Love my new Prius. Horrible experience.
My Platinum Certified Sales Representative, aka "Product Specialist," the Koons Tysons 2012 Salesman of the Year - BARROD JONES!!! - was very charismatic and professional. He answered all my questions, showed me things I didn't know about the car, seemed knowledgeable, was very friendly and easy to talk to. The Finance Manager, Nick, had a similar demeanor.
Before contacting the dealership, I looked online. I knew I wanted the Prius. On their website it says that they are offering 0% financing on one page, and it also says, on another page that their "Wow" price is 21,000 dollars.
So, I filled out their form and Barrod called me the next morning and left a message pertaining to my inquiry about the Prius 2013 selling for 21,000. I called him back. We talked for about a minute, maybe two. Because it wasn't clear to me, I asked him if the Prius selling for 21,000 was also eligible for 0% financing? I understood him to say, Yes, but that I needed to fill out this Finance Application online to see if I qualified. So when I got home, I went online and filled it out. Then I left a message on his answering machine, and he returned my call, saying that everything looked good and all i needed to do was make an appointment and come in. Great. So the next day I came in, met Barrod, test drove the car, I didn't care much about the color, Yes I just want the base model, great, where do I sign, I want to buy the car. So what happens, Barrod comes back (for some reason he's talking to his manager?) with all the prices for the car, including the tax, freight, etc.
Freight, tax, tags aside, why is the price 22,000? What happened to the 21,000 dollar WOW price Prius? He said he could only do the 22K at 0% and the 21K at 3%. Really? All I heard were explanations that made no sense and "That's the best I can do." At this point, I'm pissed. That was the ONLY question I had when we talked on the phone. He gets me all the way in here, test drive, etc. just to let me know that, no, actually 22 is the best we can do for 0%. Thanks! Appreciate that.
I decided to go ahead with it anyway, at which point I got the pleasure of dealing with the Finance manager, Nick!!! He sat me down and explained his "recommendations" for a warranty and gap insurance. He explained that if I just went with the 3% APR for six years instead of the 0% at five years, he could drop 1500 dollars of the price and my monthly rate would drop 50 dollars. I'd only be looking at 415 a month... times 72. My 21,000 dollar WOW price Prius all of sudden is 29,000 dollars!! WTF?! So he brings in the Finance Director!!! Yes, and she says a lot of BS I don't understand because I have a huge headache at this point from all of this and then she says she's going to give me some Thanksgiving special and some other guy comes in and spits out a bunch BS about how it's only five hundred dollars because of the 1500 dollar discount, except that one's a 0% and one's a 3% loan which makes a pretty big difference. Anyway, I thought maybe it was an alright deal... not sure really... im really struggling to think at this point. They keep reassuring me how great a deal this is, blah, blah. As soon as I get home, I start reading about warranties and how they are not worth it, according to Consumer Reports, which they were quick to point out about how my new Prius was Consumer Reports' best pick for most value for the money in 2013.... they left out that any such warranty according to consumer reports is not worth it. Thanks!!! I appreciate all those "recommendations." Kill yourselves.
As it turns out, I guess I can just cancel them, as my Finance manager Nick did tell me. Before I left, I asked Nick again to explain why the 21000 dollar WOW price was actually 22000... anyway, he gave a bunch of BS answers and apologies. I can see why he's their platinum sales rep... I wouldn't have been able to do what he was doing with a straight face.
I can't wait for the day that I just buy my car on Amazon. Dealing with these kings of obfuscation and BS, I would not wish on anyone.
Since consumers have to deal with these fools, in the future, I would recommend just dealing with them on the phone and calling around more to see who you like the most, etc. I should have talked to more people and asked around. read more