paying these high doc fees? If not, how are you able to negotiate it down or have them absorb in base price of vehicle?

    Thanks, I hope to be a happy Prius owner sometime this summer!
     
    #1 bigdaddy, Jun 13, 2005
  2. KD4MNI

    KD4MNI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2005
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    Location:
    Smyrna, GA (Atlanta)
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Check out Cobb County Toyota in Kennesaw; we dealt mainly with the sales manager and found their attitude toward customers to be a refreshing change from other N metro Toyota dealers. Also, it is good to keep in mind that Service is essentially a separate part of the dealership business from sales.

    The wait for a new Prius had been running around 6 months, but the dealer allotments are catching up, and some Atlanta dealers are actually offering test drives in unsold cars now. Of course, gas prices have gone up, and the Prius is catching on with buyers.

    It is a seller's market, and these dealerships generally try to make as much on each sale as possible, knowing that there's lots of demand for the Prius. My wife and I were well-prepared and worked together to get a good deal. We had our financing pre-arranged, did not trade in another vehicle and knew exactly what we wanted.

    We picked up a Prius in April '05 from Sandy Springs Toyota with $0 ADP (Additional Dealer Profit) by being prepared to wait for what we wanted, and then purchasing a fully-loaded model. We would have purchased from Cobb County Toyota, but Sandy Springs had the exact car we wanted first, and they dropped their price from $400 ADP when they realized we would walk away from the deal otherwise.

    All the Prius we looked at had the ToyoGuard package and were loaded with options.

    We plan to eventually use CC Toyota for regular Prius service. Good luck.
     
    #2 KD4MNI, Jun 13, 2005
  3. clane47

    clane47 New Member

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    Location:
    Roswell, GA
    I bought mine from Toyota of Roswell about a month ago. They were very friendly to deal with and didn't charge any premiums over sticker price. I only waited a week for delivery.

    Regards,
    Chuck Lane
     
    #3 clane47, Jun 13, 2005
  4. JojoBeto

    JojoBeto New Member

    Joined:
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    I am buying a Prius from Atlanta Toyota in Duluth. I have been dealing with Eddie Brown (Internet Sales Manager). I have also gotten this $499 documentation fee everywhere (seems to be a racket/law). They have repeatedly told me the car would be MSRP only with the options I wanted (and none that I don't want). I am not closing the deal until July, but right now everything seems to be on track for not having to pay more than MSRP. They did not want to order the car for me, but they have a waiting list that you might want to get on.

    Other dealers in Atlanta. Mall of Georgia Toyota said they were charging 1-2K over MSRP. Stone Mountain Toyota said they would order one and not charge more than MSRP. I haven't really pursued these angles because Atlanta Toyota has the car and the price I want and I am at the top of the list currently.

    Good Luck
    Brian
     
    #4 JojoBeto, Jun 13, 2005
  5. JojoBeto

    JojoBeto New Member

    Joined:
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    I meant a $599 documentation fee. This must be some kind of Georgia dealership thing, because every dealership had the same price and called it the same thing. Does it really cost $599 to do the paperwork???
     
    #5 JojoBeto, Jun 13, 2005
  6. bandgeek

    bandgeek New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2005
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    Location:
    Canton, Ga. (Atlanta)
    I have to agree with KD4MNI. I got my car from Cobb County Toyota and have been very happy with the purchase experience and the personal service. I dealt with Jerry Massa and he was very helpful. I had 0 wait for mine as a couple wanted to take delivery after the Memorial Day holiday when their car came in the Wednesday before. They agreed to take a later delivery and Jerry called me up to see if I was interested. Mind you, I hadn't even put down a deposit. My color (Silver) and my package (6) with no wait! Who could ask for more? I really hope the service is as pleasant as the purchase. I would check them out at least and if you buy there, tell them you heard it from me. (The referal money would be much appreciated!!)

    Dan
     
    #6 bandgeek, Jun 14, 2005
  7. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
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    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    Thanks everyone for advice so far. I will need to check into Cobb and Sandy Springs, I did not talk with them, only folks on the NE side of town. Finally did make a reasonably good contact with internet fellow at Atlanta Toyota, but they are simply charging MSRP plus doc fees for stuff they have rotating in, no help in searching other dealers inventories.

    Still have been talking to the Charlotte dealer, they have offered to help me get exact car from another dealer, and have offered $500 below MSRP to offset their $599 doc fee.

    I did notice on the SE dealers list that a *lot* of $30K+ fully loaded cars are scheduled for delivery in the SE over the next several weeks, so I betcha that you are going to see some of these on the lots before they move (test drive time!). From what I can tell, local dealers that have had these higher-end cars have had them on their lots for awhile before moving them (e.g., Mall of Ga toyota has had several of these loaded ones on the lot for at least 3 weeks). If you are looking for something packed with DVDs and 17" tires, dealers are probably going to be motivated to cut you a deal.
     
    #7 bigdaddy, Jun 16, 2005
  8. VoicesInMyHead

    VoicesInMyHead New Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
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    Location:
    Georgia, US
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    And, for God's sake, stay away from Toyota South in Morrow. They have a *huge* markup.
     
    #8 VoicesInMyHead, Jun 16, 2005
  9. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
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    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    Did a little footwork this AM and located the VINs of exactly 2 cars that were 100% match for my wishlist. Passed the information along to 2 dealers and just got call from Charlotte dealer saying that they found one of them scheduled for delivery to Jacksonville, and are attempting to work with that dealer to have care reallocated and delivered for me instead. They are pulling strings, plus I am getting for 500 below MSRP. I just could not get anyone in ATL to help me with this level of service.

    Fingers crossed that the backroom trading will work out in my favor! Will be driving my new Prius by end of next week if so....

    (Did call Cobb Toyota today, nice guys, but they did not have what I wanted on their lists, I am now on thier wait list. Spoke with Jerry Massa and told him a former customer named Dan and some others from internet chat rooms recommended them....)
     
    #9 bigdaddy, Jun 16, 2005
  10. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
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    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    Gotta report good news. After 7 days of combing SE, I have secured the exact Prius I wanted.

    My affable dealer in Charlotte was able to redirect a window-tinted Seaside Pearl leather #6 sans Toyoguard from delivery to Wilmington NC to me. Still at $500 below MSRP, currently at sea and scheduled for delivery 7/7.

    Sigh, 20 days and counting.....
    Anyone want to buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee?
     
    #10 bigdaddy, Jun 17, 2005
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