Hi,

Just picked up a new Prius, Package 3 for $200 under MSRP. After going the rounds here in Southern California, I asked my wife who frequently travels up to San Jose area to check out dealerships up there. Made our purchase through Stevens Creek Toyota, Kevin Pancoast. Straight transaction. My wife says they get 15 new Prius every two weeks. They evidently sell to a lot of people from LA/San Diego. It seems that in Sourthern California if you do find a dealer that sells MSRP you have to wait quite a while, (at least till October anyway), get lucky, or deal with dealers who want to sell way over MSRP ($1-$3K).

Regards,
Lou

PS, Of course we have to drive it back but my brother is in Santa Maria so it's a nice trip.

 

Congrats Lou on your new Prius. My White #3 should arrive in SoCal this weekend. I have been waiting for about 2 months because I insist on MSRP, White and package 3. Could have saved $100 buying through a broker but color was not what I wanted (Black, Gray, Blue or Red). For $100 more I decided to go with the color I wanted. You are right about SoCal prices (MSRP with long wait, or paying markup for faster delivery). Does not seem to be improving despite of lower gas prices now. Personally I think the gas price plunge is election related; prices will be $3+ again next year.

 

Picking up my car in New Hampshire this weekend, I live in Mass - waited two months. Silver Pine #3 paying sticker price of $24,168. My wait was long because I only wanted silver pine in #3 or #4.

 

$23,987 for Package 1, Seaside Pearl color. Los Angeles area - Carson Toyota.

This was really tough to get this close to MSRP in LA. One dealer admitted on the phone that Toyota has shipped a lot of lower-numbered packages (1, 3, and 4) to dealers to close out the 2006 line in September, so there's the first glut in the market there's been in a long time. Packages 7 and 8 are wait-listed but the lot I bought my package 1 from had 10 (yes, 10) Priuses on the lot when I bought it. Most of them were low-number packages and no buyer.

I think the total with taxes etc was $26,019. Didn't finance it, would've cost me $3000 extra in the end - save up! It's worth it! One dealer tried to get me to pay $28,900 for the same car, and said, "Well what about financing? What's more important to you, the down payment or the monthly fee - what's a good monthly payment for you?" I said "The grand total I pay in the end is the most important. No monthly payment is good for me" haha - nice try buddy.

Oh by the way if you're willing to drive, sounds like Mossy Toyota in San Diego has several on the lot and is selling them for even cheaper than what I paid.

Also, to those in So Cal who feel they have to wait, you absolutely don't. I found at least 5 lots in the area with Priuses on the lot with no buyer attached - there's a glut of 2006's. Just search on Toyota's site and call at least 10 dealers before you head out to a dealer - you'll find plenty you don't have to wait for.

 

Welcome to the CLUB!

You might want to fix your "User CP" to indicate your ride and start recording the mileage. It is fairly easy to add a signature block.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

 

Will do Bob - I want to get through a full tank with the Prius before I "add a tank," though - I have to admit, I'm really excited to add one to the database but it could be a really long wait given how long it takes to go through a tank on this car.

...Is it possible to ask the Prius what the average gas mileage was for a trip on the computer? The Civic could do it but I can't find it on the Prius.

 

I was just informed by a SoCal dealer that first batch of 2007 Prius is arriving on lot this coming week and after, before Sept. 30. In CA only base Prius comes with pkg 1, 2, 5 & 6, and Touring comes with pkg 6 ($6K more!!) is available. Anyhow, I can get a 2007 Prius #2, for about the same as a 2006 Prius #3 ($24K), but with the added VSC. I must admit the lastest federal mandate about importance of VSC did get to my head, especially since the car will go to my kids in a few years. So I am quite tempted to just go for the 2007, and hope to get it before Sepot 30. Anyone heard anything from their area dealers about 2007 availability?

 

The approach I use is to treat each 'fill-up' as a tank. Early on, I started topping off the tank twice a week. On Friday, for the weekend, and either Sunday evening or Monday morning for the commute week. By separating my mileage on these natural boundries, I was able to run weekly experiments on different mileage techniques.

Just use the consumption screen and hit "RESET" when you start your trip. At the end, you'll have the mileage for that segment. I also reset one of the trip meters since it gives mileage to one tenth of a mile. This allows you to divide the trip meter miles by the segment MPG and give you the gasoline consumed on the trip without having to top-off the tank.

One other thing you'll soon discover is the bladder fuel tank has a variable volume. The variation is less than a gallon but so far, it has defined all attempts to diagnose and folks have been dealing with it since 2001! It is on my list of 'things to do.' BTW, I've tried double fill-ups, fill once, drive 5 miles, and top it off again. But I still get the same variability.

Bob Wilson

 

Living in California is the worst place for finding good vehicle prices. But we did get $1000 off MSRP on the Central Coast. So we ordered two! One came in a few weeks later and the other came in a month later, both made it in time to get the full tax credit. Oh and the later one, ended up being a 2007 model. And while the base price went up, the 2007 model cost us less than the 2006 because the option package went down in price. Both vehicles had everything except leather.

 

Resist, 2 Prii, and 2 full tax credits. Congrats. You will be the envy of your neighborhood. In am in SoCal, and picked up my silver 2007 base #2 on 9/29, full MSRP but no add'l markup or unwanted accessories. I am rediscovering the joy of driving again, wanting to go out and try what mileage I can get. Furtherore, traffic (LA's) no longer bothers me so much, since the AC is keeping me cool and I burn no gas. No car has ever alleviate the frustration of traffic more than this Prius.