PRIME in Seattle!

Those of us who are still looking, probably greatly exceed those of you who actually have one now.

Where did you acquire yours-- Local? Oregon?

 

congrats! please check in at the prices paid page. all the best!

 

Got a call from Magic Toyota about a test drive. Maybe I was too excited, mentioned I might place an order after trying out, then the sales guy mentioned "each prius prime come with $4,000 NW package".
Very interesting....

 

Any idea what a NW package is?

 

"N"ot "W"hat (you expected)?

 

That wasn't true a few weeks ago, when I stopped by there.

But I am not yet ready for any test drive.

My current Prius came from there a nearby dealership, after I shopped there. (Sorry, mentally mixed up a couple local shops.) I suspect it includes nitrogen tire fill, serial number etching into windows, first (minor) scratch/dent repair, and ADP (*). Lots and lots of ADP.

(*) Additional Dealer Profit

 

Did a test drive and found out....
That has paint sealant, undercarriage protection, fabric sealant and leather shield.
It is pretty much ADP, in a form of "protect your asset".

He also mentioned that is necessary in the all states in Pacific North West.
No other dealers in the area told me that! He was the first honest guy to tell me that!

 

Yes, the guy who helped me was very friendly, too.
And the guy told me it is the rule in this area and he had to follow it.
The very nice guy with tons of smile told me about the NW package sincerely with full respect.
I almost lost belief in humanity.

 

Sorry I didn't mention that I already got a quote from another dealer with MSRP price without any kind of packages added.
So the "necessary NW package" is not true at all... maybe necessary only with that dealership, and maybe that's why they currently have 3 of Prius Prime in their inventory.

 

Beware that in my previous reply, I was confusing Magic with Lake City. As I get older, my brain keeps trying to do that. The package items I speculated were based on the dealer packs on my 2012 purchase there.

After visiting both a couple weeks ago, it seemed odd that a used (demo) Prime Plus on Magic's used car lot was labeled several thousand higher than a new one at Lake City. That brought back memories of my purchase of a 2010 eight years ago, where the folks I talked to at Magic insisted on the worst dealer packs of anyplace I visited, and by a wide margin. But good or bad is often more of a reflection of the salescritter you deal with than the dealership itself. I.e. many shops have both good folks, and lousy high-pressure folks.

Last I heard, Toyota wasn't yet sending any Primes up here, so all the available units were 'pirated' from affiliated lots in Oregon. The only one we've yet seen in the wild was spotted by my spouse at the gym parking lot, and the owner said she bought it in Portland. So I'm waiting a while for the limited supply to improve.

 

Disclaimer- I work at a Toyota dealership who knows answers

You cant "Pirate" any primes from affiliate dealers in Oregon. How these dealers in Washington got theirs is they put them under pre-sold units. Oregon dealers aren't dumb enough to do dealer trades with units that will sell. Unless the vehicle is a TRD pro. Or deposits or orders taken. And Toyota allocated units to them. None of the primes were wholesaled into WA last couple months. This month there were only about 25.

But rest assured there will be unit coming into Washington state by end of June. I've ordered mine about a month ago and got put on that Prime allocation. But its best to put a deposit on them, cause when they land on a lot they will sell in a day or two.

 

Dealers are taking factory orders. Last day for orders to be taken for the month is the 15th, so tomorrow. So if you want one of those units being allocated soon, visit your local Toyota Store and put a deposit for hold. That deposit amount varies based on store to store.

Also that used Prius prime unit on Magics lot a week ago was an east coast Prius Prime. by that point its a used vehicle, and doesnt have any rebates or incentives from Toyota. So they can price it however they want. Its who ever is stupid enough to pay more than its worth.

 

Magic Toyota is selling all their Prius Prime's with a $4,000 mark up .. total ripoff .. non of the other dealers are doing this ... so shop elsewhere!

 

I ordered my Prime Premium, red with black interior, on March 6th from Foothills Toyota in Burlington, WA. It was shipped from Japan on April 27th and due in at Portland, OR on May 8th, per my salesman. I was to get it May 15 to 19th, again from my salesman. It was a couple of days late arriving in port and there is/was some delay off loading the ship or something, so now I am told it will be here May 23rd. My cost is MSRP, less my trade in and the Toyota rebate, currently $1000 and the $1000 deposit I paid when I ordered the car. I don't know why these latest delays but I am looking forward to getting my car, by next week unless there are more delays.

 

Just tell them "That NW package sounds great - except I'm not going to pay for it if you want to sell me a car."

 

Values:
nitrogen tire fill, zero value
serial number etching into windows, zero value
first (minor) scratch/dent repair maybe a little value

paint sealant, I doubt they did anything except wash it. If they did put on a sealant, you can do it for very little.
undercarriage protection, they did nothing. There is a federal law about rust-through protection.
fabric sealant buy your own Scotchgard
leather shield There is no leather in the Prius line

I bought our Prime in Gladstone, Oregon. Every car on their lot had a second sticker with $795 added on. Totally worthless junk. I just said, "I'm not paying this." And, I didn't.

 

I cancelled an order at a dealer recently when I found out about their mandatory $800 vin-etch and fabric treatment BS. Re-ordered at another, and now more trusted dealer.