I live in the Minneapolis area. My 13-year old car was totaled by a truck rear-ending it, so I had to step up my new car purchase by a year, and complete it in a week in order to get full price from the insurance company for my 13-year old. Wanted a Prius, and with diligent calling was able to find one for immediate purchase in the area. Don't get me wrong -- I'm thrilled that I could get the car right away. But, I was, well, disappointed in the overall dealer sales customer service, especially considering that I got no discount on the price, and I paid for the car in total -- things that normally earn you some little extras. When I got my Honda Civic years ago, they washed, waxed and buffed the car; gave me a free training class on basic maintenance; a portfolio to hold the manuals in; and a bottle of touch-up paint. I got none of this with my Prius. When I asked about the touch-up paint, he said Toyota didn't have such a thing. When I asked about the wax job, he said the clear-coat finish didn't require waxing! I've read through some of the posts here, and can see that there's a lot of differing experiences with dealers. Can anyone tell me what's normal service when purchasing a new Prius? What little extras should be provided free of charge by the dealer? I understand that I will be sent a survey from Toyota, but I don't want to nail them if they really were providing standard service.
I think it is a your mileage may varry sort of thing. In my experence it is a sellers market when it comes to the Prius. I've only heard of a handfull of people who got a very small discount on the car. Nothing substantial, maybe $500 off. I did get a crappy vinyl forfolio, I'd at least ask for one of those. Touch up paint does exist. I bought one for my car, it was only like $6. I didn't get a training class either, but I knew more about he car than the salesmen when I bought it. But as for extras from a dealer...they are rare with the Prius. There is always someone else ready to buy your car so they can treat you like crap.
