Thread for All Confirmed Prices.

Test drove a Prime yesterday and it felt so small compared to my 2010 Prius. The boot space seemed to be very less and non-availability of a spare tire was a big let-down. Can someone who has bought a Prime let me know what is the advantage of buying this car over the regular Prius? I am aware of the federal credit but the price of a regular prius seems to be almost the same or a little bit more than the Prime after all the rebates and the federal credits

 

One big advantage over the regular is that you don't have to ever, or very very rarely buy gas if your lifestyle permits.

 

During the week- yes I can make use of the charging stations at my work place but during weekends I usually go on long road trips and will not be using the electric mode that much. So will probably be spending the same or a little less on gas compared to the regular Prius. Anyway my biggest gripe is the missing spare tire. It was a life saver for me with my Prius 2010 on atleast 3-4 trips where one of my tires blew out. Wondering how much it would cost to buy a spare tire for the Prime?

 

Best way to compare options on a Prime is to get a copy of the Prime Brochure, either online or from a dealer. There's just WAY too much stuff to deal with, even with the brochure, but at least you can look at the model you're considering and see what it offers. That's why I went with the Advanced.

.

 

Prius_111_2,
If you are going to purchase any other product will depend upon individual value and life style. I too had 2010 Gen3 trim III, there are several inconveniences when comparing Gen3 vs Gen4 vs Prime as you stated, but for me was that prime will be my own personal car (not for my better half driving/using and/or having small children in it causing who knows what they will do, but they have Prius v for whatever occasion), overall pricing lower compared Gen4 trim 4, and I wanted to try new Prius model vehicle (previously had 2006 Prius, 2010 Prius and currently 2015 Prius v and 2017 Prime Advance). Also I accounted to whatever fixes (not planned maintenance such tire rotation, fluid and filter) I was going to spend towards the new purchase financial calculation. You going to ask me what is/are whatever fixes, well if you look at the Gen3 threads you will find many such as door latch, or oil burning or ... I did not have any issues on 2010 Gen3, but was another input into purchasing new vehicle. My experience in regards fuel consumption savings, I drove Prime from Portland Maine to Houston Texas without charged EV battery and I averaged 54.3 miles per gallon using fuel used not stated in the LCD screen, I think Gen4 will be similar to my average miles per gallon, and definitely Gen3 will not be similar to Gen4 or Prime.
May be Prime may not be suited for your life style, purchase a vehicle that conforms to your value requirement(s) and expected desire(s).

 

What I meant was for the poster who said they got quoted 23,9xx for the Plus, what options came with that quote.

 

I'm at the dealership signing papers for my Plus. Picking the car up next week. Found a paint nick on the front bumper and a small dent above the passenger door.

I told them it should be perfect and the bus mgr said they'll make it right.... How does dealership handle this situation? How do I make sure they fix the defects?

 

How close, both distance and socially to the dealer reps? If the car has ding/dents you might think about:
1) getting another car
2) taking a substantial amount of money off price ($500+)
3) having dealer fix, plus give you discount, and WRITTEN lifetime warranty on the repairs
Remember this is a NEW car, your baby that you will own for several years....
Good luck!

.

 

Thanks. Good tip. They haven't presented me with options yet. They noted these defects on a paper. How should I make sure this doesn't get swiped under the rug after I hand over the money.

 

You can try to discount, but depending the amount discount you want, your dealer might not sell or they may get you another one. Good thing you inspected the vehicle, I suggest you inspect well get as much imperfections to be fixed.
I suggest you get window tint instead of discount

 

I would not give any money until fixed and as @HPrimeAdvanced said Written warranty and discount. A brand new car should be in "brand new condition". Best of luck!

 

Dealer mgr said they can fix the 2 defects. I would have to come back to get it fixed. Rental car provided. I'm withholding a few grand until I see the finished work

Unfortunately I have to pay something today towards the car in order to make sure I get the 2500 rebate that expires tomorrow. Manager just left but should be getting back to me tomorrow to give me what options I have if the repair turns out to be unsatisfactory.

I was going to sell my own car over the weekend and pickup this new Plus right after. But I just got an ok from my buyer to postpone. So I plan to tell the Mgr that I'll wait for the completed repair before taking delivery so I can inspect the work.

Great advice about written lifetime warranty. I've had a repair job on my bumper before by a dealership and the paint started peeling off a few years later

 

You shouldn't pay for the car or take delivery until it is the car you want. Although if you have to put something down now to get the rebate that is understandable. They are going to have to fix the dings and scratches anyway whether you buy it or not. Dings and scratches are a regular occurrence during shipment of new cars, there are even bodyshops located at the port of entry just for that reason. I heard they used to have a problem with sparks from train wheels burning small holes in the paint of cars being delivered but I think they finally solved that. As far as I know in most states unless the car was structurally damaged they don't have to tell you about previous minor repairs on a new car unless you ask them. But if something was missed, or repaired and you can still see it (paint doesn't match etc) you can insist that it be made new before you purchase it. I wouldn't accept any promises, even in writing that you can bring it back later and they will fix it, because you have no guarantee they will fix and paint it to your liking. I recommend make them fix it before you will accept the car.

 

Thanks. That's what I now plan to do - take delivery after the repair instead of before. In case it isn't fixed correctly, at least they have to keep trying. What is reasonable to ask for to compensate for this inconvenience- tinted window mentioned before would be nice but is it reasonable given what you said, that this happens quite often. Only diff is they should have seen and fixed it before the customer is about to take delivery. I

 

If they fix it I doubt if they would feel obligated to compensate you for any inconvenience. But it sure doesn't hurt to give it a try! Maybe at least try and get them to give you a full tank of gas, nowadays that would be considered a minor victory. Also now is a good time to ask them to disable the backup beeper to avoid the hassle of bringing it back later or waiting until your first service. Unless you prefer to keep the backup beeping, but even after they disable it it will still beep when you first put it into reverse, which for my sanity is plenty. On previous models you could disable it yourself but from what I understand with Gen 4 and Prime it has to be done by the dealer.

If your weekend trips have any long downhill sections the larger battery on the Prime will be able to store much more regenerated electricity than the regular Gen 4 battery. Also you could switch to HV fairly early in your trip while you still have EV miles remaining, and use those EV miles for any short trips at your weekend destination that you might make, could avoid having the engine go through warm up cycle just for a quick trip to Starbucks or whatever. Unless you will be camping and the car will be sitting idle the entire weekend. And there is also Charge Mode where you can use the gasoline engine to recharge the EV battery, although based on comments from the experts here, that gets into some fairly advanced strategy and may have limited benefit.

 

Thanks for the tip about disabling the annoying backup beeping.

Are any of the extra warranty options that the Finance Mgr tried to sell when signing papers worth getting?

1- some sort of 7 yr warranty that covers what the std warranty doesn't ($1500 - likely not.)
2- tire & wheel Insurance for 7 yr, covers alignment, tie rod end, etc type damage and rental car ($550 - I'm tempted but too expensive)
3- dent repair for 7 yrs ($550- not interested)
4- Glass Coat - some ceramic spray that protects inside and outside the car with 7 yr warranty ($550 - sounds like a gimmick)

I asked about getting #2 for $200 but was shot down. Gave me a deal to buy #2+3 both for $550 Which I said no

I plan to drive about 3000 miles a year. I'm a careful driver.

 

no. they are all a scam. but it depends on your personal feelings about insurance. some people take great comfort in having as much protection as possible, so it's worth it to them.

 

Bisco is on the money; all those "insurance/protection" packages are scams that dealers use to grow their profit margin. Couple things to remember: you are getting a huge discount on this car; we get nothing like it in Socal. Bodyshops can be butchershops, so be VERY careful here.
A WRITTEN lifetime warranty on this bodywork is a must. It will all boil down to trust between you and your dealer/rep. Do you know them; are they well regarded in your community? If at all possible, get another car. This is advice I would give myself or my kids. Did you see the damage or did dealer volunteer the info; this is important to defining the dealer's integrity. The one item that bothers me the most, is the door dent. To do it right, they'll have to repaint the entire door and even then, in 2 or 3 years it may fade at a different rate than the original paint. That's why you need a lifetime warranty on the repairs.


.

 

Thanks!. I refused all those options and simply said there's no money in the bank. After that the Finance Mgr finally gave up and moved on.

What you said about the paint not matching down the road concerns me. I had a repair done before to my current car to repair and repaint the entire bumper at a dealership, and the new paint came off in chunks after a few years. So I will demand lifetime warranty like you mentioned.

I found those nicks myself. The car was picked up and drove over from another dealership by the salesperson a day ago. It could've been damaged already on the other dealer's lot. No idea whether it is standard procedure for someone in this dealership to have inspected it either before accepting the car or when it arrived. Thinking back, I had to insist a few times for them to tell me what my options are if the repair isn't to my satisfaction. They kept saying don't worry, it'll be fixed right. That's when I said I'll withhold part of the payment until I hear how this will be handled from the Dealership manager - it was late, he had gone home already.

Btw, the drive took 30 miles to get the car to this dealership, but the odo had 140 miles on it. Which means it was used for a lot of test drives (100+ miles).

 

. Me too - It is a small dent- maybe a quarter inch- on the narrow panel above the doors, right in the middle between the front and rear door. Is it possible to do paintless dent repair (the stuff they tried to sell me)?

As for the nick on the bumper, they said it will get buffed out to make it smooth and they feather the paint and won't be noticeable. Again, I'm concern will the paint job last the same way as the original.