Newbie Questions re Prius "premium price"

When I purchased my Prius last month I also ended up shopping out of state. Many of the New Jersey dealers I spoke with were very firm about how "because the car is in such extreme demand, the price is non-negotiable". I did not speak to any dealerships that were charging a premium, but of the 12 or so that I called in NJ 11 of them would only sell the car for listed MSRP. None of these dealerships had any of the cars in stock, and many of them also would only do business with me if I agreed to put a $1000 deposit or more down for them... they wouldn't even tell me if they could order me the car... or how long it would be until delivery.. without a blind faith deposit.

Fortunately, on a friend's referral I put a call in to a Pennsylvania dealer, who was very helpful and ended up getting the exact color and package I wanted delivered to them days after we spoke. I ended up paying about $2K under MSRP and I drove the car home that night... So I would definitely agree with others here and suggest looking to other states as a way to get the deal you want.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbie2 @ Jul 21 2006, 09:41 AM) [snapback]289935[/snapback]</div>

Just to reiterate - don't take the extended warranty, at least not for more than $1000 (you can buy that anywhere after the fact), and they might offer a maintenance service package. I did pick that up for $800-something, but maybe I should've held off on that too. I didn't believe his story for a second that it adds to the resale factor (my Lo-Jack on the previous car didn't add to it, so how would this?), but the 15K mile changes are expensive. I took a pass on the $150 factory floor mats and got some nearly as good for $30 at Target. I did get a weathertec mat for the trunk from them, it fit perfectly, can't remember what that cost.

And I paid MSRP for a package 1. I wasn't in a big hurry, but the dealer knew I was interested, so when some unallocated units came in, he gave me a call, and a week later I had the car.

 

Don't forget the dealer holdback, which is an additional 2-3 percent profit on the MSRP (don't know specifically for Toyota). That should be included when calculating a dealer's potential profit.

 

Sorry to go OT, but I noticed at least two of you here have packages that include HID headlights and are in NJ. Be VERY afraid about your headlights being stolen. NY, NJ and one other state are hot beds of HID headlight theft. You might end wanting to convert to non-HID after they get stolen.

02-03 Nissan Maximas (which came w/them standard on all trims) were frequently targeted by HID headlight thieves. When I used to own an 02 Maxima and frequented maxima.org, there were some posters who got their lights stolen 2-3 times in those areas! Replacement cost on Maxima HIDs is $1356/pair in addition to any body damage the thief might do. See http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/mer...de=2002HID-PAIR

There are lots of news stories on this including on that a bunch on NY and NJ TV stations.

 

"Premium" is a politically correct way of saying the dealer is "jacking" the price. Supply and demand are one thing, but selling above MSRP is indicative of, in my opinion, taking advantage of a marketplace. If you look around and see prices jacked up go do the test drives, pick the options, and give me a call. Just figure in airfare to Maine...

 

Call Earl Stewart Toyota of Lake Park, FL. They only charge sticker price AND do not charge for shuffling paperwork other than title & reg. transfer. Their web site is www.earlstewarttoyota.com They usually have Prius's in stock and if not it would be a SHORT wait. If you go up 95 N. it's the Northlake exit in W. Palm Beach. Good luck.