Hi everyone. My first post here, but I wanted to see if I could solicit some advice from the many experts here. I'm in the market for a hybrid which of course means I'm in the market for a Prius. I'm looking to buy the '09 base package #2, and there's currently a $1000 cash incentive for people in the SF Bay Area like myself. My question is, should I pull the trigger now or wait until the '10 comes out and hope that the '09 prices will go down with it. I figure the '10 Honda Insight will also create some decent competition which may drive the prices down a bit. I'm also wondering what kind of tax incentives Obama has in mind for those in the market for hybrids. Car prices in general are great right now, but I'm not sure how long the party's going to last. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I would wait. I just read a post on here about how Toyota was getting ready to lower the price on the 2009 Prius. I would even think about getting a 2010 model.. Don't get me wrong I like a lot of things with the Gen II, Like the touch screen (backup camera), the open front floor board and the normal easy to get to oil filter. But from what I have read the 2010 is going to rock especially with the MPG numbers. They are giving it an average of 50 MPG and thats without the eco button turned on..I also love the fact that they done away with the bladder GAS tank.. The biggest question is the price 2009 vs. 2010..
Personally I'd get a used Gen II or a new Gen III after the Gen III is released. There will be quite a few low miles Gen IIs on the market with a bucket of warranty left. No one in their right mind would sell a Gen II except to buy a better Prius.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think the post that sandman was referring to was the post called "2009 Prius price drop?" (I'd copy it here but I don't have permission to insert links yet). Sounds like the consensus right now is to wait and assume that the $1000 cash incentive on the '09 right now is just a sign of things to come. Any other thoughts?
Hi guys, Just wanted to give this one last bump. I'm being offered a new '09 PKG-2 for $22,500 OTD. There's a NorCal $2000 rebate that expires tomorrow which is why the price has come down so much. Any thoughts now? I'm still wondering if I should just wait for a plugin and hope that Obama's tax incentives will balance out the extra cost. Thanks!
I would wait because Toyota sales is slumping with this economy. Anyway, I think is this a buyer's market. I know the dealers are desperate to make a sale, with incentives going from $1,000 to $2,000, I believe there is still room for better incentives with 2010 models coming in. Anyway, buying the first year production is not a good idea either because I sure they still have to iron out the bugs on the first year or two of the model year. Actually the last year of production is the best year, if you notice from Consumer Reports survey, the last year always have the best ratings all around. Just my 2cents.
Its honestly a crap shoot at this point. Your deal on the table sounds excellent. The longer you are willing to wait, the better the deals may get but the less units you'll have to chose from. Plus there is always the chance that gas will go back up and Prius prices along with it. The '10 looks great, but there will likely be shortages, waits, and markups at least for the first few months. There will probably be a wave of 2G trade-ins, but its hard to imagine inventories getting much bigger than they are now, or the prices much lower. It really could go either way. We were in a similar situation back at the first of the year. We knew we wanted a second Prius, we hadn't been able to afford one due to the shortages and high gas prices, so when prices came down we went ahead a pulled the trigger. We might have gotten a better deal if we had waited longer, but we decided it was better to take the deal we had than to wait and see what might be. We paid $20,800 (plus tx+doc) for an '08 pkg 4 CPO with 10k miles. At the time the best price anyone would give us on an '09 pkg 2 was $23,400 (+), so your $22,500 OTD sounds great. If you want a plugin you will have to wait at least a year, and probably more to see one from Toyota. On the other hand, I believe there is a tax credit now of 10% up to $4k for conversions, which would take $1000 off the price of a Hymotion kit. If you really want a plugin today, a used Prius and a Hymotion may be your best bet. For example, Toyota of Berkley has an '07 w/25k miles certified with 100k warranty for $17k. Add $10k for the Hymotion, -$1k tax credit, and you have an almost new 100mpg PHEV today for $26k. You could probably do it for even cheaper if you went with a non-certified used Prius, you'd just be giving up the warranty (which you'll probably never need). Plug-in supply also has a very tempting kit with double the range of the Hymotion for $15k installed. Rob
Wait. We are nearer to the beginning of the current economic problems than to their end. I gather that the high gas prices of last summer led to a big run-up in G2 inventory. Dealers are refusing delivery of new inventory that they are unable to "floor plan" these days. All those G2s must be sitting behind chain link fence somewhere. I believe they will be available for thousands below MSRP before this is finished. So far, the only tax incentive I am aware of is that sales tax paid on a new car will be deductible like mortgage interest. I also think that the new Insight and the G3 Prius will both be scarce. For both, supplies will be held low enough to cause waiting lists and sales at full MSRP for a long time.
