Check out this article on the Toyota Prius:

Dealers Reportedly "Price Gouging" on 2010 Toyota Prius

Posted: Aug. 27, 2009 12:08 p.m.


The month-long car buying binge triggered by the federal Cash for Clunkers trade-in program has led to a shortage of some fuel-efficient cars. Now, the shortage is having an ugly consequence.


Daily Tech reports, "Rogue Toyota dealers" have begun "price gouging on [the] scarce 2010 Toyota Prius." Daily Tech reports, "With the typical sticker price of the Prius coming it at around $26,000, many dealers across the country have been charging $3,000 to $10,000 markups, more than offsetting the "Cash for Clunkers" rebate of $3,000 to $4,500 in some cases."

Autoblog adds, "It wasn't all Toyota dealers that took to making dough while the sun shone, of course." Since the practice wasn't spread throughout all Toyota dealerships, Autoblog notes, "the gist of the story appears to be that if you really want a Prius, shop around for MSRP and you'll probably find it."


This isn't the first time we've seen asking prices for the green icon go up. Last summer, with gas prices peaking at more than $4 per gallon, the prices of even some used Prius sedans jumped over what Toyota advises dealers to charge for a new model.



If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.

Dealers Reportedly "Price Gouging" on 2010 Toyota Prius - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

Anyone seeing other cars marked up?

 

... soo glad this is about the Prius and not the fit. I got a little worried.
Someone is looking to buy my truck on Sun. so "fingers crossed" I will be in the market for a Fit REAL soon!

 

I posted it for that reason. I know there are several people who have been waiting for CARS to be over so they can get a good deal on a Fit.

But if Toyota is doing this, and it's widespread, that could mean a few things. Honda COULD get a ton more sales on their Insight, and on their Fit, by keeping the prices at the maximum of MSRP.

Or Honda could follow along, and bump up their prices.

As each dealership may vary (as we saw so clearly with the CARS program), it will be a requirement for you to shop for good deals. The unscrupulous dealers who are holding on to people's new cars are also probably the ones who will end up marking up the cars.

The ones that followed the rules with the CARS program may also be the ones who still work on customer satisfaction.

When it's time for your new Fit, browse some of the Clunker threads and look for the best dealers there. Also, I am more than happy to look up the inventory of dealers near you. It's kind of fun. I like to do that. And I can see what prices they have online.

 

When I went looking around at cars to figure out what to buy/what I liked (re: this recent C4C purchase), one of the dealerships I went to was a Nissan dealership to look at the Versa and the Cube. The dealership had a "market adjusted price" (or a similar term of some sort, meaning the same basic thing) over and above the MSRP of about $1995 on the Versa(s).

I want to know whatever happened to negotiating.

You want to sell me something above the 'suggested retail price'?! I don't even buy toys, books, or clothes for MSRP. Why the heck would I buy a car ABOVE MSRP just because you want to tack on an EXTRA profit?!

There really oughta be a law...

Isn't there a reason why the american car industry has been losing billions of dollars?

Obviously for people looking for FITs right now... the sweet spot will now be buying a 2009 as the 2010s come out.

 

I believe that right now is a horrible time to buy. Not only will you probably not get the exact car of your choice, dealers are still coming off their high from C4C. I bet a good portion of people didn't mind paying for MSRP or more when trading in their clunkers because they are getting a free $4,500, so dealers took advantage of it.

This recession isn't even close to being over yet, if anything we have only hit bottom. Unemployment is expected to hit 10% by year's end. Because of this spike in sales, it is possible that it drained potential sales that would have been made during the holiday season. Just wait a few months and the dealers will be singing a different tune. You will more likely get the car of your choice as well.

 

Now that C4C is over, I think it is a pretty good time to buy actually.
I had 2 dealers call me on Tues (that day after C4C ended) to see if I was still in a market for a Fit. I can only take that as them knowing their sales are going to plummet.

 

I drove the Prius and it was pretty decent. I then drove the Altima Hybrid and bought the thing earlier this month. Nissan was doing $3250 cash back on hybrids and the dealer works with a customer of mine so I got almost another $2000 off. Toyota can keep their cars. The Altima rocks. Still have my Fit.

 

My Fit is two weeks old tomorrow and the honeymoon is not over yet.

I considered the Corolla, Sentra, Yaris, & Focus but now looking back, I'm glad that none of those dealers had any that caught my eye during C4C or I may have ended up with one of them. The Sentra especially, would have been a couple thousand less with the incentives.

Went by my dealer today and there was a white Fit that just appeared on their lot, so I popped in to look at it thinking they were getting new deliveries. The salesman said it was a trade with another dealer for another one they had on their lot. They had plenty of Civics, Accords and CR-V's, but only the one lonely white Fit. They were still offering all cars at MSRP, just like during C4C.

 

Auto prices expected to remain high until November (I thought I posted this somewhere):

In the short run, dealers will see sales drop precipitously, said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the auto Web site Edmunds.com.
0:00 /1:42Cash for clunkers gets clunked
"I think we're going to see a decline of about 40% in the immediate aftermath," he said.
That would take sales down to where they were in May, lower than they were in the month or two just before the program started.
Much of the decline will be because dealers don't have many cars left to sell and, as a result, prices are high.
"This is the first time in years that if someone came and said they were thinking about buying a car, I would tell them to wait," Anwyl said.
Clunkers: What happens now - Aug. 24, 2009


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During the popular cash for clunkers rebate program, inventory dwindled down to low levels, as almost 700,000 consumers bought a new car. Dealers who had too much inventory on their lots before the government program started now don’t have enough.
Supply versus demand caused vehicle prices to increase. And until manufacturers send dealers a supply of new cars to replenish the ones sold during the CARS program, expect to pay a premium for a new car if you must buy now.
Auto industry experts say that for September and October, usually peak car buying season, inventories will be low, there will be fewer choices and shoppers should expect to pay higher prices, CNNMoney.com reports.
After dealers receive their shipments of new cars, the prices should fall to pre-cash for clunkers levels, as demand drops and supply increases. Experts say if you wait until November and December to buy a new car, you’ll be able to take advantage of better incentives and bigger discounts, as that time of year is typically slow for car sales.
Auto Loan Daily - Vehicle Prices Expected to Remain High Until November
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Where do you find all this stuff Taff? Lol you got info on everything.

Looks like my prediction wasn't far off, it would definitely be better to wait. Hopefully I can get mine in Dec.

 

Google. Google news. Google images. Google searches.

Your prediction was spot on!

Lookie here, used stick Base Fit, 12,000 miles, at $16,999 which is more than MSRP for new!
Details of Used 2009 Honda Fit, Antioch, CA - Yahoo! Autos

 

My grandpa just bought a 2010 Prius for MSRP. One dealership wanted 5K over MSRP, so he told them to "**** off" (his words)!

 

your grandpa is cool.

 

See, that's what *I* thought might happen. Which is opposite of what the news said.

I can see the supply/demand equation equaling the ability to ask for more than msrp.

But I thought that some of the dealers would have learned a HUGE lesson via the CARS program. Kind of a no-brainer lesson. It's embarrassing to even say it, but here goes: People want really good deals on cars.

They'll knock down the front doors, wait for hours, put down deposits, fill out tons of paperwork, and in some cases even go without a car for weeks, if they can get a really good deal.

If they can get that kind of deal, they'll drive out of the area for it. They'll take a day off from work for it. They'll buy every car on the lot that is an extra good deal and buy cars that aren't even at the dealership yet.

The "really good deal" part includes mpg and dependability and fun factors. Includes the trade-in part, because it relieves people of the burden of their old gas guzzler and gives them more than it was worth (that's not something the dealers can do, obviously). It has a "feel-good" factor, in that the people are doing something (albeit small) for the environment. And their overall costs will go down after getting the new car.

All the cars that were sold during CARS were already there. I mean, it's not like some brand new special models were made for the program. The same cars were available before, and are available after.

But the lots weren't empty when I bought my Fit in Dec 08. When I did many searches online looking at various dealer inventories trying to help people find cars before CARS, the dealer lots weren't empty.

It would seem that it would be an excellent idea for at least a couple dealerships to try out some kind of "super low prices, all the time, for everyone". One of the dealerships that has several stores under the same owner, which gives them access to each other's stock.

If the prices are really good, people will buy the cars, will travel to the dealer with the awesome pricing, and leave the lots looking empty.

They still have to make money. But how it's made can vary. Like if they wanted to make $1,000. They could make it at once, once in awhile, from one person. But that would only help one salesperson...

If they made $100 from 10 people, that could help ten salespeople. And guess what? More money comes in from people buying accessories, having service done (in the future). Because there are then 10 people coming back to the dealership for all their goodies. It makes for better "loyalty".

Look at the CARS program, with some of the less than stellar dealers. People who bought through the problematic dealers are far less likely to return to that dealer for anything.

On the other hand, my local dealer, Serramonte Honda, they are really cool. The other day when I was there for most of the day, I ended up talking to several people in various areas, and it made for a nice experience. Guess where I'm buying my accessories? Guess who I'm paying labor hours to put them on? That's right. The dealer that is enjoyable to be at.

While I didn't buy my car at that dealership, it's owned by the same people who own the dealership that had the car I wanted. And they were really good too, over at Concord Honda.

And guess what? That little bit of discount that I got when I bought the car has been more than spent on accessories and labor at the dealership afterwords.

That keeps Parts busy, Service busy, Mechanics busy, meaning they all keep their jobs and get paid. That's good for the dealership and good for the economy.

 

are you retired? i cant image spending time at the dealer I absolutely didnt have to.

i will only go to the dealer for service right before my warranty expires. otherwise, DIY. :)

regarding the markup, I bought a used one. found an 09 sport AT in blackberry pearl 1/2 cross country, paid 15500. no tax. otherwise, I may have waited awhile for the C4C issues to fade away...

 

It was the day I went in for the "Fuel Consumption Test". For some reason, I thought I would just zip in and out of the dealership. So I thought I might as well just hang out.

They do provide shuttle service, home, or to the malls, but I thought it was going to be fast. I was wrong.

I had nice chats with people in parts, service, the phone center area, brief chat with a salesperson. They have a tv, muffins, free fresh ground coffee, junk food vending, tea.

I got bored and pulled some weeds too. I used to enjoy pulling weeds. Years and years ago. But I'm in an apartment (no weeds in the carpet) and I'm disabled now too. I discovered the pulling weeds was not nearly as fun as it used to be, it's too painful.

So, I didn't get much pulled, it's clover and it's going to seed, and it's choking out their plants. The roots are deep. But if just the plants are broken off before going to seed, that will at least reduce the number of future weeds.

Anyway, that's why I hung out there. I don't have a lot to do that I can do, without being in a lot of pain. Gets lonely. That's why I like coming here. And really enjoy looking things up. If I'm focused on a search, or learning something new, or enjoying the company on this site, I don't seem to notice being in pain much.

 

pain sucks. i just got over a bad back injury (3 slipped discs, though it was aggregate...not one incident that caused it). Luckily, my insurance with NAU is quite good, and I was able to get the MRI, chiro, and PT I needed to get back in play. I spent the whole day working on the M6 today. It's nice to be back out in the world.

how close are you to flagstaff? I'll do your next service in exchange for some landscaping work! :)

 

I have the back pain too, among other things. Mine has to do with bone in the spine growing and irritating the nerves. I can't fully describe all the pain, but if someone were to drop a bowling bowl on your lower back from about five stories up, that might begin to describe how it feels...all the time. And then it gets worse.

That's part of the reason I got the Fit at the time I did. I was trying to get more exercise, walk to the store (oh so slowly, with many rest points, LOL), but it was so painful. I just couldn't see myself walking through the rest of the winter last year.

The Fit is great. But my body is a clunker. The body is to the mind as the car is to the body, a great way to get around. Unless it's a clunker. Then you don't want to go anywhere in it because it will probably break down.

 

i havent seen any over the top pricing in any local dealers, but when i stopped by honda of concord, there were only 2 insights on the ENTIRE LOT (volume dealer, so this included none 'in the back') and zero fits. few civics though.