2016 Prius - let's hear from buyers

Thanks for the tip! I'll probably wait a few weeks and see if any other options pop up, too. It's such a new model of car -- might as well see if some good options become available.

 

I installed a trailer hitch for a bike rack on our Gen 3, and it was absolutely wonderful. The Curt Hitch was something like $150 at e-trailer but I doubt they have them configured for the Gen 4 yet.

I hope you get one for your 2016 (mostly so you can tell me how the install goes).

 

so I guess no crosswind assist. Even the Smart ForTwo have this.

 

My impression of my new Gen 4 2016 Prius 4.
I am deliriously happy. It rides so much smoother and quieter than my previous 3 Priuses. I don't know if they have to "break in" or not, but it is already getting a consistent mpg in the 50's. The only longer trip I have made, it got 60+ mpg. My driving is short hops around 4 to 10 miles. The technology is overwhelming. The readout on the display is so colorful, it feels like one is looking at a cartoon. I'm sure the reading for cruising range will decrease on subsequent fill ups.(it did on the last Prius.) Right now it shows over 700 miles left on the tank, and I have traveled 130 miles.

 

Well, just to wrap up the tale of my attempt to buy a 2016 Prius Three . . .

I called the Sales Manager after getting the email about the "replacement" vehicle which had an extra $800 of port-side options piled onto it, went to voicemail (of course). I told him we wouldn't pay for any of that, so they'd better make sure it doesn't get put on, give it to us for free, or refund our deposit.

Getting no reply, my wife calls the next day, leaves him voicemail. He still doesn't call back.

Against my advice, she called back this morning, and now office says he's "in training." She then gets a call back from the sales-idiot that lied about waiting on a car coming from Mexico, so she hangs up on him.

I call the Customer Retention Manager - also in training. That tears it.

I call the front desk to ask who can refund my deposit, and get routed to the General Sales Manager. I tell him which Sales Manager I talked to, he says he'll check "the file" and get back to me. Well, maybe there's some hope of getting this back on track . . .

An hour later, the first Sales Manager calls back to say that since we don't want the car they ordered, they're refunding our deposit. At no point does he acknowledge that they reneged on the original deal, or attempt to save the sale.

The only conclusion I can reach is that they never intended to honor the original deal, and had engineered this phony switch so they could say "we lost the first one, but have this one that's real close with some extra stuff," though that extra stuff is only on because they ordered it - and recall, this car was supposedly specifically ordered as a replacement for the failed swap. And faced with our refusal to accept that, instead of negotiating further they're rolling the dice on selling it to someone else.

An organization that blew this closed sale is too stupid to live. My guess is that they have enough customers in town that put up with this crap that they do just fine.

 

sorry affair from start to finish...

 

Car Dealer Reviews, Dealership Ratings, Cars For Sale - DealerRater.com

Give them a review...

 

I will after the check clears

 

That is sad that they lost a deal over a lousy $800.

 

Oh, it's a lot dumber than that. First off, the dealer cost on that laundry list of frills and doilies is maybe half the sticker (margin on these add-ons is HUGE). Second, they're all port-side installed options, meaning that they're not actually on the car yet, nor will they be when it leaves Japan.

Since the sales manager had all the facts, there's no benign explanation for their behavior - not even monumental stupidity quite covers it. No, they're so secure in their local quasi-monopoly and their ability to make a living despite outrageous misconduct that they've developed a delusional sense of entitlement. They threw a profitable deal away because I caught them mid-game and I wouldn't let them screw me.

I mean, c'mon - at least buy me dinner first.

 

Just picked up our Prius 4. We wanted the new Red ($385) and ONLY the ATP. Nothing else...no mats. no Toyoguard, absolutely nothing else added.
Waited three weeks for it to arrive and the price was $800 below the factory sticker (cash deal-no trade) with NO dealer fees added.
Bought it in Lake Park, Florida and drove it home to Naples.
My wife is nuts over it. Previous Prius is a 2015 model 2. She wanted the new absolutely red paint and ATP safety items. I'm happily driving the 2015. Also have a 2009 with 120K trouble free miles.
Regards, Don

 

Congrats!!!

Pls post pics. I really am starting to like the new red (even with the extra $$ fee) and want to see as many pics as possible (day / night pics).

My fav. Toyota dealership supposedly has an Eco in the new red in stock or coming and I'm thinking of making the trek up there to check her out. I'm not really in the market and am still torn between a two, Eco and a four...... but if the deal is right....

Thank you

 

Why The 2016 Toyota Prius is the World’s Most Attractive Alternative Energy Car

 

This why, regardless of whether you like or hate the car, company, or Musk, we should support Tesla against the various dealer associations.

 

Q. If Tesla had dealer franchises, would they support direct Fuel cell Mirai sales?,
Quite a few people here in PC would be against it. Best thing IMO is to change the law for "all or none".

GM Has Lobbied Against Tesla's Direct Sales Model In At Least Five States - HybridCars.com

 

I think you will love the red. Pictures don't do it justice.

 

Congrats on your purchase still waiting to see a red Prius in person looks great in the ads.

 

congrats tigerpilot! all the best.

 

You're missing the point by a mile. PC members (dealers excepted) would LOVE for Tesla to win, and for Toyota to be free to open their own company stores as a consequence. Tesla is just the thin entering wedge, and NADA knows it. The goal is absolutely ALL manufacturers having the choice to run their own stores and/or to franchise, based on what's best for their business model.

Whatever value locally owned franchise dealers may have had before, they have been a net drag on the car buying and ownership experience for the past 30-40 years, at the very same time that vehicle features and build quality have dramatically improved. The manufacturers are now doing a good enough job up front that the dealers clearly degrade company reputations more than they enhance them. Nowhere is this clearer than with Toyota and its dealers.

Once the franchise laws are finally struck down as the unconstitutional barriers to interstate commerce that they are, some dealers might survive as independent businesses, but only those with a genuine focus on straight dealing and customer service. In that environment, independent dealers would be motivated to offer a customer experience that betters that available at manufacturer stores constrained by manufacturing-centric corporate bureaucracies. I would sincerely wish independent dealers like that all the best, but I've never seen one myself. As things stand today, the only motivation is to squeeze customers and manufacturers alike for maximum return, especially when unconstrained by competition in small markets with few franchisees. My recent experience only underscores that reality.

"All or none" is the enemy of "bit by bit," and bit by bit is how the current corrupt automobile distribution system will have to be dismantled. The legacy manufacturers are in some ways bound to defend the current system (or at least be seen to defend it) because they are utterly dependent on the cooperation and goodwill of their dealer networks. Elon Musk has no such entanglements, but he does have deep pockets, a determination not to bow to the sleaze of NADA and their rented politicians, and a prestige automobile that people want to buy approximately as fast as he can build them - in other words, he's NADA's worst nightmare. For now he'll settle for his wins state by state, even if it means accepting "sweetheart" legislation that placates the well-heeled Tesla enthusiasts among political donors while doing nothing to reform the broader system. But once Tesla has the capacity to meet greater demand for new vehicles like the Model III, they will want to be everywhere, and Musk will be itching for a test case to fight all the way to the Supreme Court. He'll win - and we should wish him well along the way.