Shopping with PriusChat's Dianne Whitmire, a review!

Well, I finally did it, I pulled the trigger on a 2010 Prius III with Nav. Priuschat's very own Dianne Whitmire did the sale.

Let me start out by saying that I'm not the type of person that would shy away from giving a negative review where it's due, nor would I not give credit, where credit is due. I'm not known for being a fan of Car Dealerships and their practices. To give a good review of a car dealer for me is rare indeed.

I must admit this was the best car sales experience I have had in a long time (if ever). A long time ago, I had concluded that car dealers actually validify the use of Genocide, or perhaps ethnic cleansing since car dealers seem to be a breed of their own. I'm happy to announce that Dianne is the exception to the rule.

I'll start with the negotiating process. Whereas most other dealers I had been to, ask you for your driver's license, then hold it hostage while you negotiate so you can't leave, this wasn't the case at all. In fact Dianne didn't ask for mine until negotiations were complete to finish some paperwork. Furthermore, there was none of that waiting in a cubicle while the sales person keeps insisting that he must get approval from his manager, where they leave you sitting in that cubicle in a hard chair for hours on end, going back and forth, hoping you get so impatient you settle for more than you can afford. Dianne brought up each car we were interested in on the computer. We saw the numbers right there. We knew where she stood in terms of how much over invoice she was willing to go, and she knew where we stood in terms of downpayment, and an affordable monthly payment. She didn't try to squeeze any more down out of us as most others would. In fact she went the opposite way and worked with us with what we were capable of putting down, and tried to make it less. This was like a breath of fresh air. Whereas ALL of the other dealerships we had been to near me weren't willing to negotiate below the sticker on the Prius, Dianne's deal for us under MSRP was SIGNIFICANT! I spoke with Dianne and mentioned that I was going to post a review here in Priuschat, she wanted to me mention to everyone that "I got a fantastic deal!"

Our test drive was probably the most comprehensive I've ever been on. I was very impressed with Dianne's knowledge of the operation of, features of, and technology of the Prius whereas other dealerships I had gone to, I found myself explaining to them how things worked being a previous Prius owner. She spent 6 hours with us deciding what is in our pricerange, and what options were the most important.

If anything, my wife and I were the pains in the butt. We had changed our minds on which model we wanted after we already made a deal on another, followed up by our biggest blunder; we had forgotten our check book at home 100 miles away! The sales team was patient with us, and was willing to work through these complications.

I was also impressed with the inventory. Whereas most (even larger) dealers near me usually had 3 or 4 Prius to choose from, Manhattan Beach (John Elway) Toyota had.. well, I had lost count, but the number is probably significantly over a dozen on lot to choose from with various series, options, and colors. Dianne was also very willing to find the one we wanted, with the color we wanted if that was our wishes. There was no pressure to take home that day if we didn't find what we wanted.

It's hard to find any criticisms about how the whole thing went down. I guess my biggest complaint is that her dealership is 100 miles away from my home. Perhaps she can work on that.