[StartingLate]

We've wanted a Prius for a long time but haven't had the funds...we're just about ready to commit and the more research I do, the more I see lots of "horror stories" about bad or at least questionable dealers. I also see many good recommendations.

Is there any place where you can find a combined list of good/bad dealers, maybe by state? - or a forum anyone knows of that focuses more specifically on dealers and the ways to get a Prius?

If not...we just moved to the SF Bay Area and would be willing to go pretty far for a Prius - but not across country certainly...any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Can't wait to join all you happy Prius owners!

 

[durhamNC]

That's a great idea...

I wonder how skewed the results might be though. As alot of people might have a good impression of the one dealer they got their Prius from, and less than great for all the others.

I'm in Durham, NC and got mine from a dealer in a very small town in Alabama. (Toyota of Sylacauca) They were very friendly, but certainly the biggest plus was that they actually had a Prius to sell me.

Rice Toyota in Greensboro, NC have always been very professional and courteous even though they didn't have anything to sell to me. They were always honest about their waiting list. Cox Toyota in Burlington was also very friendly.

Toyota of Durham was definetely my worst experience during the search. I spent $500 on "refundable" deposit that I'm still waiting to be refunded, and they were always vague about my position on their waiting list.

Generally speaking, if you want to expand your search to the SouthEast, definetely use buyatoyota.com for your searches. Find zip codes of the small towns, check the inventories, and make the calls. I used that strategy and found mine after 2 days of calling. (no waiting list either)


As far as western dealerships, I seem to recall hearing good things about some Colorado dealerships. (anyone care to add to that?)

send me a message if you have any other questions.

Good luck!

DurhamNC

 

[hdrygas]

Ya but... (I love that) A listing of dealers that have gone over to the dark side, selling for more that sticker, canceling wait list and selling over sticker, giving bad or uninformed service might be a good idea. It might be best to be positive like the Car Guys, good car shops list. We need two lists. Sales and Service! Just a thought

 

[ROSNERAUTO]

I accually work at a dealership with a very quick turn around time on prius and I dont not charge anything over M.S.R.P. I am in Va but will help you arrange shiping
Dennis Chinault

 

[Fredo]

There's a forum on PriusChat at http://www.priuschat.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=14 that should help. I haven't really looked at it much since I bought my Prius in January, but it should list good and bad experiences. I think all regions are probably mixed in there.

You could probably check the Toyota web site for anything withing 100 miles, then check through the forum for for good experiences and call them. If there's nothing promising, call those that nobody mentioned. Then maybe expand the range to 200 miles and work through it again. Keep going until you to your max range or get a Prius.

You may want to read through the comments completely. Some people think that being asked to pay $1000 over MSRP is horrible, and would rate a dealer bad for asking it. Others will gladly pay $3000 over MSRP, and would rate the same dealer as great. (I got my Prius at MSRP, and wasn't planning to pay more. My good dealer in St. Louis is Jerry Ackerman Toyota.)

 

[toyotrever]

If you dont mind going to Wyoming, i seem to recall a customer of mine saying that the dealer in Rock Spring (or Hill) had Prius' on the lot that they werent able to move. They would probably still go for MSRP, but at least you would get your car. I hate sending someone to another dealer, but i do love seeing more poeple driving our product. If you have any questions regarding the vehicle please feel free to give me a call.

Trever Hargitt
Toyota West
Statesville NC

 

[StartingLate]

Sales Tax/Use Tax?

Thanks to all for your advice so far...it just occurred to me - if you ship a vehicle from out of state, or go to another state to drive one back yourself, what impact does that have on sales tax for the vehicle? Do you essentially wind up paying double tax (sales tax in the original state and use tax in your home state?)

What about financing? Could you work with the out of state dealer for that?

 

[toyotrever]

You only pay the tax for the state that the car will be registered in. If the dealer is not able to do the tax for your state, you may have to pay it when you get it home.

 

[SFAxess]

I live in San Francisco and ordered my 2004 Prius from Melody Toyota in San Bruno. We took delivery from them in May. It was not a great experience, and we had to lodge a complaint (we actually ended up being on KRON-4 news) in order to get the dealer to pay attention.
I see at least 20 Prii (classic and 2004) a day here in SF. The Bay Area must have a huge allocation because SF Toyota is on most of the new model's license frame. I have heard good things about SF Toyota.

 

[mrv]

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toy ... Rows&tbl=2