Big option price increase today

I agree. I put money down in April but then found out Safety Connect would not be available right away. I am not happy with having to pay more for my Red IV SY but having that peace of mind is important to me. BTW, congrats to your wife, from another cancer survivor.
Now, I can't wait to have my Prius!!!!

 

This is the first post in a LONG time, but this price increase is a total ripoff.

With the Cash for Clunkers Program, we were looking for a new Prius, and wanted a backup camera. Can't get it unless you get the higher package. There's $1000. Oh, still can't get it unless you get the NAV. There's ANOTHER $1800. Oh, but wait, there's more. Now, you've got to cough up ANOTHER $650 for more "value added" items??? The Safety Connect is a joke, and becomes worthless in a year. There's $450 flushed down the toilet. Tell me one Prius that has been carjacked and used Safety Connect.

Oh, but wait, there's more. Now, if you want to buy at our local dealer there's the Toyoguard. That's another $700. But wait, look at the "value added." They spray some goop that is supposed to be "sound deadener" and etch the windows. Big deal. Once again, show me one time where somebody broke into a Prius to steal a non-etched door window and passed up the "Toyoguarded" Prius sitting next to it.

Oh, don't forget the new "DPA" item thrown in on the other window sticker. Don't know what that is or what you're getting for that? That's the "Dealer Price Adjustment" of $2000, for the priveledge of buying a Prius from them. No value added though. They tried to lowball our '05 Prius trade another $4000 under the book value too. So I guess they figured we were just going to give them the $4500 voucher from the government and thank them for taking our pickup truck clunker.

Now, if there are fools out there who don't blink at paying over $30K (oh wait, that's $32,650) for a $23K car with a few options, that's great for Toyota and their dealers. It must be wonderful to have more money than sense.

As for me, those Hondas are starting to look better and better. For the price difference, I can hire somebody to watch the car when I back up.

 

The bottom line is that if they were simply offering a new feature for the money, whether I wanted that feature or not, it would be ok. Let's use the silly headlight washers as an example. I may not want them or like them, but I can certainly use them if I change my mind.

The problem is that they are charging for a mandatory feature that also requires a yearly subscription to make it functional. If you choose not to pay the subscription, then the 'feature' you paid for is totally non-functional. I understand Toyota's business logic where they make money on every unit even if you don't use it, so they don't really care if you activate it or not, but that doesn't make for good customer relations, as this thread clearly displays.

 

I didn't know the trim III came with XM. My bad

What's a CD? (kidding)

 

Rick,

Yes, I agree that this seems reasonable. That is not what this thread is about. It is only discussing the difference between the packages as they have stood since launch, and the new pricing, which now included Safety Connect and the USB port. These two add about $680, as compared to the same packages without these options.

 

How the heck could you forget those fancy $200 floormats?????????????

 

When the Cash 4 Clunkers thing ends Monday, I suspect sales levels will go back to pre-government program levels.

Let the inventory build up for a few weeks, and then see if the dealers are not more flexible on their padded window stickers.....

Joe

 

That is what I would do, if I was looking to buy one without C4C. Why deal with the hassle? The Prius is worth the wait, but certainly not worth the zoo that is going on right now. I'm lucky that we got ours a week before the madness started.

 

Agreed. I bought mine June 25th and am so glad I don't have to deal with the BS that is going on now.

 

I too am waiting until C4C ends and inventory builds a bit then I'll ask for the mats and bumper protector to be thrown in. Can't wait too long as CT ends its sales tax free for hybrids early 2010.

 

In addition to the C4C program ending Monday, we may have a temporary downturn in gas prices between now and early January. However, it is pretty clear from following the cable business news channels that oil speculators are looking for ANY reason to drive up crude oil futures, which, of course, show up at the pump.

If prices go down, maybe the demand for inventory will slow down long enough for the cars to begin to stockpile. If that happens, we may actually have a choice when visiting a dealer.

Of course, some dealers will always be greedy.....

Joe

 

The consensus seems that the Safety Connect add-on and Price Increase is a poor idea for Toyota in terms of value to the customer but works great for profits. I'm sure they'll hear an earful.

The USB on the other hand should have been there in the beginning but the slight addded cost probably wouldn't harm sales much.

Toyota should have just added all this stuff on the 2011 model. Although they will offset this by offering the I package which will be their highest seller.

 

What is the difference between package I and package II?

 

I just noticed a pricing discrepancy on Toyota's website... I'm in the Northeast region (in MA near Boston). If I go to the Toyota website, it says that USB and Safety connect are available as part of a package. Ok, that's what I'd expect to see about now.

However, when I use their "Build your Toyota" tool and select a V, I see that the ATP price is still $4,500 but the magnifying glass info bubble lists:
(AT) Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC) [14], Pre-Collision System (PCS) [22], Lane Keep Assist (LKA) [15], Intelligent Parking Assist (IPA) [16]; Navigation package includes Voice-activated touch-screen DVD navigation system [6] with JBL® AM/FM/MP3 4-disc CD changer, eight speakers, USB [7] port with iPod [8] connectivity, integrated satellite radio capability, XM NavTraffic® [6] [9] capability, hands-free phone capability and music streaming via Bluetooth® [5] wireless technology, integrated backup camera [10] and Safety Connect™ [21]

Any thought's on what's up with that? Shouldn't the price be $4,500+$680? Do you think this is just a mistake on the Toyota website?

 

Or save the money, and as a previous poster pointed out, get a Pioneer/Kenwood/Chinese knock off with USB, SD card, IPOD interface, WinCE built in, Bluetooth, ability to run great NAV software, DVD, and even TV (with a DTV converter). Backup cameras are also on the system... Some have hacks so you can view and edit MS Office docs

Way better than the Toyota offering (and no NAV lockout)

It's funny how a $22K car goes straight northward past $30K

 

I noticed the same thing this morning. The description is definitely for the new packages, but the pricing is the same as the old packages. Did they change their mind or were we given bum information which started the firestorm in this thread?

 

Please.... All car makers are trying to maximize profit. The low end Prius has been a decent deal due to te fact they need to compete with the Honda. You can still get what you want, and save a lot of $$ in the process - or you can purchase it at a major premium from Toyota.

I personally think Toyota under estimated the demand for the Gen III. With no supply, demand drives the price. In this case, Toyota *indirectly/directly* is raising the price everywhere they can.

I suspect if people stopped buying the solar, the price would drop lower than before the raise....... And if people stopped buying the higher end models, those would drop also.

And hey - I'd love to be the one who sat in the board room and said "we're raising the price (our profit), and now have an additional recurring revenue stream built into each vehicle " I hear bonus yen floating around

 

I haven't even had time to read reviews and the price has gone up? I was on the fence about aftermarket and now it's a not a question. Problem is, doesn't the safety connect take the space of the storage area for sunglasses?

 

I just checked again and here in the Boston area there are now 5 options for the V: Base, Nav, Nav w/ USB & Safety connect, ATP, ATP w/ USB & Safety Connect. The price differences are in line with the price increases discussed here. So they've finally updated their website, and realize that the dealers around here still have some with and some without the new features.

And FYI, on Wednesday I took delivery of a V with ATP and it didn't have USB or Safety connect, but had a "birth date" in August. I'm guessing it was the beginning of the month before they started adding the new features.