I am about to buy a Prius Hatchback 4. I want the 4 mainly for the electric seats, upgraded interior and upgraded sound system. I am in SoCal and using TrueCar.com and my best offer so far is $25,104 before taxes, license, etc. The OTD price. Although I've been quoted $28,000 for that. Dealer invoice is appx $26,470.00. MSRP is $29,245.00. There is currently a $1500 rebate included in that but if I finance at 0%, it is $1000. So the above #'s would be $500 more. I am wiling to travel the state for the best deal. Any info out there? Idea.....when buying a "normal" car in CA you need a smog check every 2 years and have appropriate smog equipment on your vehicle. With the Prius, I will not. Now.....if I buy out of state, is there any equipment I'd need for smog purposes to be legal in CA? Thoughts on the offer so far?
welcome to priuschat! check with dianne whitmire at carson toyota, she's the high priustess! all the best!
If you buy from a non CARB state, your emissions warranty is 8 years/100,000 miles instead of 10 years/150.000 miles. There is no way to fix that later. Diane Whitmire really is your best choice. Wherever you buy it, read this chapter on customization, an get the customizations you want included in the sale in writing. Some service departments have been known to charge, and some have been know to refuse to make any customizations. http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47857U/pdf/sec_06-02.pdf As examples, I like to touch the drivers door (or press the fob) and have all the doors unlock at once. I like for the headlights to turn off with no delay once I turn off the car and open my door. I only want the Reverse beep to happen once, not repeatedly. I do want my seatbelts to nag me and my passengers. Once I press my power windows, I want them to continue going up or down. I like the car to lock all the doors when I get up to speed, but unlock them only if I shift to park. You will have preferences, not all of which can be set by the owner, so specify that the dealer will do this for free.
Thank you for that. Am looking forward to hearing back from other dealers I've already emailed regarding TrueCar and OTD prices at their dealership.
Make sure what that tell you is what they give you. I was told I qualified for 0% with my credit score and picked out a 2 that was discounted 3500.00 only to find out if I took the discount it was 3.9% and the "up" price was 0%. I raised the roof at the dealership!!! We settled on 2k off and 0% but this is not an uncommon practice with Toyota and got the same sort of thing when I bought my Corolla in a different state. I usually buy Honda and bought a CR-V for my wife just last year and have never been bait and switched on price and financing by any that I have dealt with in Atlanta and I have owned 3 Hondas bought here in the last 15 years. Get your financing from a bank.
