Dealers shooting themselves in the foot.

I guess the dealer does not read the Wall Street Journal, and does not realize the economy is bad (and not likely to get better any time soon with the current climate).

 

There are plenty of other dealers not stealers that will sell for MSRP. Let us know where you live and somone here will Hook you up. I talked to two of them in Colorado today.

 

If the dealer can sell them at that rate, more power to him.
I agree with you that I would not buy one at that price and you can likely find a better price elsewhere.

 

He lives in New Orleans. It appears that the Gulf State Toyota dealers are pure slime.

 

since we are a part of the GSR (Gulf States Region) also it happened to me yesterday.

The salesman and sales manager told me they were marking up the MSRP by $5000. This is a sales manager that I bought a 2007 from two years ago.

I told him no way I would pay anything over MSRP, he told me that he knew that he would not sell all of them at that markup but some would sell.

Good thing he only had one, but he is most likely right some of the uninformed will buy.

I talked to a dealer in Memphis, TN yesterday and he was trying to sell me a 2010 V for the same price as the yahoo in OKC was trying to sell his 2010 II. I may have to go to Memphis.

 

We have 4 dealers in the Syracuse,NY area- all are selling at MSRP and are giving decent assessments on the trade ins. My sister and her husband went with me and we both bought at the same time- didn't get us any money off the price other than a $50 finders fee for me. If they marked it up, I would have bought a Venza or a Passat Wagon instead.

 

You can always buy my 2010 Prius II, it's listed for sale in the For Sale forum on PriusChat.
Then you'd save almost $1,500 and only 700 miles or so.

 

For an automobile dealer to "Shoot Themselves in the Foot" on a possible sale is no big deal. I've found that most automobile dealers are basically brain dead anyway.

Wait a couple of months. The euphoria of having a new model in their showroom will disappear. You will be in a much better psychological position to negotiate.

Keith

 

If the price of gas keeps rising, the 'euphoria' will not go away.
The way dealers have been suffering with poor sales in general these days, I can understand why they will try to market price a car in high demand. That said, I personally would not pay a penny over msrp. I'd wait or buy something else.

 

Thanks for the side note. You are the same size as my sweetie (who is just right imo), and I have wondered how the reputed skinny seats were gonna fit him. I sat in the back of a 2008 once for about 60 seconds - that is the extent of our real live Prius experience.

29 days til we move back to the US and can test drive for ourselves....:cheer2:

 

Dealers are entitled to ask whatever price they want and anxious (first wave) buyers are free to pay whatever they want - no criticism at all for either side. But the more of us who wait, the sooner the markups will go away and discounts spread. Patience...

 

I'm guessing $5K over MSRP would put you from a Prius V into a Lexus 250h real soon.

marking up a car over MSRP should only be justified when there is value. This car is great, but it is not considered "limited" it is certainly not worth $5K more than MSRP or a similarly equipped 2009 Prius. It is alread a premium priced small car so trying to get more out of it puts it into a class of "no way" for me. Even if gas prices get higher, a premium would need to pass some sort of economic justification.

 

LOL, I read this with interest as I'm 6'2" and 260. I test drove the 2009. Also also sat in the back with no concerns. If the highest setting tilt wheel isn't lower than the 2009 then I'm OK. My original concern was the bolsters on the seat being too tight but after seeing pictures I don't think it will be a problem.

 

I can verify that Gulf State Toyota dealers are pure slime, every one I dealt with, from where I live, San Antonio and Houston, all the worst car buying experience I've ever had to deal with. If the US manufacturers can get their stuff together, Toyota is going to lose customers due to their crappy dealer network.

 

I just cannot believe dealers are doing this in some parts of the country. I got my Prius ordered right at MSRP and while my salesman could not accept a price lower than sticker; they increased my trade-in value significantly to get the deal. All other fees, including dealer fees, title, bla bla bla is costing only 90 bucks!

I'm 6'2" with a strong built and felt comfortable in the seat in all my test drives. The cabin felt a bit cramped because of the center console I believe.

 

My dealer shot not only himself, but TOYOTA in the foot... not by adding an extra fee, but by adding $3000+ in non-negotiable, high profit "extras" to the car, then low-balling my trade in. The result is that two days ago, I bought a VW Jetta TDI "clean diesel" instead. This car gets near-hybrid mileage and by personal experience has better (higher quality) interior and body materials. Not quite all the tech bells and whistles, but very close, and "green car of the year" status, too. I hadn't even considered the VW an option until after my Toyota dealer went out of his way to shake an extra couple of thousand dollars out of me. Don't get me wrong, I really did like the Prius and would have bought it on the spot, but for the dealer attitude.

 

That's too bad. After much reading, discussions, and some hot arguments in this forum too, I decided my first choice was the Prius, but would consider the Jetta TDI if my VW dealer offered a better deal. It did not happen though.

About your comments on the TDI... the near-hybrid mileage is just in the HWY and the MPG during severe winters (like here in the Midwest) is proportionally lower in the 09 Jetta TDI compared to 2010 Prius.

Regarding the tech bells, this is a misconception. Prius is not more high tech than the Jetta as many think. For extra $500 in the Jetta, you get integrated Bluetooth and IPod connector bringing the price to similar (actually a bit lower) than Prius 3. IPod connector is not even available for the non-NAV Prius 3. The Jetta also comes standard with satellite radio, heated seats, leather wrapped wheel, and the material used in the seats is not supposed to be leather but it surely looks like leather (it's really nice). The available NAV system in the Jetta is a bit more expensive, but better. The only things the Prius 3 beats the Jetta in the high tech category is the smart key system and the JBL system, which I found better than the standard sound that comes with the Jetta, despite of being a 10 speaker system!

I also agree that the quality of interior materials in the Jetta is better than the Prius (please don't fight me on this guys...)

Oh, and don’t forget that the Jetta TDI comes standard with 16” wheels unlike the Prius, or even 4 for that matter.

 

Just a thought, maybe the seat height adjustment was set too high by a previous test driver?

 

agree with the OP on the steering wheel height. i'm 6'2 and its barely acceptable at the highest setting. could have been a deal breaker.