Buying a Prius

[vlocci]

Just moved back to the US, and am in need of a cheap car for mostly city driving for my wife.

The opportunist in me is thinking 2010 Prius, which coincidentally she likes very much. I don't want to own this, so a 3 year lease is perfect.

Lets avoid the wife jokes and Prius hysteria. There are plenty of other threads for stoking those fires.

How much under MSRP do you realistically think I can grab a car for?

Calling around it seems like any dealer will commit to 7-8% under sticker on the phone. I'm hoping for 15%-20% under sticker (about 8%-12% under invoice)

I'm in the Northeast, where there is a Prius and a Subaru wagon on every corner. The Toyota dealers have 20+ cars on the lot and I'm not picky about color, options etc.

This becomes a pretty disposable car at 140-150 bucks a month in lease payments.

Thoughts?

Vin

[vash]

i have been driving a 1st gen for about a month at work. it is crazy. beside the constant ribbing i have been getting from the rough and tough miners, and blasting crews..it hasnt sucked. parking is almost mindless coming from a huge truck.

i could have one in the stable easy. my wife wants one..."go for it honey".

[scottmandue]

As soon as I pay off Hyundai I am thinking of getting one too...

If you buy you might be able to get 0% financing.

Here is a good place to ask questions:

http://priuschat.com/forums/

[m21sniper]

Just so you know, they may have extremely bad brake system design faults.

[creaturecat]

Gotta be a good time to buy, price wise!

[dd74]

Is Toyota wheeling and dealing now? I heard their sales were up 50 percent this month - despite the recall debacle.

[Rufblackbird]

i'm debating on trading in my Tundra for one...rented a '10 Prius for a 1300 mile road trip, and it performed flawlessly. Not to mention it got awesome gas mileage too...49 mpg in the city. Not sure how much you can get under MSRP though...the dealers here (CA) don't appear to be offering a whole lot of incentives.

[svandamme]

might as well get a crotch rocket... it's a lot cooler crashing into something at full speed with a bike then in a Prius... there are more style points involved..especially when it's in jeans or shorts...

[fintstone]

Although the styling is pretty utilitarian...I have driven one quite a bit...particularly on long trips...and once you get used to it, the performance and mileage is pretty amazing. I would seriously consider one if my circumstances were different. Toyota is offering great deals and 0% financing to compete with the taxpayer subsidies currently offered to Government Motors (GM). Sad when buying a Toyota is more American than buying a Chevy.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by dd74

Is Toyota wheeling and dealing now? I heard their sales were up 50 percent this month - despite the recall debacle.

A work associate has a sister who works for the Toyota's advertising firm. Claims that sales have actually been up by about 15% since this stuff started.

[mattdavis11]

My company vehicle is an 07 Prius. It's unstable when windy, even with good tires it hydroplanes, the belt drive transmission blows and traction control sucks. The gas mileage is right at 39.5mpg (mixed) no matter how loud I press the go pedal. I average about 5k miles a month in it and can't wait for it to fall apart.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by fintstone

Although the styling is pretty utilitarian...I have driven one quite a bit...particularly on long trips...and once you get used to it, the performance and mileage is pretty amazing. I would seriously consider one if my circumstances were different. Toyota is offering great deals and 0% financing to compete with the taxpayer subsidies currently offered to Government Motors (GM). Sad when buying a Toyota is more American than buying a Chevy.

I think they're offering 0% right now so they sell any cars at all.

Not exactly flying off the shelves these days, what with their penchant to wildly accelerate out of control...

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

My company vehicle is an 07 Prius. It's unstable when windy, even with good tires it hydroplanes, the belt drive transmission blows and traction control sucks. The gas mileage is right at 39.5mpg (mixed) no matter how loud I press the go pedal. I average about 5k miles a month in it and can't wait for it to fall apart.

Hahahahahaha! Ouch!

Originally Posted by Noah930

A work associate has a sister who works for the Toyota's advertising firm. Claims that sales have actually been up by about 15% since this stuff started.

She's lying or the national media is lying.

I just read a report in the last week that said Toyota is the only car manufacturer in the US that hasn't seen a jump in sales this quarter, but rather, a huge decline.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Noah930

A work associate has a sister who works for the Toyota's advertising firm. Claims that sales have actually been up by about 15% since this stuff started.

By "this stuff" do you mean Toyota's recent 0% financing offer?

[island911]

Originally Posted by svandamme

might as well get a crotch rocket... it's a lot cooler crashing into something at full speed with a bike then in a Prius... there are more style points involved..especially when it's in jeans or shorts...

LMAO

Originally Posted by Rufblackbird

i'm debating on trading in my Tundra for one...rented a '10 Prius for a 1300 mile road trip, and it performed flawlessly. Not to mention it got awesome gas mileage too...49 mpg in the city. Not sure how much you can get under MSRP though...the dealers here (CA) don't appear to be offering a whole lot of incentives.

Jeff, why a Prius? Why not a Honda, hybrid if you want, or one of the VW TDi's? --those are MUCH nicer cars than the Toyo's and get better mileage iirc.

[Noah930]

I don't know if they're running where you live, but here in Southern California we have TV ads with enthusiastic customers who have recently purchased Toyotas (as in within these past few weeks). Apparently this business associate of mine, whose sister works for Toyota's ad agency, was called about two weeks ago and told to get down to some Toyota dealership in Torrance (?) THAT day; those customers who appeared on the commercials were refunded 75% (not a typo) of their purchase price for appearing on the ad.

[Steve Carlton]

IIRC, Toyota was offering a $199/mo lease special before this stuff started.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Noah930

I don't know if they're running where you live, but here in Southern California we have TV ads with enthusiastic customers who have recently purchased Toyotas (as in within these past few weeks). Apparently this business associate of mine, whose sister works for Toyota's ad agency, was called about two weeks ago and told to get down to some Toyota dealership in Torrance (?) THAT day; those customers who appeared on the commercials were refunded 75% (not a typo) of their purchase price for appearing on the ad.

That sounds pretty risky. What if I buy a new Toyota truck for $30k and they decide not to use me in the spot? Oh well, better luck next time.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by speeder

That sounds pretty risky. What if I buy a new Toyota truck for $30k and they decide not to use me in the spot? Oh well, better luck next time.

That would be a GREAT marketing switcheroo. Buy a car. You might get a screaming deal....or not. Come try again next week!

No, this was a situation where people knew they'd be getting these deals before they signed on the dotted line.

[pwd72s]

Do the liberal bumper stickers come as standard equipment, or do the Prius owners place them on?

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by island911

... Why not a Honda, hybrid if you want, or one of the VW TDi's? --those are MUCH nicer cars than the Toyo's and get better mileage iirc.

the TDI should do really well on the Fwy - the hybrids do well in city driving or in hilly areas

every Honda I've ever driven has had a little extra sporty zing over a comparable Toyota -- sorta like BMW vs MB

but do some in person price shopping and see (or wait for some overblown story on Honda)