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Toyota Prius Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

1195 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 1:00 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Prius, Car Buying, Hybrid Cars, Sedan

    

Messages Page 98 of 120

#967 of 1195 Bad Experience at Toyota of Orange by pqle

Jul 26, 2012 (8:12 am)

Go here if you want to get tricked with bait and switch tactics.
 
I was looking for 2012 Prius II, Blizzard Pearl, with dark gray interior. I saw an advertisement on OC Register for $21995, thought it was a great deal so I gave them a call. Spoke to Edward E. Reyes (aka Eddie). I asked if they would honor the advertisement and he said yes. Asked for an out the door price for the color and interior that I wanted and he gave me a price for under $24000. That was a great price so I gave him a visit.
 
When we sat down Eddie then gave me an out the door price of $25103. Still a good price but I asked him why the big difference in price compared to the price he gave me over the phone? He stated that he calculated tax, title, and registration incorrectly. This is a guy that has worked there for over 14 years; with that many years of experience you don't make these type of mistakes. He also stated that the color I wanted, blizzard pearl, is actually $22995 since it was in high demand and that I can get any other color for $21995; funny thing is that http://toyota.com states that it's only a $220 premium over any other color. I then asked if I can purchase one in black and without checking his inventory he stated that they did not have any in black. This is after him saying that they have the largest inventory of Prius of all of California.
 
I commented to Eddie that I felt I was getting the 'bait and switch' treatment and he went nuts. He catapulted out of his chair and started yelling at us. Saying something along the lines of "that is insulting, I never do that... I take that very personal." He even said "our business is done here... I think you should leave!" He was so loud I think people across the street heard him. Worst part is that he ran to the receptionist area ranting to all his colleagues like we committed some type of crime. Who yells at their customers, kicks them out, and accuses the customer of doing anything wrong? WTF!
 
Pissed that I just got verbally rapped by the salesman, I got up and left to Miller Toyota in Anaheim. Wow, what a difference in customer service. Dean and John were very nice and helpful. Without any haggling I got the same car for $40 dollars more. Not as good a deal but worth it.
 
Thanks Toyota of Orange for helping me staying away from your dealership forever!

#968 of 1195 Re: Bad Experience at Toyota of Orange [pqle] by kirstie_h HOST

Jul 26, 2012 (8:18 am)

Replying to: pqle (Jul 26, 2012 8:12 am)
Your review of your experience is more likely to be read by people in your area if you post it in our dealership reviews section: http://www.edmunds.com/dealer-reviews/

#969 of 1195 Re: Bad Experience at Toyota of Orange [pqle] by lesrosa

Jul 27, 2012 (12:16 am)

Replying to: pqle (Jul 26, 2012 8:12 am)
I encountered the exact experience with Momentum Toyota of Fairfield - kept raising the price and eventually to a crazy number, 3 hours before our appointment time. Very very unpleasant.

#970 of 1195 Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 by pageup

Jul 29, 2012 (1:51 pm)

I am using Carwoo to get some offers on a 2012 Prius 2 (I had several color choices, but the only one I am seeing offers on is the Blizzard Pearl which is OK). The problem is that several dealers have said that they are just over invoice or whatever, and one has told me that their invoice is just over $24k, however most of the sites I have seen say it is between $22560 and $23870:
 
Carsdirect = $23870 (probably includes $760 destination)
KBB = $23,515 (not sure if this includes $760 destination)
Edmunds = $22,560 (does not seem to add the $175 for special paint. Does not include $760 destination)
Truecar = $22,560 (does not include $760 destination)
 
One possible reason the invoice prices are so different could be the ad fee being added in to the invoice price (around $550). Does anyone know what the actual invoice price is for the 2012 two without the destination or ad fees (with or without the special paint)?

#971 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [pageup] by pageup

Jul 29, 2012 (5:11 pm)

Replying to: pageup (Jul 29, 2012 1:51 pm)
I will answer my own question, it is $22560.
 
There must be some incentives out there since John Elway is selling the two for $21388.

#972 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [pageup] by yepigotaprius

Jul 30, 2012 (6:43 pm)

Replying to: pageup (Jul 29, 2012 5:11 pm)
I just purchased a 2012 Prius Two for $20,999 plus TTL. Hate to sound like an adverstisement but I'd been doing research and emailing dealers for 4 weeks, and happy to have my new car and I want to share the info. Had to drive 4.5 hours to get it (I did a one-way car rental to the airport and used a taxi back to the dealer), but totally worth it to get California prices on the east coast! Maguire Toyota in Ithaca, NY is the one to go to. Salesperson was great, and he moves a lot of Prii. They have the Prius Three for 21, 999. No B.S., no gimmicks, no funny stuff. Amazing. I had another dealer tell me that there was NO WAY that I was getting my car for that price. Well, she is in my driveway and what a beauty. I got 59 mpg on drive home (salesperson even synced my phone for me so that I could call everyone to tell them). Worth the drive, and Maguire got me an insanely low auto loan rate. Can you tell I'm happy?

#973 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [yepigotaprius] by pageup

Jul 30, 2012 (8:31 pm)

Replying to: yepigotaprius (Jul 30, 2012 6:43 pm)
That's a great price, thanks for posting. I am trying to get close to that, but the best I have so far is $22213 plus the $760 destination and the TDA fee of $437. Needless to say I am not happy with that so I am still trying to find a better deal. Does your $20999 price include those fees as well (if so that would go from a great deal to a smoking deal)?
 
I am pretty sure there is some greater than normal pressure on moving these, but I am not sure how dealers are selling these below invoice. Except that the "invoice" they show is not their real invoice anyway so I am guessing that the price paid is really below $22560 anyway. I also looked at the sales data from Toyota and found that the Prius sales have fallen about 1/3rd since March (to June) while gas prices are down about 10% since then.
 
My opinion is that the Prius is a pretty unexciting car that gets sexier as gas prices go up, and the opposite is also true The same could be said for many of the Toyota line up though. I could care less about those things though, the Prius seems to be a good fit for me.

#974 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [pageup] by yepigotaprius

Jul 31, 2012 (6:05 am)

Replying to: pageup (Jul 30, 2012 8:31 pm)
Hi pageup,
 
Yes, the $20,999 was the total price. There were no additional fees. I was shocked because the lowest quote that I could find (before Maguire Toyota) was this: $21,899 plus $389 dealer fee plus $750 destination fee. AND that dealer told me that there was no way that I could get a 2012 Prius Two for $20,999. I did end up spending a little over $200 in my transportation costs (plus 4.5 hours driving each way). But I'm also going to save about $150 on taxes in my state registration (I'm registering it tomorrow). Ithaca seemed like a cool college town, not that I was there long. I have no idea about sales numbers, I really bought the Prius for the MPGs, but now, I think the car is pretty exciting. Even the base model has outstanding features.

#975 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [yepigotaprius] by pageup

Jul 31, 2012 (6:49 am)

Replying to: yepigotaprius (Jul 31, 2012 6:05 am)
The Prius is a great car, no doubt. I think most buyers however tend to buy a car they fall in love with at first sight and (IMO) the Prius is kind of like the smart girl you have to get to know for her looks and her mind
 
Thanks for verifying the details too, it is really good to know that there are dealers who can sell it for $21k and still make it work out for both parties. Do you think they may have made up some of the ground on price through financing? If that is the case I may need to re-think my financing and at least let the dealer try to shop it.
 
All the offers I have so far are without dealer financing or a trade. With the fees rolled in, the best price I have been offered here so far is around $23k (not including any options or paint). When I put $22k out there as a counter to several dealers I was flat out told to have a nice day, but I have not been shopping for 4 weeks like you have, probably a week now.

#976 of 1195 Re: Invoice price question for the 2012 Prius 2 [pageup] by yepigotaprius

Jul 31, 2012 (7:12 am)

Replying to: pageup (Jul 31, 2012 6:49 am)
My APR was 2.04 (Maguire got me the rate, it was lower than what I had from my bank). I'm not sure if they could make much money off of that financing. Even though I was looking for 4 weeks, I was getting the same responses from dealers as you are... they would not go below $23k (and I cast a wide net....between Virginia and Massachusetts...so I had at least one or two dealers in each state who were emailing and calling.) When I was there buying my car, there was a Prius being shipped to Chicago because the buyer was still saving money somehow. I think they are able to do very low prices because they must be doing high volume. [But all of the dealerships that I was in contact with are high volume, so I don't know why the difference in the sales approach.]

Messages Page 98 of 120

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