I have spent the morning calling around the various Toyota Dealerships here in the Phoenix Valley area and have found a variety of different delivery times for a Prius 2004 + Package #9. I can get one wihin 3 weeks or wait 9-12 months in one Dealership's case.

The big catch however, with almost all the Dealerships is the price. The sticker price is the normal $26000 but now, lo and behold, we have a "Market Value Adjustment' (MVA) coming into play. This additional premium ranges from $3,000 - $10,000 depending on the Dealership in question with the average MVA being $4,995.

Only two dealerships were not adding this MVA premium onto the sticker price.. and both of those were quoting a delivery time of about 6-12 months depending on how many they actually get from Toyota.

This is crazy and plainly amounts to nothing more than Price Gouging! Two of the dealerships claimed the MVA came direct from Toyota themselves.. whereas one admitted that it was a dealership premium because "That's what the market will pay!"

Not this consumer.. No way.. no how..

 

Sorry to hear about it. I suppose that's the price we all pay for Toyota's low-quantity strategy. I think that next year with all the newer hybrids coming out, Prius will be more widely available. First off, consumers will have more selection. Secondly, Toyota won't need the Prius hype as much because there will be better vehicles to showcase.

 

Thanks Jason, for moving my post.. My apologies.. I should have read through this section of the forum earlier but somehow I missed it..

As far as my original post is concerned.. I have since spoken to several other dealers throughout AZ, NV and MN... and most have confirmed that the MVA is not something that Toyota themselves are adding to the price but is simply a Dealer upcharge because of the demand... ie Price Gouging. Any Dealer that claims otherwise, and I came across several this morning, is simply lying...

It's also worth noting, in case anyone here might get caught out by this *scam* for want of a better word... is that several dealers failed to mention a MVA at all even though there would be one.. and were just quoting sticker price with a $1000 non-refundable deposit to join the 'list' and only admitted there would be an MVA when asked directly and even then, it took several blunt questions before a couple of them even admitted they would be adding on a MVA to the final price!!!

The highest MVA a dealer tried to (over)charge me was $11,495 and the lowest $2,995. Total madness!!

I have since ordered my Prius 2005 #9 from Big Two Toyota in Mesa AZ for the standard price with no MVA and will happily wait the 6-9 months..

 

I was wondering... if people are paying the MVA amount, are they "extending" the time period that those who refuse to pay MVA have to wait for their cars?

 

From what I gathered, during my exercise yesterday... If you don't agree to pay the MVA.. you simply get removed from the list... You have one chance... so long as it's the model you selected (options etc) and if you refuse.. it's 'Hard luck and bring on the next buyer"

No one was willing to even negotiate on this.. and every dealer, who was tacking on an MVA that I spoke to, confirmed this. Also, a couple of Dealers also stated that any deposit put down.. was non-refundable if you refused to purchase the model and option package you selected.. though they would refund you if they offered you a different option package, color etc.. I could not draw them into giving me a direct answer on the subject of "what if you add on an MVA or increase the price from the original quote?" though I did notice a few of the dealers were not even willing to name a final price.. just quoting standard sticler price... and a $1000 deposit.. to reserve the chance to get a new 2005 or even 2004 Prius... no matter how hard I pushed!

Scary times indeed...

I should add however, that there are still a few dealers out there who are not playing these silly games... The down side is that unfortunately, they tend to be the dealers with very long lists of 12-24 months in one instance! I wonder why?

 

Here in Texas, there is a Toyota dealership in the Dallas Metroplex who can sell you a Prius right off the lot, no wait.

The upcharge is $10,000. That was as of a couple of weeks ago.

I am on a waiting list with Toyota of Richardson and they took a $500 deposit (my salesman agreed that was refundable and applied to the downpayment but you know, I was not smart enough to get that in writing). The quote sheet I have has a final price, but I was told that if Toyota raised the price between now and delivery I would have to pay the increase.

It is kind of ugly looking at how some dealerships are handling this. I'll admit I am nervous. It would not surprise me if I show up to take delivery and they try to change the ground rules on me. At that point I don't really know what options I will have if I want to leave with the car I ordered.

Good luck with your wait!

 

Back in 1986 I was in the market for a Japanese auto, because of the better gas mileage and bang for the buck in terms of perceived quality and standard features. I narrowed the list down to two contenders: Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I went to the Honda dealer first and looked over the floor model, including the price sticker. Down at the bottom, in ballpoint ink, was written an $1800 surcharge with wording that I didn't understand. I asked a roaming salesman what the surcharge was for and got some gobbledegook answer that I finally realized was an arbitrary markup. I said,"So, you're charging what the market will bear." He replied in the affirmative. I walked out with a very disagreeable taste in my mouth and went to the Toyota dealer. A very good price and a satisfied Camry owner I became. I've been a Toyota fan ever since and am a proud owner of a 2002 Prius that I bought 10% off sticker price in September 2002. Toyota's gain, Honda's loss!

Toyota should bear down on those dealers who price gouge, for their own protection. There may be potential first-time customers (as I once was) who go to Honda for a hybrid Civic, never to return to Toyota!

 

I simply can't understand why somone would pay that much over sticker for a loaded Prius. First of all, if someone is buying it for fuel economy, there goes your savings right out the window. Either wait, or buy a TDI.

 

Then why didn't you buy an Echo? Without doing any research, I can tell you that the Echo would likely be your more economical car. It's like $10k and gets 35-40 MPG. So, why'd you buy the Prius?

 

Here's my two cents regarding why someone would buy a Prius at 20-25k plus over a TDI, or a Focus or <insert favorite small car here>

- MPG and the economics thereof ain't it: Yes, going farther on a tank and paying less at the pump, but you can't justify buying a new car based solely on gas milage, unless your comparison is a Hummer (H2 or H1). Also, a fuel efficient Diesel may even burn less gas, or cost less per mile, but the emissions are worse, particularly if you start considering emergingn impact of particulate emissions.

For me (I am looking at getting my name down on a Prius list in about 1-2 months), it is a combination of a couple factors

- less gas usage: If you can do the same thing, using less gas, and producing less emissions, why not? You could argue about evils of oil dependency, emissions, etc. but for me it is a more general efficiency thing. Why waste gas or produce more waste than necessary? In deciding on the Prius, I gave up my long desire to get a Wrangler. The Wrangler for me was a wish fulfillment of what I would like to think I shoud drive. The Prius was a reality check of my real situation and priorities. (I was interested in the Insight and Hybrid Civic for a while, but they seem to be excessively experimental in first case, and less optimized in second)

- Newer and/or better: The Prius not only is a effective implementation of new technology, and has a relatively high toy factor (voice recog, GPS, bluetooth, smart entry/start, etc.), but it also hints at an actually different, fresh concept. In researching the Prius, I ran across a review that focused on the emphasis on the fuel economy guage instead of speedometer - that it emphasized economy over speed. Perhaps overblown, but there is definitely an argument that not only is there new stuff in the car, but that it is based on, reflects, and represents a different way of approaching driving and automobiles. And for me, its a better fit. It's up to other to decide for themselves.

Well, that was longer than planned, please to forgive the rant.

Tau Zero