New Gen 3 Prius

[Chris Dance]

I am going into the Toyota dealers today to negotiate the price of a new GEN 3 with safety pack. Are dealers giving discounts these days and what can I expect in getting extras such as floor mats etc? Can I expect a greater discount if there is no part exchange? Any tips on buying a new car these days would be appreciated. I am thinking that Pearl white is a good colour even though it is dearer. If any Prius owner has a Pearl white Prius please let me know how it is with regard to stone chips etc. My Gen 2 is low very low mileage and as new so if I cannot get a decent deal I may not change to the GEN 3.????

[Jan&tone]

I am going into the Toyota dealers today to negotiate the price of a new GEN 3 with safety pack. Are dealers giving discounts these days and what can I expect in getting extras such as floor mats etc? Can I expect a greater discount if there is no part exchange? Any tips on buying a new car these days would be appreciated. I am thinking that Pearl white is a good colour even though it is dearer. If any Prius owner has a Pearl white Prius please let me know how it is with regard to stone chips etc. My Gen 2 is low very low mileage and as new so if I cannot get a decent deal I may not change to the GEN 3.????

Mine is pearl white and so far no stone chips at all, but it's been more wet than dry and i've found that you tend to get chips during the summer when they are not washed off the roads.. Hopefully they wont show like they did on my gen2 which was dark blue.. Manufacturers seem to use white undercoat regardless of the final colour so any chip showed on that immediately...

As to discounts, it depends on when in the month, when in the quarter and what the demand is... With an 18 week lead rime, unless the dealer has one in stock, i doubt you will get much

[Opifex]

The Daily Telegraph regularly recommends drivethedeal.com. I've just tried looking at the price of a T-Spirit, Pearlescent White with safety pack which comes out at £24,762 compared with the official price of £27,555. Even if you don't intend to go with drivethedeal it may be good to print out their offer to use as a bargaining point.

It would be interesting to know how you get on.

Good luck.

[kithmo]

The Daily Telegraph regularly recommends drivethedeal.com. I've just tried looking at the price of a T-Spirit, Pearlescent White with safety pack which comes out at £24,762 compared with the official price of £27,555. Even if you don't intend to go with drivethedeal it may be good to print out their offer to use as a bargaining point.

It would be interesting to know how you get on.

Good luck.

That's exactly what I did last April to get mine down. I got it at around the same price as the Internet broker's price with mats & 3 years servicing on top. It's definitely a good bargaining tool. Mine is a stock T-Spirit, silver metallic paint with no option packs.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

It's February, vat is up, people are skint and car sales are down 10%. Of course you're gonna get a fantastic deal. Go to two or three different dealers and play them all off against each other. With times as they are you can even afford to be a little cheeky too!

You don't get if you don't ask! ;)

[Chris Dance]

Well I did it. I ordered a new Gen 3 T Spirit with leather and pearl white. Had to decide whether to wait till July/August for a T spirit with safety pack or get a better deal with one without the safety pack now. Got Supaguard thrown in with full set of mats and full tank of fuel. Also got a discount on Gap insurance. The whole deal worked out £1,500 below recommended price. Delivery is the end of March with 11 Number plate.

For my 'as new' gen 2 with only 14000 miles on the clock in leather they offered a real rubbish price even though they said it was the best 3 year old Prius they had ever seen for a P/X. Price offered £8,000. I told them they were nowhere near the value of the car and I will keep it in the family or sell it privately. They said the chief salesman was very keen to have it. I told them that no way would he get it at that disgusting price.

I also told them that I want the very latest update on the Sat/Nav. They assured me it will be fully up to date. They did not know about cars sold last year with out of date maps.???

What is hill start assist on the Gen 3 please? Also does the keyless entry work OK? On the gen 2 you have to press the foot brake to start. I take it this is not so on the Gen 3.

I am not fully recovered yet over spending this amount of money but I think it was a fair deal from a local dealer. If I had bought from the internet it may have been cheaper but I feel better about it being local.

Chris.

[Jan&tone]

Nice deal

Hill start assist is great, push hard on the footbrake when you are stopped and you hear a click... This holds the brake for about 5 seconds, or until you start accelerating giving you a very nice smooth hill start!

Yes you start the car exactly as per the gen 2, foot on brake, push start burton. The only difference is that you have the key fob in your pocket, not in the slot on the dash.

[r04drunner1]

What Jan&tone said! Far better than I would have!

Congrats on doing the deal Chris and getting that discount. You should get FAR better money for your Prius if you sell it privately than if you do a trade-in.

When I sold my last car privately I was told by a friend in the trade that he wouldn't have given me £10k for it... not even from a friend. Yet it sold privately for £11.5k. (Answer to prayer that! )

[Doesn'tExist]

Actually you don't have to press hard imo on the foot brake, the operation is just that if you are normally at rest with your foot on the brake in a relaxed manner at the point the brakes bit you just push it that little bit further and it engages.

Keyless entry works very well I think. Starting is simple, without foot on the brake push the button for auxillary power and if you want to start hold you foot on the brake and push the button. You can do that in one go as well. And switching off is just coming to a halt, press the button again and it automatically goes into park and switched off.

Make certain they prepare the vehicle bodywork really really well before they apply supaguard as it is the usual washing monkeys and there is dirt left underneath it will stay there for a long long time. There is also a good chance that you'll never get that deep deep shine. There are advantages but also quite a number of drawbacks in my opinion.

[Chris Dance]

I agree about selling my immaculate Gen 2 Prius privately. My car has only 14,200 miles on the clock and has leather upholstery and FSH. It also has supaguard protection and side protection strips. I wanted to keep it in the family but that idea has begun to fade. If anybody knows anybody who wants a brilliant car contact me. It will be available the last week in March. The dealer said it is the best P/X he had ever seen but still only offered a stupid low price. I am open to very sensible offers.

Chris.