A "Non-Specified" Prius Story

When last we left my hybrid-buying story, you’ll remember that Honda rejected my attempts to purchase the cleaner version of their Civic Hybrid.  My wife, while still enthralled with the idea of cruising to work alone on I-66’s HOV lanes, did not want to wait 6-8 months for a Prius.  So she felt it was worth calling around. 

On about her third dealership call, she gleaned a little nugget of information that I listed in our buyer’s guide, but will go into more detail in here.  One of the dealers said that, yes, the current waiting list is 6-8 months, but Toyota is sending a number of “non-specified” models to dealerships across the U.S.  What this means is that these models are coming in with colors and option packages “as is” (The Prius currently has 3 option packages, with 1 being fairly “bare bones” – as much as the Prius can be bare bones – 2 adding on side-air bags, and 3 having all the bells and whistles including the neat GPS mapping system).  If you’re okay with the options and color, you can buy it and pick it up the day it arrives—no fuss, no muss.

With that information in hand, we went on down to our local Toyota dealership and sat down with one of the dealers (not the one who told us about the non-specified models).  Now, I don’t want to besmirch car dealers as a whole, but even though you’re heading in to buy a great, clean vehicle, that doesn’t mean that a dealer may not try and play a little dirty pool with you.  First, the dealer we talked to didn’t even mention the non-specified models.  He just told us that we needed to lay down $500 for a deposit and then it would be a 6-8 month wait.  When we brought them up he said, “Oh, yeah, but the thing people don’t know about those is that unless you’re on the waiting list, it’s a $2,500 extra charge for a non-specified model.”  As he raced back to see if they had any non-specifieds coming in, Kirsten and I gave each other the “This guy must be kidding me” look.  We quickly told this guy that we’d have to think about it, got the requisite “don’t wait too long, I can’t put a hold on anything without your deposit!” – and we left.

Our first call to another dealership quickly proved our suspicions well founded.  This dealer said they had a silver Prius, type-2 package (we wanted the side-air bags for the little ones, but we’re not the gizmo-happy types that needed the whole megillah) coming in 3 weeks.  “Any $2,500 surcharge?” we asked.  The woman had no idea what we were talking about, just pay the out-the-door price like everyone else.  We said “okay” and three weeks later, we zipped home in our new Prius.

We didn’t even try bargaining, as it seems kind of silly given the demand and short supply for the vehicles.  I’d be interested to hear if any Prius owners out there have actually tried to bargain with the dealer on their vehicle, and if they had any success.

So, that’s my story.  If you’re looking for a Prius and you don’t want to wait for it, I’d suggest hitting the phones and the web and contact all the Toyota dealers in your area to see if they have a non-specified model coming in.  It seems to be “catch-if-catch-can” so I hope your timing is good!

Posted by: ScottN

Comments

[Jason Weisberger]

When it comes to negotiating, we did manage to wrangle a bit on the Prius my wife bought in San Jose. She mostly used her trade-in (a Lexus SUV) value as the way to drive down the Prius cost a bit, they just gave her more value on the Lexus rather than taking cash off the Prius. They were also willing to cover part of the leather seat upgrade (come on! she did drop out of a Luxury SUV, she needs something!) and a few other incidentals. It seems, as we checked a few dealerships, some still charge a markup and some don't. It wasn't $2500 - we ran into a $1000 bump up - but she had no problem getting an unspecified model 6 with all the toys and gizmos with just around 2 weeks of calling around.

[Eric]

Can you ask the design engineer next door why almost all the hybrid designs out there are parallel hybrids and only the Insight is a series hybrid?
It seems to me that the dirt simple transmission a series hybrid allows offers low cost of manufacture and a great reliability opportunity, as well as easlily added all-wheel drive features and even traction control if you do the software right. Locomotives have been doing it this way for half a century.
There must be some countrvailining disadvantages or parallel hybrid advantages I'm not aware of.

[ScottN]

Hey Eric, thanks for visiting the blog. I will ask David, our engineer, about your question, but I think heading over to www.hybridcenter.org will give you some of the explanation. Our "A New Road" report details the pluses and negatives of of the different hybrid drivetrains. The more basic explanation with animation of the drivetrains can be found in our under the hood piece. Remember that the Toyota synergy drive is a Series/Parallel mix, not just a series. As far as I know, the Insight is also a Parallel, not a series.

[sae gozashti]

We did not negotiate the MSRP on the PRIUS. It was a 6 months wait, but was well worth it. Because we were ordering ours in the first month of pre-orders, the dealer had no vehicles on the lot or any "non-specifieds."

On another topic mentioned by Jason Weisberger: How do you lower the overall fossil fuel emissions by either selling or trading a more polluting older vehicle? Or SUV? Even passing on an older more polluting vehicle does not help. There was a Danish or Dutch study a few years back that addressed a bit of this question but I cannot recall the reference.

In our case we had a 1971 saab that was not tradable and we probably would not have sold or traded for sentimental reasons.

[len]

After dropping by the local Toyota dealership a year ago only to hear, 'We don't have any Prius' on site that we can show you ... they are all orders'; on April 26, 2005 I dropped by again because my 10 year old GM minivan was showing more signs of another impending maintenance bill or break down (wear on inside of driver's side tire).

Asked the dealer if he had a Prius and they had a Super White one with the stereo and side air bags and a couple of other dealership items like mud flaps so it MSRP'd at $24,500. It had just been prepp'd the day before and 8 people had appointments to see it. Apparently they quit taking orders and just sold the Prius on a first come first serve basis for whatever units they could get from Toyota. He said this way they could show the vehicles and even then they usually were gone in a day or two.

Anyway, I got $500 for my disintegrating hulk and walked out with a Prius that day.

I actually got a call the other day asking if I was interested in a second one. I also heard that a car with the leather seats and mapping system sat on the lot for over a week.

[Carol]

I've heard that the EPA figures on mileage estimates are sometimes way off base. I just want to report that my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid averages around 46 mpg, and that's going up and down some steep mountains on my way to and from work.

On a recent trip from the Catskills to Long Island, I peaked at 54 mpg. Very nice.

I'm very satisfied with the car, I only wish it had a little more power becasue it's very hard to hold any decent speed on those hills. But, only having to stop for gas once a week, makes it all worth it.

[Nicky Higginbotham]

I work for a toyota dealership in louisiana and we currently have a prius for sale. U can reach me at 337- 370 -9411.
Nicky

[Cara Fletcher]

This seems very interesting.This Prius would be a great car and it has my favorite automobile GPS systems.And this makes it the car I want to have in the future.

[Car Dealer Finder]

Hybrid cars are still a distant stores for mnay people as there is less fuel availablity for such cars in most places