Post #210,120
6/6/05 8:14:47 PM
6/6/05 9:16:17 PM
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Purchased
I got the questionable service charge removed. Wound up with a cash deal.
List price $19,600. With charges, taxes, etc $17,400. They lost about $1000. (But will get their next shipment in that much faster, with the oh so profitable Priuses. Random note, 20 minutes away there is a Toyota dealer that sells the Prius for a more reasonable price, and presumably would not give me that deal...)
I'm still disoriented from a negotiation that started with them making a loss. They weren't supposed to do that!
Cheers, Ben
PS At the last moment I went with no LoJack because a survey of co-workers showed that only the BMW owner had it (or thought it worthwhile), and he had it because it saved enough on his insurance to pay for itself.
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
Edited by ben_tilly
June 6, 2005, 09:16:17 PM EDT
Purchased
I got the questionable service charge removed. Wound up with a cash deal.
List price $19,600. With charges, taxes, etc $17,400. They lost about $1000. (But will get their next shipment in that much faster, with the oh so profitable Priuses. Random note, 20 minutes away there is a Toyota dealer that sells the Prius for a more reasonable price, and presumably would not give me that deal...)
I'm still disoriented from a negotiation that started with them making a loss. They weren't supposed to do that!
Cheers, Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #210,125
6/6/05 8:35:53 PM
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Congrats!
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Post #210,135
6/6/05 9:18:17 PM
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car dealers never lose :-)
but they depend on you thinking that they do. A new car on the lot is leased by the dealer until sold. He only has a couple of hundred into each machine. Now you cut mightily into his profits but he still turns a car and you are another satisfied customer. thanx, bill
All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true" Terry Pratchett [link|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/]
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
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Post #210,142
6/6/05 9:48:01 PM
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He lost according to Toyota's figures
I explained the game briefly above. Here's a longer explanation.
The dealer doesn't control the mix of cars they get. So they deliberately take a loss on some lines to move them and justify getting more profitable lines in stock.
Looked at another way, since the dealer doesn't control what is in a shipment, they juggle their internal notion of the prices to be able to sell the whole shipment faster. According to what Toyota says the price to the dealer was, the dealer lost money. According to the internal shell game, the dealer made money. As long as their internal prices add up to the cost of the shipment, and they clear the whole shipment at about the same time, they can afford to play by these internal figures. If they have lines where they can charge absurd prices and sell them as fast as they come in, the internal figures are going to be much more profitable than Toyota's figures.
It sucks to look for a Prius at that dealer. It is great to look for a Corolla or Camry.
Even with complete access to the dealer's books, you'll never know where you can begin bargaining. (From the dealer's point of view, yet another reason to use their figures rather than Toyota's.)
Cheers, Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #210,154
6/6/05 10:46:31 PM
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Re: He lost according to Toyota's figures
Congratulations.
I saw a lot of the dealer's side of that shell game when I was growing up. Ford shipped most of their dealers the same mix of cars, whether or not, for one example, convertables where selling in Midwest in December when there was a foot of snow on the ground. Dealers trade among themselves, but it's expensive to ship cars. Better for the dealer to take a loss on a few of the slow sellers.
The standard advice* my Dad, the ex Ford and Toyota dealer, hands out is to keep up with oil changes (even if you do 'em yourself), and to watch your tire pressure. Low tire pressure can throw off the alignment, which leads to more expensive problems.
--- * His other advise, FWIW, is that almost all car problems can be resolved by removing the gas cap. Then, with the cap removed, drive a new car in under the cap, and put the cap back on the new car.
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Post #210,585
6/9/05 3:02:31 AM
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suggestion..
if the back windows aren't already tinted, get them tinted. Especially if the youngster is going to be in the back seat. A roasted child is a terrible thing.
If you do decide to get the windows tinted, don't go cheap on it or you'll have ugly, bubbly windows. Spend the extra to have it done right. I had the Altima's windows done 8 years ago; while the tint has faded a bit, there are no bubbles. The difference for people travelling in the back has been well worth the cost.
Have fun, Carl Forde
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Post #210,654
6/9/05 2:25:15 PM
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I'll definitely think about that
I won't do it immediately, though, because this is going to be my commute car, not the main family car.
But I'll keep it in mind in case circumstances change.
Cheers, Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #210,656
6/9/05 2:25:28 PM
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ICLRPD (new thread)
Created as new thread #210655 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=210655|ICLRPD]
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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