So I've been in the market to buy a 4th gen prius, but the rental company that I'm currently renting cars from, gave me a 5th gen prius. I kinda like it. I spent a whole weekend going through all the features and learning how to use all the safety assists. Since renting requires no long term commitment, I may just keep renting it until the prices correct themselves. Everything is overpriced these days. BTW, How much should a 2022 prius LE with 30-40K miles cost in like real terms, not overinflated prices?
My car (2015 prius 3) was totaled in an accident, so I have special pricing due to the insurance company and my current case. It's still expensive though. It's 35 a day, for my large car contract. The normal price is way more. I know a loan would be less per day, but I'd have to make a commitment to that loan when I know that prices may come down soon. I'd like to buy closer to the bottom.
That's neat. I looked for a place renting them in my area so I could have an extended test drive. I found nothing. $1,000 a month is a bit rough. Predicting how supply and price will work out is hard. Tariffs may never materialize, or they may, or the specific trim you like may show up at a discount or be unobtainable in your area, or Israel may drop a bomb on Iran, gas will be $6 a gallon, and every frugal car will carry a dealer's premium. In my region, it isn't hard to find them at sticker, and patience will turn up examples discounted more than a $1k from sticker. The tricky bit is finding one in the configuration you want and that hasn't been festooned with TruCoat and door guards.
why would prices come down, recession? i've been hearing about prices coming down for 50 years, yet here we are. overinflated prices are the real terms
Yep, for the past few years dealers have exhausted the market with addons and mark ups. Dealers did not think of the long term consequences, only short term gains. At some point, it has to end.
I mean, maybe for lower demand brands and cars. But during economic downturns demand for fuel efficient vehicles goes up, and toyota has wait lists all over the place, at least in Canada. So realistically, you're hoping that used lots have inventory that doesn't move or you want to find a car brand that is having trouble selling their inventory. But once you factor in the opportunity cost, assuming you get paid out for your totalled car, you are better off buying a used 2020 mazda 3, for example, and then selling that in 2 years since the depreciation isn't going to be super high, and save hundreds of dollars a month in rental fees to trade up to whatever you want once the market supposedly corrects or you find a dealer who doesn't play games with market adjustments. Where I live in canada MSRP is MSRP. They must advertise the maximum allowable price including registration and basic dealer fees like PDI and whatever they charge for the admin costs - all of which is capped. So if the website says a prius is 42k new, then its 42k new before tax. And they even have to have a "show price with tax" button too. And that is the max the dealer can price. Maybe there's a place you can get the same kind of approach near you?
If OP is driving for Uber and writing off the expense then it may be a better option to wait. I paid MSRP for my 24 LE in January and bought it without financing, so in that case a mileage deduction would offset taxable income directly, giving me a return on my investment by eliminating income taxes as well as other taxes and maybe even social security and medicare expenses. The math calculations are interesting and very location specific.
Also in most areas Toyota prices are still high due to supply constraints on production. I ran into that late last year buying a 2025 Camry XLE (all 2025 are hybrid) after my 2017 Prius Two was totalled.
Except dealers aren't the ones making the cars. They can pad the price with low value accessories, but they aren't the ones deciding to produce more higher trims or loading up base models with features. Car companies have been making more money with lower production recently. They will reduce supply to match demand. Since the talk is about the Prius, it is an import. Forget tariffs. The weakening dollar will make it more costly to import them. They'll either increase the price, or reduce what gets shipped here. They could keep the status quo, which is imports around 60k to keep the market stable. Which will lead to increased demand on used.
Actually, in the current markets, the regional distributor does the padding and allocates to the dealer. I guess the dealer could add to that but, other than pushing for an "extended warranty". The region south of me loads up the cars with useless, profitable extras.
I asked for the least options available. That came to $419 over the $27950 base price and that is what I paid. All options were distributor or factory installed and included on the manufacturers sticker price which started with the base price already posted (Window sticker) no add ons . The dealership tried to sell me the car in December, but I picked it up and paid for it 1/8/25 or I would have had to pay 6 months county tax. They told me there were only 280 or so Prius allocated to the SE USA area. Whether that was true or not I have no way of confirming, but they knew it was sold to me as long as they did not add anything other than what I accepted. Most of it was the plastic floor mats and trunk mat. They beat the next closer dealership by $700. Total out the door was $31 and some change. State tax was close to $1300, I think it was 4.35%.
I see you are in Virginia. I have had excellent dealings for over 20 years with Sam Lee AKA Toyota Sam at Miller Toyota. Tell him Bruce Osborne sent you. Our family has purchased many vehicles from him over the years. Until totaled in an accident a few years ago, he was a Gen 1 Prius owner too. My son found him years ago from a recommendation on PriusChat. Meet Our Team | Manassas, VA | Miller Toyota
