Toyota Prius shopping results

Toyota Prius supply has improved, but selection is still very limited. I even looked at two used Prii, but at 30,000 miles, there really wasn't much of a price difference between a new or used Prius.

Used Prii, I was told, are pretty rare and mostly limited to used fleet vehicles. Several car rental companies were given a short term lease on a number of Prius hybrids, but those contracts are ending.

My last car shopping experience with Toyota was quite different. This time my salesman was on top of his hybrid knowledge. You can tell hybrids must drive a lot of consumer questions. Additionally, Toyota has become slicker at pricing the Prius, it seemed to me.

I was told at least twice that there were no dealer mark-ups on the Prius. Instead, I think Toyota has obscured the dealer mark-up into its Package prices. Currently, my Toyota dealer is only offering 3 of 6 possible Prius packages. Thus, I cannot buy the cheapest, base model Prius. The cheapest Prius available is $23,000 at my dealer. The most expensive Prius on the lot was $27 thousand and some change.

On my last trip the cheapest Prius was $22,000, and the most expensive was $32,000 - a customized package 6. On a future trip, I'm going to do some dealer-by-dealer comparison shopping.

If you want a Prius hybrid car today, you can probably find one. If; however, you have specific requirements for your Prius, including such basics as color, it could easily take months.

My dealer told me that supply is increasing, but very slowly, so now is not the best time for particular Prius shoppers.

More hybrid cars.

My original test drive of the Prius.