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Approximately $1500 mistake

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Paskoo, Apr 17, 2013.

  1. Paskoo

    Paskoo Junior Member

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    I am Proud owner of a second Prius now. First one is 2011 Barcelona red-2. Leased second for wife yesterday. It is 2013 Plug in prius. However I made an approximatly $1500-$2000 mistake yesterday. I went into dealer and was talked into leasing a 2012 Habanero (Bright Orange) Prius C-3 for $265 a month/$4170 down including (Tax, title, registration, bank fee whatever else they charge) and a remote start installation.

    Took the car home and the 12 year old kid and wife did not like it and made me feel like an idiot. The color was bad, the size was small, price was high and blah blah blah. So I took it back to dealer within an hour to cancel the sale and give me the PIP for the advertised price of $1999 down and $219 a month. The dealer jacked the $1999 down to $5300 and I could not have a say in it. I still got the final monthly at $224 which is less than $265 that was for Prius C.


    I think, if I had asked for the PIP when I first went in, I could have walked out of there with about $3500 to $4000 down instead of $5300 that I ended up paying but returning the Prius C put me at their mercy and I had to swallow the loss. I made sure to shake hand with him and thank him for taking my car back (I just wanted to explode inside --- Bob seger).

    In any event, I went to Gym this morning without consuming a single drop of gas (about 10 mile round trip), and put it back to charge for wife to use it later on. And look forward to do it again and again and again.

    My 2011 prius already had about 80K miles on it. My RT to work is about 130 miles every day. I offered to trade it for another PIP but he would not give more than $10K for it. I owe 19K. I just can't wait to get another PIP exclusively for myself.

    With rebates and incentives, PIP lease is the still the greatest bargain in the car industry right now. It is just me who always learns it the hard way.

    Moral of the story, be prepared with coupons in hand, to go to the dealer and know exactly what you want. Bargain from the strength and not the other way around.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    do you want the good news or the bad news? anyway, congrats and all the best!(y) live and learn, i have done the same thing too many times. put it behind you my friend and move forward.:) hate it when the dealer holds all the cards.:mad:
     
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  3. -1-

    -1- Don

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    :DJust like Columbo (the detective), just one (more) question. What the hell were your thinking? You go to a dealer looking to lease a Prius Plug In and you drive home in a ORANGE Prius C? Just one other question. What the hell were you thinking? Just having a little fun. Glad everything worked out. The world's greatest sales person WILL NEVER sell me what I don't want.
     
  4. Paskoo

    Paskoo Junior Member

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    Oh it's just that I am too gullible to be talked into anything. In fact, I went in looking for the advertised lease of $179/month and $1999 down for Prius C-1. But the Prius C-1 had ugly wheel and no navigation. So I figured, if I pay extra $86 month ($265 - $179) for th Prius C-3, it is an OK kind of a deal since the difference in the price of Prius C3 and Prius C1 is about $3K. For 36 month lease, I will pay $86 * $36 = $3096 which is OK since it also involves interest. However, due to Toyota's $5300 rebate on PIP, the PIP lease is much more attractive and I had forgotten about it. And habenero (bright orange) looked fantastic in the showroom lights lol.
     
  5. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    It took guts to come on here and tell the story of how you screwed up.;) So as bisco says, "put it behind you". Drive the 2011 until it's paid for and then some. You'll probably never make out on a car you use for that long commute, so you need to drive it a long time to get your money's worth. Then turn it over to your son who should be driving by then, and go for the latest version of the PiP. Maybe by then it will go 100+ miles on EV! :p In the meanwhile, maybe your wife will let you drive her car to the gym.
     
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  6. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I got some ocean front property in Arizona I'll sell ya. :p

    Don't worry. It happens to all of us at some point in our lives. It may not be a car deal but something will get us and we'll feel like a fool.
     
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  7. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Paskoo...
    Welcome, and enjoy the PIP!

    Nobody wins all the time- we've all made some decisions that cost us down the road.
    I purchased a brand new 2012 Prius Five, I traded it in for a 2012 PIP six months later. I got significant grief from my SO for that. Luckily the incentives, $500 LIPA rebate and Fed Income tax credit almost made up for the loss on the trade in, but without a doubt i would have been better off if I had just purchased the PIP to begin with. Six months later- she's jealous when I come home from work and tell her I got 96mpg at the end of my 56mi (28mi each way) daily commute.
     
  8. nickfromny

    nickfromny Member since 2007

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    If your commute is 130 r/t you have already made out once your milage is over 40k. Savings in gas makes your 1st Pri a great deal. Never sell or trade it. As for any of the Pri's ownership and high millage is why they make cents. You do to many miles for any lease. Most lease deals are maxed out at 10k -15k per yr limits.
     
  9. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    At one time or another, I think we have all been there. I know I have too many times to count. In fact we are in the middle of a refinancing and it appears I was duped into at least $475. But the reduction in interest over the period of the loan could by me a PIP!
     
  10. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Yeah, don't feel too bad...

    Ultimately you got what you wanted....even if you believe it cost you a little more than it should. Nothing new or unusual about that....

    I LOVE researching new car purchases. I love websites like Prius Chat and others. I swear I can know EVERYTHING about a vehicle, it's price, it's features, and conversely my vehicle and it's trade in value and still New Car Dealerships pump in some invisible gas that makes you stupid.

    I love buying new vehicles...except for the part where I actually have to go and buy the vehicle. I suppose this fear does save me money long term.

    Despite my usually well researched knowledge, I'd say the deals I've felt best about over the course of my life, are the deals where the dealership had a large quantity of a vehicle being advertised at a set low buy in price. At least then? I feel good about the buy in...

    All the "deals" I've made have at best been mediocre....usually with me thinking 6 months later that I paid too much. I do think I'm getting better at handling the whole procedure.....but it's come with age and sometimes painful experience.
     
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  11. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    You call that a mistake ?!?

    Pfft.

    ;)
     
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  12. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The upside is things are squared away and another life lesson is learned. :D
     
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  13. babybird

    babybird Member

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    Been there, done that. I traded in a T-Bird Super Coupe once on a Toyota 4x4 pickup-- traded the SC in for about $4,000 less than its book value, and bought the truck for about $2,000 more than I should have. Coupled with the lousy loan the dealer fixed me up with, if I'd kept the truck for the duration of the loan, I'd have wound up paying about $25,000 for it all told-- when it was on the showroom floor for $14,000 and on paper they made it look like I was only paying $13,000. I was young and very inexperienced at the time.

    Then there's my 2008 Prius #6 that I bought used a year and a half ago for $23,000 plus another $1,500 for AAA's equivalent of Toyota's platinum warranty for it, putting me at roughly the $24,500 mark. The same car today would probably cost me about $18-19,000 or so, but in my defense, the money I'm saving on gas driving the Prius at work pays the car payment even though I wildly overpaid for it, so que sera sera.

    As long as you're ultimately happy with what you got, that's all that really matters. A car's real value isn't what a book or a Monroney sticker says, it's what its buyer/owner is willing to pay for it. I agree with the sentiments above-- just put the money thing behind you, write it off as experience (education in the U.S. isn't usually free after all), and go ahead enjoy and your awesome car. :)
     
  14. PosauneGuy

    PosauneGuy Member

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    Think of it as a $1,500 investment in your marriage! ;)
     
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  15. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Flowers are a lot cheaper. :p
     
  16. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    On the contrary, I think you should feel bad. $2000 is a lot of money. Let this be a lesson to all others out there. You have to consult with your SO before making big decisions. I know I'm being harsh but you own up to your mistakes as you have done and then learn from it. Thats how you prevent from repeating the same mistake.

    The last time I made a mistake, I ran into a stupid box on the freeway causing $1000 damage to my PiP I punished myself. No new computer this year. I'll have to soldier on for an extra year with the old one. Call me sadistic. :)
     
  17. Paskoo

    Paskoo Junior Member

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    I know it is only the 3rd day with the PIP. But the news is that it already has about 100 miles on it and the tank meter is still showing all the bars (Full tank) filled compimentary by the dealer. I have been to home depot twice to the gym twice, took the kid to the school twice, wife used it to pick up the kids twice, picked and dropped the kid to the baseball field twice, grocery shopping with the neighbor once, been to the bank once and may be a tip or two here and there. Everytime, I come back or wife comes back, the charger goes in and the tank is still full.

    It does not cover the loss that I had at the purchase, but slowly, it will heal with savings like these. I wonder how high my LIPA (Electric) bill will go up. I guess I will find out.

    Thanks for the support guys. The moral support and the savings in gas will definitly go a long way.
     
  18. SAronian

    SAronian Active Member

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    I could have easily made the same mistake in reverse. Bought a Prius Plug-in while my wife was out of town, only to find out later how much she liked the Prius C in Habanero. Fortunately her fondness for the PiP has grown.

    I know you're going to love your final choice, which will ease process you went through to get there.
     
  19. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Mine went up about $10-$12 a month. It's certainly less expensive than the equivalent in gas at almost $4/gallon still.
     
  20. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Oh, and the $1500 "mistake" don't beat yourself up over it... some ppl in Manhattan piss more than that away (literally) on coffee in a year...