What Price Are you being quoted by the Dealer?

Us dealers have our own lingo. If a salesman says, "sticker", what we really mean is MSRP. Honestly, if any dealers add "addendums" like rustproofing, alarms, window tint, etc., walk away from them. Now they are just gouging on the price.

Honestly, with every dealer saying MSRP, $250 off, $500 off, etc, I wonder what they will do when we actually see the invoice. Nobody knows what the exact cost of the car will be yet, just the "sticker" price. What if Toyota priced this car like a yaris and it only has $500 worth of markup?? That is why most dealers are saying MSRP until we know the real margin on the car.
And if anyone has a problem being able to buy the car at MSRP without dealer add-ons, let me know. I'll get the car for you and even pick you up at the airport when it comes in.

That is a joke of course...

 

My dealer told me MSRP but on the slip for the order they had nitrogen filled tires. This was a 49 or 69 Dollar fee. I tol him I dno't want the nitrogenfilled tires. A tire dealer told me it is not worth the money you pay for it.

Jabber the dealer in the south suburbs of chicago I am dealing with seems pretty good. After all I have been shopping for two years. I was ready to buy a prius a while ago when I read that the 2010 would be a model change. Then I told him I would probably wait for the 2010. I put down a preference with him last night for a package IV with sunroof.

 

There are a few dealers on the south side that are decent. I know of one that I wouldn't step foot in. It is in an automall. I won't say the dealeship name though as I used to work for their sister store and I may be personally jaded.

Nitrogen tires are the biggest joke in service departments right now. I'm sure they have some beneficial aspect as the nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen, so they won't leak as much, but we are still talking about MOLECULES. To charge extra for it when you buy it, plus extra when you fill up your tires, or at the very least guarantee that you will be going back to them for service because they are the only ones to offer it in your area is ridiculous. When the local Nitrogen guy was here trying to sell us his service, my service director threw them out. Even he is against such a practice.

 

Hi everyone, this is my first post here on the boards. I've been a reader for awhile now after I decided to buy the 2010. This is also the first car I will ever buy, so I'm a little new to the process. I live in the Atlanta area, and have emailed several dealers trying to hammer down a price. So far, no one has been willing to commit, even to MSRP. I understand the dealer doesn't know their cost for the 2010 yet, but I've noticed several of you have already negotiated a deal and wanted to know if there was anything special I needed to do. Is it better to call than email? Do I need to speak a manager or someone other than the Internet sales rep? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Reid

 

Thanks Jabber. I was pretty adament that I would not pay for nitrogen filled tires and with your input my feelings are more solid. The dealer I am dealing with is not in an auto mall. To not advertise and violate any rules I am not saying which dealer it is. My neighbor's kid, who grew up with my kid works in their service department as a mechanic.

 

Regardless of the self serving hype...Prius and all other hybrids are a very tough sell right now with the price of gas being "low". This should be an excellent time to buy an '09 or '10 model Prius and I'll bet a savvy buyer can negotiate a deal well under MSRP at some dealers. The price of used hybrids, such as my wife's '07 Pkg 5 Prius has fallen much quicker than expected...also due to the presently percieved "low' gas prices. The dealers in much of the country will be scrambling for awhile trying to reduce hybrid inventories I'll betcha!

 

I would DEFINITELY go in to the dealership. In my experience, you aren't serious enough if you are just emailing or calling. But if you walk in, they know you want to buy something. Also, there is usually one or two people who are "specialists" or prius pros and then you get a lot more information than you would with the "call them back" person. does that make sense?
I went in months ago to look at 09 and found priuschat and decided to wait for the 10. So my salesman knew I was serious and willing to buy so they made sure I got a good quote "no more than MSRP" and put me on the wait list.
Also, if you dont' have a prius already, it's probably a good idea to test drive the 09 just to get a feel.
~Lauren

 

With all due respect Lauren, I kind of disagree.

By "locking into" one dealer, what do you really gain? Getting it one month early? Gas prices aren't going up anywhere fast enough, and most people will probably end up buying 2009's on the cheap vs a new 2010, so I don't know, is there even *that* long of a waiting list?

And honestly, dealers should have to grab YOUR attention, not the other way around! Get a bunch of quotes, then call them again and tell them the best offer to beat. Use edmunds, carsdirect, and these boards to get an idea what other people paid.

Trade-in values & Interest Rates are two big things you need to figure out too...and walk away if they don't offer you good deals on those (even after you decide on a "price" for the Prius.

I guess if you really need the Prius ASAP, then so be it...but I can wait it out a few months until the demand dies down a bit. If I can save $1000, that's 200 lunches at work!

Anybody have any clue how long these "lists" are anyways?

 

My quote shows $50 for doc fees and $991 for advertising fees. OUCH! Definitely takes a bit of the sugar out of the discount! Still a good deal, but even better deals might be had later, after the inventory builds up.

I'll probably pull the trigger now, just because it makes the buying process, and getting one's specified car and color, so easy and convenient.

 

I would tell them that I am not paying advertising on a car that will not even sit on their lot for a day. You are ordering it before they get it, and should not have to pay advertising fees for it, IMHO...

But then, that may just be because I am cheap.

 

I wish I could get away with that.. Hey EGL, I'll give you $1,000 off MSRP on your 2010. My fees are $151 Doc, $80 to transfer plates. BTW, my standard gratuity is 15%. I'll add that after taxes so it will save you money! Just call me with your credit card deposit. It should be illegal as most cars have advertising built into the cost. You are getting whacked twice for it.

 

Unfortunately, I'm locked to my initial dealer pick to get the deal. Would be interesting to know if the ad fee was set by the regional distributor (Gulf States Toyota), the dealer, or both.

 

My quote came back with over $1000 in added "fees" tacked onto the prius priority price. Personally, I'm extremely disappointed with the prius priority team for setting up a deal that turned out not to be. Exactly what "advertising" should I pay $750 to cover? And what exactly was the other $300 in addition to the other $150 documents fee? The last time I bought a car, my current prius, I paid 1000 over invoice plus the registration fee. That's it.

It kind of figures. I sent them an e-mail asking about this kind of thing back in January and received a non-answer. I should've known that the answer would be "no, there's nothing we can do to stop the dealers for marking the car up anyway".

The good news is somebody else gets a car.

 

WOW advertising fees. The last time I saw a dealer do that to buyers was when the Chrysler Crossfire came out. I am sure Chrysler would love to turn back the clocks to those days when ripping off the customers was second nature. I wonder why they went bankrupt ?????? If a dealer told me there were advertising fees, I would walk out. He should be paying you for advertising one of the first 2010 Prius in the country that was bought at his dealership.

 

Given the nature of the priority program, the fees may be the only profit the dealer is making on the car, in which case, it's sort of understandable. Holdbacks, etc., may not apply, and the distributor has to make something on the deal, too.

I still appreciate the opportunity to participate in the program. Thanks, Toyota! :cheer2:

However, I'm still pondering whether to buy later and downgrade to a IV with Nav (from a V with AT).

 

Considering that the dealer has done nothing to make a sale, no. $1000 for the dealer is not in the least understandable.

 

I signed a purchase contract on a 2010 two days ago. 13th on the "list" in a Madison, WI dealership. That seems like a short list. Prius II with no options. Price 22,000 + 750 delivery + 125 "service fee" = 22,875. Delivery before August 31. Kept option to apply $500 deposit to a 2009 Prius if the incentives improve. I have buyers remorse- thinking with only 13 on the list there will be incentives on the 2010s by late fall. I am still hoping for a really good deal on a 2009. At the base package there's just not enough difference (on paper) between the 09 and the 10 to pass up a great deal on an 09. Will we see $19,000 on 09?

 

Just a week or so back, there was a dealer in Chicago that had 62 09's and was offering any of them for invoice price, ads on local TV. I honestly don't remember which dealer, but if you want a deal on an 09, get an online quote using your real name/e:mail but a Chicago zipcode (so it "looks" at those dealers). I suspect you might get a screaming good deal.