[tp]

Hi-
we found out Mass. has package 4's... any recommended dealers? We're looking at Dartmouth...

 

[Ct. Ken V]

Hi, tp,

Just whereabouts are you located anyway? I live in Connecticut, & that's what I had to do last year to get my '05 pkg #4.

I highly recommend Balise Toyota in W.Springfield, Mass. (I don't have a phone # handy & I'm on the way to bed now). They also have a huge Chevy dealership in Springfield, so be sure you ask Information for the TOYOTA dealership's # in WEST Springfield (it's in the 413 area code).

When you call I also highly recommend you ask for Frank Goodyear. He knows the Prius inside out & is a great person. He's also their inventory manager & he'll work the computer hard to find you the inter/exter color combination & pkg # you want (with or without certain port installed options as long as you tell him right away which ones you'll accept).

I wouldn't deal with anybody else but him, but do be warned that he is always very busy & sometimes out of the dealership for train'g seminars, etc. & even some out of state deliveries (but don't tell him that I told you that). If he is out when you try, then DO leave him a voice mail & tell him that you want to buy a Prius from him & that Ken in Bolton,Ct. sent you.

Good luck & keep us posted. It shouldn't really take too long. My 1st dealer tried (half-heartedly, though) for 6 months with no luck, then when I went to Balise & talked to Frank, he got me my EXACT car (with only the port installed options I wanted) in only 6 weeks time.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

[hyperion]

Dartmouth dealer is mine and would be very hard to beat for just about anything. Great service dept., they sell at MSRP and they offered me the extended warranty unsolicited for the "cheap" price. They throw in a lot of services like free car washes for the life of the car and discounted prices on all services. They do have the usual lack of Prius knowledge and when I had my car in a week ago for the last recall (four) the salesman told me they still had a six week wait for a Prius. My salesman was "Adler" and he has been with them for over three years. ..(Good dealership)
....I did ask a salesman about the ads I've been seeing in the Sunday papers about having the Prius in stock at many New England dealers and he smilingly stated, "that's to get you in the door!" (where you won't even find a demonstrator.)

 

[drcsblack]

try Toyota of Newport, I just got mine there and they were very helpful, low pressure and really seem to target the Prius Marked, My sales man was Gregg and he was very good

 

[mrv]

try Toyota of Newport, I just got mine there and they were very helpful, low pressure and really seem to target the Prius Marked, My sales man was Gregg and he was very good

<shudder> My mother had purchased her Prius from Toyota of Newport, RI. Although the sales went fine with Nicole (she's no longer a saleswoman there), they took forever to get the paperwork done (even though they knew we were on a schedule so she could get her navy base pass in time before they closed), and the Finance guy hard-selled my mother on an overpriced extended warranty (this was before I knew better on the EW...). They've changed management (old management actually owned a personal Prius), and the service dept. has gone way downhill. after a long arguement between my mother and the service writer over the correct grade of oil to use (and him forging some photocopied documents to try and prove his case), she's never gone back there for service.

She didn't have any issues with service with Raynham Toyota, but they weren't very Prius-savvy when she went there.

She is constantly raving about the great service (with snacks in the lobby and a free car wash) at the North Dartmouth Toyota dealer.

I've never had a poor/wonderful service experience with my Prius, so I cannot recommend anyone personally. For sales, Gilles Labelle at Westboro Toyota is good (but avoid the other salescritters at that dealership!). He's quite the hybrid (particularly PHEV) advocate, and is on a local public radio show "This New Car."
http://www.hybridcenterma.org/
http://www.wicn.org/programs/thisnewcar.htm

 

[Ct. Ken V]

Hi, again, tp (Tanya & Ben in NY---from your other post)

I hope you can get moving quickly with whichever dealer you select because you've only got 8 weeks left to get your Prius registered & on the road to be able to take advantage of the FULL tax credit. Let us know when you sign the papers, with what dealer, & when you drive it home. However, make sure (if your delivery is late in Sept) that your paperwork & "in service date" is BEFORE Oct 1st.

By the way, Balise (& Frank Goodyear) that I recommended sells at MSRP & they're probably closer to you than Dartmouth. Good luck!!

Oh, one other thing : DON'T take Balise's extended warranty. It's NOT the factory one & I believe they wanted about $1,600. You've got 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes FIRST) to buy the FACTORY one from Toyota Financial & you should only have to pay about $990 for the 7-yr/100,000 (or less for the 6-yr/75,000) TOYOTA extended warranty. Do a search on this site (under extended warranty) for Troy Dietrich (also in Mass) to get the good one for the cheap price. That's where I got mine.

I think somebody said that the other guy in Nebraska that was doing it cheaply too is no longer doing it or no longer work'g at that Nebraska dealership.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

[hyperion]

One thing about waiting out those three years and 36,000 miles. Those prices are probably subject to change and just might, as more componants start failing.
And as was mentioned, the dealer at North Dartmouth lets the warranty go for bottom line prices without even being solicited, to his customers.

 

[tp]

Thank you everybody! We are going in to our NJ dealer tomorrow. He is promising a $23,800 package 4 car... we'll see...