[Prius Fan]

I made a $500 deposit for a Prius in November (#55 on the list) and have been waiting patiently ever since. Our dealer would call the person at the top of the list when a car came in, tell that person the color, pkg #, etc. and if that person did not want it, he would move on to the next person on the list. Finally, my number is up. My dealer called me today saying he had two cars coming in tomorrow. . . a silver #6 and a seaside #7. I'll probably go with the #6, but I'm curious about the prices. He said the #6 would be $26,600 and the #7 $28,100 and I'm wondering how these prices sound to other North Carolina Prius purchasers?? Both cars, by the way, have leather seats and 17" wheels. Many thanks for any comments.

 

[jfschultz]

I made a $500 deposit for a Prius in November (#55 on the list) and have been waiting patiently ever since. Our dealer would call the person at the top of the list when a car came in, tell that person the color, pkg #, etc. and if that person did not want it, he would move on to the next person on the list. Finally, my number is up. My dealer called me today saying he had two cars coming in tomorrow. . . a silver #6 and a seaside #7. I'll probably go with the #6, but I'm curious about the prices. He said the #6 would be $26,600 and the #7 $28,100 and I'm wondering how these prices sound to other North Carolina Prius purchasers?? Both cars, by the way, have leather seats and 17" wheels. Many thanks for any comments.

At first glance I would say the price is way out of line, but then you mentioned the leather seats and 17" wheels. Both of these are non-standard items that are dealer add-ons.

You can go the the Toyota web site to figure out the MSRP price of your car. The difference is your cost of the leather seats and 17" wheels. At that point it is your call whether these items are worth the extra K dollars. (The MSRP for a fully loaded, package 9, Prius is something like 26,300 and package 6 and 7 are 3 to 4 thousand less.)

 

[scilady]

Where are you in NC? What determines the allotment received by dealerships?

 

[scilady]

Where are you in NC? What determines the allotment received by dealerships?

 

[Wolfpack]

Prius Fan,

I too am in NC and looked at the surrounding dealers to see where you are getting your Prius. I found the dealer at looked at the cars you talked about. The price is extremely high for a Prius with normal options. However these two cars do not have the standard options. Those 17" wheels add $1,500 to the price with the leather seats adding $1,300. The real kicker is that stupid Toyoguard crap that they "add" on. It has a lot of useless features that add another $620 to the price, basically it is undercoating and VIN etched windows. Invoice price for the Toyoguard is only $160 so the dealer makes $460 right there. It appears that this dealer has ordered all of their cars with this option, I wonder why? :roll: My advice to you is to decide wether you like the look of 17" inch wheels on the car before you buy it. I have also read through these message boards that variance in the wheels and tire pressures really make a difference in MPG. Adding anything other than what was tested for EPA might negatively affect the MPG you see. I am not trying to scare you but I just want to pass on that info to you. As for the allocation to the dealers, I have heard that is is based on cars sold by that dealer, both previous prius and all Toyota models. I hope to see you in your Prius soon!!!

 

[wizardbill]

That's way too much

26,000 or 28,000 is way too much to pay for a Prius. Way too much. You are dealing with a rip-off dealer and unless you want to get ripped off, I would go elsewhere.

The Prius is a nice car, and has cool technology, but interior feature wise, it is just OK, nothing special really. For instance, it is not nearly as nice as a VW Beetle. Get's better milage for sure, and I'm intending to trade one for the other, but sit in each one. As you sit in the Prius, notice the absence of woven cloth seats, notice the ca-ca brown interior color, notice the way the seats don't adjust for height, notice the abscence of a telescoping stearing wheel and how the wheel tilt is miniscule.

The Prius is a nice car, it gets great fuel milage, but all of these features are missing. Then consider that the MSRP of a Prius is about 22,000 anyway (or about 4,000 more than the VW that you should compare it to) and then maybe ask the dealer to explain to you how you aren't getting ripped off? He'll tell you that it doesn't matter, he intends to wait for the next (person with money to burn) to come along, there is always another one...

 

[Prius Fan]

Many thanks, Wolfpack (my second favorite basketball team) and Wizardbill, for your thoughtful responses to my question. I was especially interested in the fact that the 17" wheels might negatively affect the MPG. Unfortunately (maybe), your messages arried too late to keep me from purchasing my snazzy silver Prius. I don't have money to burn, but I can make choices about how I spend my money. I am retired and (kind of) elderly, so this may be the last car I buy. I've been driving a 95 Volvo station wagon for six years and am tired of the high costs of maintaining it. Call me impulsive, but I've been waiting five months for a Prius and especially wanted one with side air bags because my grandchildren like to ride with me.
Looking back, I wish I had asked my question several months earlier. .. then perhaps someone would have given me the name of a dealer who would not have ripped me off (who knows of one?? or more?). And perhaps I would have been more rational about the particular options (if I had a choice).
Looking forward, I'm happy as can be with this jewel of a car and glad I can buy regular gas again, get better gas mileage than I've been getting, and be free of repair bills for a few years.

 

[Wolfpack]

Prius Fan,

Congrats on your new car!!! Have a great time with it :mrgreen:

 

[durhamNC]

Prius prices in Durham

Since I got on the list (April) I've been following the list via the "Inventory" access on the web. The cars at my dealership have almost always had the max of "dealer add-ons" -> 17" wheels, undercoats, etc..usually to the tune of a $4k markup. I decided to call around and get on some other waiting lists.

I talked to some other dealers, and the waits are equally as long, but they assured me that that would not load up the cars with dealer add-ons. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Has anyone bought a Prius from Durham Toyota that wasn't loaded with add-ons?

DurhamNC

 

[oldfox]

I got my Salsa Rewd on 15 Dec First one in this area (Hendersonville). Basic no rear wiper pkg. Port added options included Mats, Toyoguard, 6 in-dash cd changer and Homelink. I had no choice except to accept it or pass.
My understanding of the SE Region is the cars come into Jacksonville, FL which is our port of entry and Jacksonville adds whatever they want. The fellow who owns the place paid , at that time, big $$ so is just getting his $$ back plus a lot more. Other regions do not work this way i.e. customer can order what they want on the car.

 

[durhamNC]

Itemized dealer add-ons!!

Okay, here is a list of all the dealer add-ons that toyota of durham is currently putting on the their inventory. I do want a Prius, but I think this is a bit much. As a result of this, I've put myself on some additional waiting lists out of town.

Any comments? Am I overreacting? I don't even know what "Carbon fiber appearance dash" is, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to pay $279 for it.

Total options and add-on $6,662!!

Toyoguard Protection Group-XY40 $619
Carpet Mats And Trunk Mat-PV50 $209
Splashguards-MG10 $89
Window Tint-TW50 $259
Package #6 Includes: Rear Int $1280
6-Disc CD Player-RD70 $599
Self-Dimming Mirror w/Homelink-CM50 $299
17" EFPC Wheel w/Pirelli Tires-WB70 $1,499
Leather Faced Seats w/Side Airbags-LA80 $1,298
Spyder Style Cargo Net-PC90 $69
Carbon Fiber Appearance Dash - Prius-DF10 $279


Source:
http://home.toyotaofdurham.com/frameset ... cle_search

 

[Wolfpack]

durhamNC,

I too think that this is insane! I feel bad if you are their waiting list because you could not have had any idea that they would jack up the prices like this. Basically they are selling the cars over MSRP the legitimate way instead of just asking more for the car like some dealers. I have no idea what the carbon fiber dash is. I posed that question on another Prius board and it got a lot of looks but no responses. The worst thing to me is that stupid Toyoguard charge. Msrp is $619 or $699 but invoice is like $159. I have not seen any other area dealerships have this on their Prius. Right now we are on Leith's list and have been statisfied with how things have gone so far. Leith has been getting about 3-4 cars in the last couple of months through dealer allocation and through dealer swaps, so we have been steadily moving up. I am not sure what they are estimating now for delivery. Their cars have only come with floormats and the package number, not leather, Toyoguard, 17" wheels, etc. I hope that you have better luck elsewhere than with Toyota of Durham.

Wolfpack

 

[mrv]

MSRP on these port options:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/200 ... ssage/5665

carpet mat set: PPO CF = $184

don't know what a rear int. is, but an Option Package #6 BI is $1280 over the Prius' base MSRP of $20810. http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2004/prius/options.html

added 6CD changer (gives you 7 CDs total): PPO P6 = $589

added autodimming mirror with Homelink: PPO N1 = $265

cargo net: PPO GN = $49

 

[snlcross]

Toyota of Durham

http://www.buyatoyota.com indicates that they have 2 available, will receive two more tomorrow, and one more on 6/10

 

[WaitingforPrius]

Toyota of Durham - ERRRRRR!!!

I ordered a Priuis on December 31, 2003. Needless to say, I still haven't gotten it. But my neighbor, who ordered hers five weeks later, got hers a week ago! Yeah I'm mad!

Toyota of Durham is engaging in bait-and-switch tactics. They're ordering all of their Priuss with "port options" like leather seats, wheels, all of the stuff listed above. I told them I didn't want that, so now I may never get a car.

I'm going down there tomorrow to complain, and then plan on filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Toyota USA, and anyone else who will listen.

 

[Wolfpack]

Waiting,

I feel your pain. I think it is stupid what they are doing with the port added packages. I can tell you that we just got our Silver #9 from Leith and couldn't be happier. They were honest, didn't charge over MSRP, and don't stock their cars with crap (ours came with floormats, that's it). I don't know what their list is like now but they seem to be plowing through it at the rate of about 2-4 a month. Hope that helps and I hope you get your non-loaded Prius soon.

Wolfpack

 

[cfwegman]

bought mine at Rices in Greensboro, NC. No added charges or premiums or non-Toyota options, $500 deposit applied to sticker price, no hype about added option packages, (Rices puts the toyota guard option on every car they bring on the lot) Ordered Black option level 9. Told it would be 4-6 months, car arrived in 3. I'm very pleased with Rices. PS get the GPS system, its great!!!! The wife didn't want to spring for it but now she uses it about every day.

 

[toyotrever]

The costs of most dealership Prius' in the area are alot higher than MSRP due to something on the sticker called "ADM" or additional dealer markup. This happens at alot of dealers depending on the vehicle sold. The new Solara convertable is a prime example of this. Hard to get cars will generate more revenue for the dealer because people want them and will pay for them. Not all dealers in the NC area are like this however. Here at Toyota West in Statesville, we do sell the prius for MSRP, but only the one on the Mullroney sticker. If you see anything other than this sticker, you are padding the dealers pocket. Our waitinf list for the prius has only about 8 people on it, with 1-2 being delivered a month. We do have the added benefit of a standard 10yr 100,000 mile power train warranty than is at no cost to the customer. If i can be of assistance to any of your Prius or Toyota in general questions, feel free to give me a call at the lot.

Trever
704-872-2771

 

[WaitingforPrius]

I finally gave in...

...I took my name off the list at Toyota of Durham. I just didn't see myself advancing quickly on the list given that Doug (a crook) is "bringing them in heavy," ie. loading them with thousands of dollars of ridiculous, high margin options. He tried to talk his way out of it when I confronted him yesterday about it, but they know what time it is, and hey, they've got 100 people on their list. Someone will buy it no matter what's on it.

And I called around, found a dealer in West Virginia who will have the a #7 in silver, what I wanted, in two weeks. The cost? MSRP + $1000. It's worth it. (If I don't like it, well, just look at what they're going for used with 10000 miles!)

Had I been a little bit smarter, I would have shopped around in December. I'd already be in a Prius. But I got taken in by the crooks at Toyota of Durham who promised me their allocations were higher. I was originally told 6-8 weeks. It's been six months, and I pretty much stopped advancing once I told them I wouldn't put up with their bait-and-switch bull****.

Oh well if everything goes according to plan, I will be in my Prius by July 15.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[durhamNC]

I'm off the Durham list as well...

Based on what I've seen on their web inventory, I was thoroughly fed up with the 17" wheels, carbon fiber dash, etc. I was in the 70 range on the list, so hopefully I help someone get their Prius faster. I just couldn't give those people my money.

I'm still on a few other small town lists, but I feel like I've taken a step back.

DurhamNC