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Pulled the trigger today... UPDTE- CANCELLED ORDER

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by brentmeister, Oct 10, 2007.

  1. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    Dear Prius Chat Members;

    After much research, preparation and consideration; I placed an order today for a 2008 Prius (package 2) with no port or dealer added options @ 300 over invoice. I will be driving about five hours from my home to pick up the vehicle, since the local dealers would only sell units with all the port and dealer added options at MSRP. I have two questions where assistance is needed.

    1) I will need mats and would like to pre-order. Is there a consensus on the board about what mat to order for best fit and functionality? I would prefer a cloth or fabric mat compared to a rubber/vinyl product...

    2) I would like to trade-up to a better tire at Discount Tire. Is there a consensus on the board inregard to the best riding/handling tire with low roll resistance that I should consider for the trade?

    Any advice is greatly appreciated and I cannot wait to join the ranks of Prius Owners!!!

    Thanks in advance-
    Brent
     
  2. lonestarslp

    lonestarslp New Member

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  3. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lonestarslp @ Oct 10 2007, 10:04 PM) [snapback]523987[/snapback]</div>
    PM SENT
     
  4. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    Very bad news folks... I got the 'numbers' today and upon close inspection, I found some things that made take pause for concern.

    The invoice included $8 for a 'research charge'- the salesman tried to tell me this was to cover the customer satisfaction survey... You have got to be freaking kidding me...

    There was another $12 fuel charge.... Odd.....

    Then there was a $768 Advertising fee..... I don't even want to go here....

    So the quoted price of $300 over invoice was really more like $1000 over invoice. I can beat that here in the DFW area. So I told him to shove it.

    Then coincidentally, I was at the Texas State Fair today and stopped by the Toyota area in the car building. I just happened to meet the VP of customer relations Toyota USA region south and he was very interested in my story. I gave him a polite but firm ear full about the advertising fees, all the additional charges Gulf States Toyota puts on the vehicles at port and the extra-mile package rip-off's.... He was very understanding and very interested in my comments. He was already aware of the situation and he was concerned because Honda doesn't pull this shell game. He gave me the name of a fleet salesman at a local dealership that I am to call in the morning.... The game goes on.....

    Thanks for listening. This is very frustrating...
     
  5. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    You will be better off with a fleet salesman, or the internet salesman, over the guy "on the floor" at the local dealer.

    This is all for the best. Seriously. You will be SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY with your new Prius! :)
     
  6. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rae Vynn @ Oct 11 2007, 08:21 PM) [snapback]524346[/snapback]</div>
    I know that I will be happy, I have no doubt. What will ruin the buying experience is to get 'bait and switched' on the price I am going to pay. I know that these things cost money and that they are hot cars... But I just need to know that the price will be prior to closing the deal. If it is going to be invoice plus [x] that is fine - I'll get the best deal that I can and accept it. I don't want to agree on invoice plus [x] and then get to the finance guy and find out that it is actually invoice plus [x] plus about one thousand dollars in hidden charges.... That won't work with me.

    This experience is bordering on depressing..l..
     
  7. jonjonbear

    jonjonbear New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brentmeister @ Oct 11 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]524332[/snapback]</div>
    You know what else is a big rip off? Those "Eco-nomic savings" they make you think you are getting such a good deal on. When we ordered ours, we did the build your car online thing both ourselves and with the salesman. So we had a list of the prices of the packages. I told them no way on the extra mile ripoff stuff and that I didn't even want mats. Only upgrade other than package six was the XM radio..
    After ordering the car we noticed on the Toyota website that it showed that the '08's also were to have the discounts so we called our salesman and he said ours should have a 1750.00 discount. COOL! We thought..Well turns out the window sticker price matched what we had in our hand, even with the 1750.00 discount..They had marked up the package six to make up for the difference. Really pissed me off..But what to do, down here in Austin if you don't want it the next person in ten minutes will..Even said we don't regret buying the car..On our second tank and getting 49.1 mpg as of this morning..Love it..
    Just hate the "games they play" at the dealerships..Well, don't think it at the dealership level..The sticker came on the car..My guess is the problem is with the Gulf States region or maybe Toyota in General..Our sales guy was actually really nice..The car came equipped with mats even though we specifically said we didnt' want them so he got them for us for free..Not much but hey I will take em! They also let us do the paperwork days before the car got there so we could close the deal prior to Oct 1 to get the tax deal.



    John
     
  8. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I had 3 yards fighting for my money and discounting. Paid nearly $2000 under advertised price and that was drive away. All I paid over that was for the comprehensive insurance. They even filled it with petrol.
    Note, I bought mine used.
     
  9. DeadPhish

    DeadPhish Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonjonbear @ Oct 12 2007, 09:16 AM) [snapback]524545[/snapback]</div>

    Well you're a little late to the party that's all. For thr first 3 years that the Prius was out the full MSRP was anywhere from $500 to $2000 higher than the current prices. This past May Toyota started their 'eco-nomic' price reduction program by reducing the prices on the sticker.

    Unfortunately you misunderstood how the discount worked because it was not explained clearly when you took your test drive or your didn't ask the right questions while you were there. It's all very clearly stated on the sticker. Your current price is well below what the original buyer paid back in 04, 05 and 06.
     
  10. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    It's very easy to do all the negotiating by phone, email and fax. I initially contacted eight DFW dealers to get their ballpark prices and terms on my specific package, asked the three most reasonable to fax me their bids, asked the one I liked best to beat the best price and fax me the very contract I would be signing for the car, and only then went to the dealer to sign it. No fuss, no muss, no surprises. If they push dealer add-ons when you're on site, just smile and say "no" until they go away. You've got the money.

    For this and other useful buying advice consult the Consumer Reports' April car-buying issue in your friendly neighborhood library or online.
     
  11. rsauermann

    rsauermann New Member

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    I ordered mine at Toyota of Irving. Spoke w/ the guy who dealt primarily in the Prii and Scions. I had no probs w/ him. Car actually came in about a week ahead of schedule. It was a great experience for me that is why I don't mind sending more prospective buyers his way. If only I knew where his business card was. Anyways, I got my plates put on a few weeks ago, and they had 4 Prii on the lot.
     
  12. MarinJohn

    MarinJohn Senior Member

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    The posts in this thread illustrate how to do it right. Pan the dishonest dealers, make corporate complaints, praise and send business to dealers you were content with. While it may be that the dishonest dealerships will never even know that they have lost sales due to dishonest sales force, the honest dealers will profit and become more successful. It serves the owners of some dealerships right for hiring dishonest sales force. Too bad they don't know how many sales buyers walked away from, since the dishonest sales force will just chalk it up to lookie-loos if asked about why a customer walked.
     
  13. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    Well-

    I am confused... I called about a dozen dealerships in the DFW metroplex today, asked to speak to the fleet sales person and they connected me to some very nice folks.... Nice folks that all told me the same thing;

    1) They informed me that the $12 fuel, $8 research and the $624 advertising fees are all part of the invoice even though consumer reports and other web based research products say that it is not...

    Can anyone help me and tell me if this is true? Do I consider the advertising fee part of the invoice or not?

    Please dear GOD help me - I am about at wits end...... They are all telling me that they sell the car at $300 over invoice, but they include the $624 fee in the invoice.....

    Please help with information... I am really getting depressed about the whole issue. I don't mind paying the dealer a profit over the invoice - but I would really like to know exactly what is included in the invoice.

    Thanks in advance for any help! :(
     
  14. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brentmeister @ Oct 12 2007, 03:54 PM) [snapback]524882[/snapback]</div>
    Have you considered asking to see a copy of the factory invoice for the car? If there are fuel, research and advertising fee surcharges, then yes, those all go toward invoice price of the car. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see a surcharge for fuel given the price increases of diesel fuel. The further away you are from the port where the cars are offloaded, the more it is going to cost to transport the cars to their final dealer destination. This is probably the only time that being in California has worked for me - I had a 1 day turnaround from when the car was off-loaded to when it was at the dealer. Even domestic cars have involved a 1 - 2 week timeframe from when the car left the factory to when it showed up at the dealer.

    Don't get too caught up in trying to squeeze the last little bit of margin out of the deal. At some point, the dealer will not want to sell you the car. Edmunds.com has been pretty reliable for me as a reference point for what cars are selling for by ZIP Code. Try to get as close to the price point that Edmunds sets for your ZIP Code. If you can get lower, great; but don't draw a line in the sand (so-to-speak) unless you are willing to walk away without a car for your efforts.
     
  15. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brentmeister @ Oct 12 2007, 05:54 PM) [snapback]524882[/snapback]</div>
    I know Texas is a big state. But I'd consider negotiating with a dealer out of state, then flying out and driving my car back. Go with the internet manager and make sure you have a VIN number and the negotiated price in writing with no add ons in writing. Others have done it. See if you can track down what they did.

    From what I see Florida and Texas have the most 'corrupt' Toyota dealerships in the U.S. I would never buy a car in either of those states.
     
  16. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 12 2007, 09:33 PM) [snapback]524992[/snapback]</div>
    One reason to consider purchasing 'in-state' - Lemon Laws usually require the consumer to file in the state in which the car was first sold at retail. So, if one were to go to Florida for example, any Lemon Law action would need to be pursued in Florida. I am not saying the Prius is problematic; just something to keep in mind. Conversely, taking delivery in California gets additional coverage for the HSD components, since those bits are subject to California's 10 year/150,000 mile emissions system warranty requirement.
     
  17. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(apriusfan @ Oct 13 2007, 12:31 AM) [snapback]525011[/snapback]</div>
    My local dealership doesn't tack on anything extra. No extra port stuff you don't want. And they don't jack up the price over MSRP. They occasionally sell under but it's still hard to get a deal on a Prius. But you won't have to pay for the port options they stick on in Texas and Florida and they don't add stickers, decals or badges advertising themselves. They do put on a license plate frame with their name, but that's easily replaced.
     
  18. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 12 2007, 11:21 PM) [snapback]525025[/snapback]</div>
    I thought that the OP was referring to invoice as opposed to MSRP. $300 over invoice (even if invoice included $600-ish in fuel, research and advertising fees) is not bad (approx. $1,500 - $2,000 in savings depending on what factory options were on the car).

    If the price that was being charged was MSRP + $300, and MSRP included an additional $600 in fuel, research and advertising fees, that is a rip-off. That alone would justify the cost of a Southwest Airlines 1-way trip to S.F. to get a car (it would even be worth having to put up with the extra screening that the 1-way trip would get at the airport).

    Plus, if the car was purchased in California, there is the further benefit of the longer emissions control system warranty....
     
  19. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Ring dealer, ask price out the door ready for the road after all fees, when you find the best deal that's the dealer to go with. Don't bother with the dealers people on here have said are crap.
    The only number that matters to you is how much is coming out of your pocket.
     
  20. brentmeister

    brentmeister New Member

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    Thanks for all the advice and information. The price that I am working with is INVOICE.

    I am looking at a base with package 2 or 3. I will accept the $99 sealant package, but I don't want any other port or dealer added options. So hereis the breakdown that I have received:

    2008 base model $20,758
    Package 2 $518
    Paint/fab seal $99
    Research/pack $8
    Fuel Charge $12
    Advertising Fees $784
    Destination fees $680

    $22859 PLUS TTL

    I'm not real happy about the advertising fees, but I think I am ready to give in. My fuel savings will cover this in about seven months considering the amount of driving that I do...

    The only other option would be to head up to Oklahoma. If anyone knows of a dealership in the Southern Oklahoma area that is trustworthy, I would entertain going up there for the deal....

    Thanks again for all your help and advice, I really appreciate the guidance.

    Brent