Dealer price quotes question???

There shouldn't be too much variation in what you get in the Prius II - there may be a dealer add-on like tint or something small - I'd investigate the lowest price - VIN or no VIN and see if you like the color!

BlackBerry 9930 ?

 

I wouldn't be concerned about the VIN at this point. Pay attention to the color & PIO. If you are driving some distance to look at a car then I'd want a VIN. If you are agreeing to a price & they are agreeing to get that car within x time then a VIN is unreasonable. You'll want to inspect it before you buy it anyway.

Unless you've put down a deposit it isn't your car. First money wins.

 

They should be able to give you a hard quote over the internet, or by fax, or even by voice to include VIN, color, options, price, tax, title, tag, first tank of gas....etc.
This will include the all important "you pay this amount" amount...or what's known as an OTD, or "Out the Door" quote.
Of course, they have to know that you're serious, in addition to you knowing that they're shooting you a serious quote, rather than trying to seduce you into a dealership visit.
If they're serious, they should be able to send you something resembling a purchase order, detailing VIN, price, tax, documentation fee (IIRC, my last doc fee was $25, including $5 for the inspection sticker) etc. Just tell them that you're pre-approved for a loan from a credit union, and you'll need a hard quote to do the paperwork on your end before you go to their end. If you're not pre-approved.....change that, unless you're a cash purchaser. If you're trading in a car prior to buying the new one, then you're pretty much screwing yourself in two fundamental ways:
1. You're walking away from several hundred dollars that you'll get by selling rather than trading. Selling a used car is a PITA (look it up.) Dealerships know this.
2. Trading at the time of purchase enables the dealer to screw you either by offering you too little for your trade, or they'll hide the fact that they're overcharging you for the new car, by diddling with the numbers on the old one. If you happen to be upside-down on your current car, they'll happily compound this by making you REALLY upside-down on your newer car.

A G3-two is a G3-two, is a G3-two, unless you have an up-optioned color. If there are "dealer installed options" such as nitrogenated tires, paint protection packages, pin striping, etc.....then it will or it should show up in the quote. If the dealership eschews these practices, this will also show up in the bottom line of their quote.
The "real" MSRP of a G3-two, including destination fees is available on-line. You should be able to figure out what the tax will be in your area, or come pretty close if you're trading in.
Add these two numbers, and that should give you a START point for your negotiations.
If you don't know these two numbers, then just give them a blank check and tell them to charge you what they think is fair. The result will be about the same financially, and you'll save everybody a lot of talking.
If you insist on trading a car in, then the street value of this car should also be available, as well as some estimation of the wholesale value. You might notice that there is something of a difference between "trade-in" and "retail" values for a used car. Remember the money that I told you that you were walking away from by trading your car in?
It's not rocket science.....even in Cali.

If they can't (or won't) give you a hard quote via fax or email, then you need to go to a dealer that will. Get a hard quote for the new car before you ever start talking about any trade-in. If you have to drive even several hundred miles, the drive back might be a lot more fun if you've saved yourself several hundred dollars. Priuses get great gas mileage!


Oh yeah.
DON'T buy a warranty, GAP insurance, tire insurance, credit-life protection, or any used Rolex watches from the dealership. They sell cars. They make enough money doing that! Why do you think that they have such nice, pretty showrooms???
In addition to the questionable value of extended warranties, they're available more cheaply from other sources, after you've bought the car. Yes...the 'real' OEM extended warranty. Look it up. In addition to over paying for the coverage, and getting it sooner than you need it (what if your new car gets totaled at 12,000 miles???) people usually roll this purchase into their car loan, placing them even further upside down in their new car, and making the extended warranty MORE expensive from the interest paid over 4-5 years.
If you "need" GAP insurance, then you really, really, REALLY need to consider if this is the right time for you to purchase a new car, and then...the same rule applies. You don't go to the insurance company to buy a car, so you shouldn't buy insurance from a dealership. The same applies for a car loan. Dealerships make a commission from 'selling' or writing car loans. Don't you think that a bank, or credit union would happily just give the loan to you directly and avoid the commission???
I've seen the dealer beat my best rate only once in thirty years, so it does happen. After you haggle, you can let the finance manager try to beat your best pre-approved rate.


You can do aaaaaaall this, or you can just show up at a dealership and say:
"I really like that pretty Red one over there....How much is it?"

Those showrooms are nice, aren’t they?