and just got an email from toyota: 'Your Recent Purchase Experience'... could have some fun with that...
Woohoo! I just encountered my first Prime out in the wild, another blue like mine! It was just a few blocks from my house too.
I almost filmed the drive home. Had I for that, the extra time to setup would have caused me to miss it. Oh well. The impression is that was the second wild sighting, since my wife saw a woman driving several miles down the road and I saw a man. At least we are no longer alone.
Went to that dealership today. She said it's not here yet (even though the salesperson's emailed me to come in for a test drive and had one in stock) She also said someone ordered it and it's theirs when it comes in.
So... I have sent e-mails to three dealerships in up-state NY (all located within about 60 miles of my brother's house) asking about "out of state sales", and this is the one-and-only response I've received so far: "I received your internet inquiry with your interest in the Toyota Prius Prime. If you have a New York residency we will be able to sell you the vehicle but unfortunately, if you are contacting us from Indiana and don't have residency here, we can not. Thank you for your understanding." REALLY??? I thought I saw a couple of posts around here from people who purchased Primes from dealerships in NY and who were not NY-state residents. Or... has my mind really "gone" more than I had already realized???
I'm from the "great" state of Michigan and have bought my 2012 and 2015 Plug In Prius from http://www.luvtoyota.com in the "great" state of western NY (Lakewood NY to be exact) both times I drove my used Corolla and used 2012 PIP to the dealership in NY and got my new PIP's each time. They had no issues selling to me because I'm from out of state. Kelly Sanfilippo is the sales person there 1-716-456-0326 give her a call New 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Plus 5D Hatchback in Lakewood #T5172 | Luv Toyota
There's almost certainly nothing legally preventing them from selling to you. What's probably happening is that that dealership has got high enough local demand that they feel confident they're going to be able to move their Primes off the lot and into nearby driveways. There are sometimes incentives offered to salespeople for a sale to customer who lives within a particular radius of the dealership, because if you sell the car to a local, it makes the person more likely to get service from you and more likely to buy more cars from you in the future than from nearby competitors. No such benefits to selling to someone getting off a plane. That being said, I'm surprised that they'd turn down a sale for any reason. I'd follow up and ask why. Or start contacting dealers a little further afield. Buying from CT or NJ or something means a few hours' drive to and from your brother's, but could still be a substantial savings over buying in the Midwest. Driving a car off the lot in MA is a bit of a pain unless you bring a plate with you, but prices and inventory are good here!