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Prius Buying Experience, Old Member New Car


cabcurtains
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Hi All,

Having just picked up Mrs CC's new car i thought i would share my experience of buying it.

Due to a positive change of circumstance we decided to get a bigger and cheaper to run car, this car has to be petrol and a Toyota :clap: so it left us at a Prius or a Auris. But as the Mrs doesn't like the Auris, it will be a Prius then. The car also cant be black or white.

So off i go looking at post June 2010 Prius's, the best of which appear to be at Mr T. After a few phone calls i'm having sensible conversations with salesman who offer cap clean and a bit more for the old Yaris. This is a good start, although there isn't any extra discount available over the phone. We agree to disagree and the conversation ends.

The next day we get in the car early and head to see car No 1 100 miles from home at Mr T. We find the car a Vermilion example and start poking around it. This car is a 2011 11' T-Spirit with 43k recorded, its a total shed. Scratched on each panel and the inside is even worse, yes Toyota plastics scratch easily but this is a joke. I request the service book which isn't in the car, the salesman advises it has full Toyota service history and was a management car. When i asked why it wasn't registered in Guildford (Reg not starting with a G) the chap has no idea what i'm talking about! The full history is a piece of paper, this shows 2 services instead of 4.... what a joke. Now this car is £13,995, not the £12,995 as advertised online, the explanation being web prices are lower. So if i walk in you will let me pay £13,995, yes is the answer. Nice! We walk away,

Onto car 2 another 30 miles south at Mr T, this is another 2011 11' but with 24k and T4 spec, silver this time. Exterior is better but still covered in scratches, interior is a lot better. Now for the service book, again not present, salesman tells me its OK, its an ex enterprise hire car so they will have looked after it :nono: really? Where is the service book? Lost, but i will get you a piece of paper from them saying its been serviced. I ask what will Mr T say in 2 yrs when it needs a warranty repair, salesman says it should be fine....Now this car is £13,995, not the £12,995 as advertised online, the explanation being web prices are lower. So if i walk in you will let me pay £13,995, yes is the answer. Nice! We walk away, AGAIN.

This is a joke, whats happened to the world? I'm not happy!

Right car 3, not at Mr T, my last option that i don't really like as its at a car supermarket, i must be bias with Mr T dealers. So this is a 2011 11' T-Spirit with 65k, but it has a genuine Full Toyota History and registered in June 11 so 33mths of warranty to go (Mrs CC 7k per annum now). Ex Lease car. Its in great condition and the interior is good as well, it smells of smoke, dam it. But i can fix this, as i have done before :g: . This car is £11,200, px price is good, deal done, car home :yahoo:

58.6MPG on the way back, well pleased, Boot liner and mudflaps on order. Very disappointed in the rubbish for sale at these 2 Mr T franchised dealers and the total lack of knowledge the staff have on service histories and warranty.

So here she is :toast:

PriusatHome2.jpg

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Glad you got one in the end and that you are happy with it. Like you we have the opportunity to change to a larger car. Went to Toyota to see a Auris, only looking but the salesman said try on now so we did and I loved it.

Booked a test drive of a Skoda Octavia the following weekend. Turned up for test drive and they didn't have a car their for me to try, we'll I was not best pleased and told them that . On the way back home we popped into Toyota and asked if we could halve a longer test drive. No problem they said so had 2 hour test drive on our own. So am now waiting dor delivery os a Auris sports tourer excel.

There was no pressure from the salesman, can not praise them enough.

Shall look forward to taking the new car to Skoda and show them that I was a serious buyer.

Mick

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My experience of the Bristol area Toyota dealer was much better. It did take a little while to track down a Prius Plus demonstrator as the various dealers around Bristol seemed to be part of the same group and share a 'plus so had to drive down to the south Bristol branch (made an appointment first to make sure). The salesman was very knowledgeable, no pressure, let me have a decent long test drive (unnacompanied) - basically said give it a good run, take an hour or two if you want. All this knowing he wouldn't get a commission for the sale as I'd explained it was going to be a company car and would be purchased centrally through a lease firm.

My worst dealer experience was VW. I'd arranged to test drive a Passat Estate and had explained that I needed to check out the boot to ensure my daughter's wheelchair would fit in vertically. I turned up at the dealer (20 mile drive from home) to be told that their sales manager had gone camping for the weekend and had taken the Passat estate so no car available to test drive or check the boot, no apology. They had a used Golf estate on the forecourt and the guy suggested it was quite similar so would I like to try that... .. needless to say I didn't go for a VW!

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Now this car is £13,995, not the £12,995 as advertised online, the explanation being web prices are lower. So if i walk in you will let me pay £13,995, yes is the answer

This has started to happen A LOT particularly at used car supermarkets. They Know 9/10 car searches start on the net and are priced to draw you in. The "web" price is honoured, usually by downloading a web voucher. Ive not seen it at any Toyota dealers around this way

Kingo :thumbsup:

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First spotted mine on the web - at a dealer 80 miles away. On visiting the dealer the price stayed the same - but the mileage was 11,000 over the quoted! An opportunity as a negotiating tool? No chance!

Still bought it, but, as they say, once bitten.......

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Now this car is £13,995, not the £12,995 as advertised online, the explanation being web prices are lower. So if i walk in you will let me pay £13,995, yes is the answer

This has started to happen A LOT particularly at used car supermarkets. They Know 9/10 car searches start on the net and are priced to draw you in. The "web" price is honoured, usually by downloading a web voucher. Ive not seen it at any Toyota dealers around this way

Kingo :thumbsup:

The problem is John you can't trust southerner's :naughty: ;)

When i sold cars we just wound the clock back and dropped a bit of saw dust in the gearbox, we never messed with the price :P

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Spotted my car on the web but when I got to the dealer there was a higher price on the screen. No issue, I could have the lower price. There had been a sale on which had finished but they would honour the price I had seen.

A lot of ex Toyota cars seem to be on an F reg now - had a GV before but on an FP now.

Hope your bad experience is a rare example, sounds like they were telling you porkies about being a management car, especially in that state. The ones I have bought have been excellent, in fact one was like a new car, the books were still in a plastic bag in the tray under the passenger seat. Thought the cigarette lighter was missing but that was also in the bag unused !

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Interesting my 2011 T Spirit was valued at £12K as part ex against a new one.

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Spotted my car on the web but when I got to the dealer there was a higher price on the screen. No issue, I could have the lower price. There had been a sale on which had finished but they would honour the price I had seen.

A lot of ex Toyota cars seem to be on an F reg now - had a GV before but on an FP now.

Hope your bad experience is a rare example, sounds like they were telling you porkies about being a management car, especially in that state. The ones I have bought have been excellent, in fact one was like a new car, the books were still in a plastic bag in the tray under the passenger seat. Thought the cigarette lighter was missing but that was also in the bag unused !

They were talking rubbish, but as i've bought and sold 100's of cars i can see that. Not everyone has the knowledge though, when you pay premium prices for approved cars they should be high quality.

All the previous Mr T cars i have bought have been fine. I'm not taring all dealers with the same brush :)

I would imagine the F cars are registered in Derby and used by factory staff.

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