Luckily i did save up for this car, so i was able to afford it cash.
however, for those who were able to knock off some amount from the MRSP. It's still money they save in the end. for example, $1000 dollars saved off the MRSP can get a family on a nice road trip or something.
anyway, just my point of view. In the end, everyone should be happy to own one of these cars, as they are still scarce to see out there, does turns some heads out there, people still dont quite understand what hybrid means; 3 of my closest neighbours asked me the first day i bought this car " so, how often do you have to plug it in? ". still gives me a good laugh remmembering it

 

Placed a special order last Nov for my 06 Option-8 Prius, picked it up in early Feb, and paid MSRP through Ventura Toyota. Very nice (honest) people to deal with, if you use their internet sales person. No one near my hometown (Lake Tahoe) would even consider any price close to MSRP. So, we flew to Ventura to take delivery, vacationed in Carmel on the drive home, and still saved $1,000 over our local four dealers best offers. Go figure!!

 

Actually, getting a car loan can have a favorable impact on your credit rating. Obviously you have to pay it to keep the impact positive.

So, if you can afford to pay cash, it is certainly not a bad idea to get financing -- being sure that there is no penalty for early payment in full. Then, as soon as the first payment is due, pay off the whole loan. The favorable impact on your credit rating can reduce future costs (mortgage rate, auto insurance, etc.).

 

True, Toyota dealer guys are NOTORIOUS for being sneaky. One area is the interest rate. I think if you got good credit you should get 6.9 or less, yet they were offering us 7.something initially. We looked at our bank and when the Toyota guys found out we had approval at 6, they magically found us financing at 5.95. So, as always, you have to MAKE them come down on everything. YOU MUST have another dealer you can mention that goes under MSRP. You must have your own loan option to get the interest rate lower. During the financing stage of things you can just say no to any of those other options they try to sell. The only thing we got was the service package. This IS a special car and you save a little money if you pay it that way instead of the Dealer charges everytime you take it in for regular maintenances(yes, even with the interest figured). Of course, if you feel comfortable with your regular street corner mechanic and his hybrid certification, you don't need this option.

JV

 

You got that right about being sneaky. One dealership illegally ran a credit check against me without an approval. They will be reported soon, and if the government follows up, they'll have a nifty $2,500 fine. Remember, there are 3 reporting agencies. They hit experian for me, and it didn't register on the others.

The past number of weeks I have been quoting, wheeling, and dealing with numerous dealerships around new england(Primarily, MA, NH area). I did the very same thing for an 06 Civic Hybrid.

Lowest price I found for a Package #4 was $24,044, most were usually averaging closer to $25,000.

In my opinion, they are marking up the cars in response to the $3,150 tax deduction. After calculations on the full total price including fees, they are getting around 16%-17% profit over their cost of the vehicle. Comparatively, I have found the Honda Civic around 7% above dealer cost.

My advice is know the invoice cost for the vehicle. Know the actual Holdback on the vehicle (2% or 3% I believe for Toyota and Honda respectively), and calculate out the profit percentage for the vehicle. 5% is super fair. I'd say a bit higher may be ok considering popularity of the vehicle. but double or triple that is a ripoff.

Those were the numbers I calculated anyway.. I suggest doing it yourself rather than taking my word though. Trust yourself first.

In the end, I decided to wait on the Prius. My wife and I will get a Prius or whatever future rendition of the model there is in another couple of years. For now I just need an efficient commuter car to get to work, and after fees and such, I am paying ~$4,000 less for the Civic. I figure that is an ok compromise for me.

Don't get me wrong... I think the Prius is an awesome car! My decision was mainly financial and practicality. I just don't need a larger car for commuting. The Civic was simply smaller and lower cost.

Also as i'm dumping cash for the car, $4k is a notable difference. Its easier to pad/hide the cost if its financed and pushed out over a few years. I am not financing this time.

Oh well.. the next one will probaby be a Prius. Still the Civic is quite nice too, though not the same sort of Hybrid.

 

2006 #8, sftoyota, MSRP, 4/24/06.

 

#7 for $500 below MSRP in bay area, Ca.

 

On 4-22-06 I paid $23650 for a PK 4. With TTL it was $26,000. The OTD door price I wanted was $26000, and they just worked backward.The MSRP was $24185, so it was about $500 below MSRP-nothing to brag about, Our sales taxes are high-8.75%. Thanks,Charlie
PS After the credit it would be like $20,800+TTL. A loaded Matrix would be about the same price,a EX Civic would be about $18500, a loaded LE Corolla would be about $18,000.These aren't MSRPs; they are what I think I could get one for locally after negotiations via internet depts.

 

I have a friend who financed a Jetta for his girlfriend and 5 months later paid in full. Originally, he had no problems getting financing and a good rate (5.8% in 2001).

A few months later he went to finance his own vehicle and he had a heck of a time getting approved and those that would were offering him 8.9% or more. He finally got some finance officers to explain why and it was because he had a car loan for a very short period of time.

Since then he's learned and so have I, that if you want to finance a car and pay it off early, do so on a 12 month increment and they won't know whether you paid early or not and it won't hurt you none.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

At the end of April I bought my (USED) 2005 Silver Metallic Prius Pkg #4 with Prius stamped floor mats for $22,500. It had 972 miles on it. I am loving it. Best thing about it is my Credit Union gave me the new car interest rate on it.


Morinack