Toyota Prius Prices Soar Due to Earthquake

As a result, American consumers are anxious, with many scrambling to purchase the Toyota Prius before inventories disappear.
East and West coast dealers are seeing their inventories decline the fastest. High gas prices are adding to the increased demand.
With demand increasing, so are prices, which means shoppers should be prepared to pay more for fuel-efficient cars or be willing to wait a several months for supply to catch up.
Consumers can expect to pay at least $2,000 more for a Toyota Prius than they would have shortly before the earthquake.
Are there alternatives? If budget isn't an issue, there's the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf, but they're pretty much sold out for the year.
Then there's the Ford Focus Electric, not out yet and with limited availability.
The Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima hybrid cost more than the Prius and their fuel economy ratings are lower.
Other options are fuel-efficient gasoline cars like the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Cruze and the Hyundai Elantra.
All three can get up to 40 mpg on the highway, and you won't pay more than $18,200 for these models.
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan

Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...
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