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Winebuff is the WO-MAN! How to find ur Pri...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by LTRAiN, Jun 12, 2009.

  1. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2009
    45
    0
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Another very helpful poster thedoglady pointed me to winebuff for advice.

    I'm in WA. state so I had until 8/1/09 to buy my prius to avoid having to pay sales tax ($2,800ish). I had a deposit at one dealer but after 3 weeks of hearing nothing from them I was starting to sweat it.

    Winebuff's advice simple but very effective. She said to email every dealer in whatever radius you were willing to drive to get your car. Specifiy exactly what you want. Do not do a deposit. (I would have done a deposit if a dealer had one not spoken for to hold it for me).

    So I did. I emailed every dealership in WA state. Got a bunch of responses that said "hey I can get that car for you by 8/1, just give me a deposit and I'll go to work for you". Then, a dealer (Heartland Toyota in Bremerton) emailed and said they just so happen to have my exact model on the ground and it wasn't spoken for. I said great, I'd be out the next day to try to make a deal on it. He said it would be there.

    Went the next day (yesterday) and bought it. Great transaction got an acceptable trade-in value, the car only had the rear bumper sticker...didnt even have floor mats! I was able to get the all weather ones for $100 after trying to get them for free of course (which are really nice BTW). They took $200 off the sticker during trade-in negotiations. Threw in a free service, a bucket of car wash stuff, and a few rounds of golf at gold mountain cause the sales manager and I got to talking about golf....hey now!

    Also I had planned to get whatever financing i needed thru penfed for 3.99% for 48 months. It was gonna be a hassle...penfed approves your loan app then sends you a blank check. the finance guy at the dealership said he could get me 3.74% thru one of their affiliated credit unions so i didnt have to worry about the blank check or any that business. I was very relieved.

    Black V with Nav. Very happy thru 1 day. Now to get those windows tinted a bit....:).
     
    #1 LTRAiN, Jun 12, 2009
  2. Gord

    Gord New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2009
    55
    4
    0
    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That's pretty good advice and nice work! Oh how I wish I could get low interest rates like that. I think the lowest I might be looking at here in the UK is 8-10% unless Toyota Finance offer me a really good deal. Knowing what banks are like in the UK they're going to want my first born and have me at the branch every Saturday in nipple clamps! I'm worried incase I might actually have to save up 10 grand then apply for a loan just to get a smaller rate =/

    That calling around all the dealers bit.. I think I might do that actually for all of the UK to see what I can get when it comes out. Here in the UK Toyota have been offering really good deals on the rest of their new models, but they haven't said anything about the Prius yet unfortunately!
     
    #2 Gord, Jun 12, 2009
  3. eglmainz

    eglmainz New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2009
    887
    141
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Congrats, You bought the same car as mine (except for Black vs. Blizzard). Way to go on the find, and I think that you may owe Winebuff a bottle of wine now... How about a Pinot Noir to match the car?
     
    #3 eglmainz, Jun 12, 2009
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