http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/16/Auto...reut/index.htm

 

Last September when I was shopping for a hybrid electric, Ford gave me a 'list price', $27 k, not a 'family priced' quote for their hybrid. I used it to qualify for a car loan at my Credit Union but was pretty unhappy with the list price. The local Toyota dealer was tacking on $4.5 k to the Prius list price, nearly the same price as the Escape. Instead, I bought a used Prius, $17 k, and laughed all the way to the bank.

Now I read that in two markets, not mine, Ford is trying to sell Escapes. What happened, did the local Toyota dealers stop marking up their new Prius prices?

Bob Wilson

 

Northern VA, checking in. While the article states "Washington DC," I think the financing deal would have to include Northern VA dealerships. After all, that's where hybrids can use the HOV lanes.

When I bought my 05 Prius, last May, the dealership was not marking it up. However, there was only one on the lot, and there was someone literally standing behind me, ready to buy it, if I didn't.

Next door, at the Ford dealership, the FEH was marked-up $3500. That was a major part of my decision to buy a Prius. I have no idea if they're still marking them up. I can tell you I see a lot more HCHs and Priuses, than I do FEHs or HiHys.

 

If we didn't have an '04 Escape, I'd be looking into getting an '06 FEH. I'd even be willing to fly to VA to get it at the 0%!

The only problem is, from what I've seen in the past, 0% usually means there are no/little markdowns from MSRP. So, sometimes it's better to get an interest rate with a lower purchase price than MSRP, since total financing charges could total less than MSRP.

I remember seeing the numbers for the same vehicle, one at 0% and the other at something like 6.9%. Since the one at 6.9% was being sold for several thousand dollars less than the 0% one, after 5 years of monthly payments, the vehicle with 6.9% was a couple thousand dollars cheaper overall than the one at 0%.