Dealer hijinx in SF Bay Area

New member here, but not yet a new Prius owner. I was hoping soon, but am a little disappointed with some recent dealer hijinx. Forgive the length, but I guess I need to vent a bit.

I live in southern California, but the mid-tier package I want (#4) is not available in this area, so I decided to purchase in the SF Bay Area, where I am originally from. I still have family up there, and visit regularly.

I'm not the haggling type, so I did some research online (finding PriusChat during that research was serendipity!). After some weeks of looking and thinking and dreaming (and my '88 Celica getting whinier from under the hood), I took the plunge, got some dealer Internet/fleet quotes, and called the dealer with the lowest. Got the Web quote on Friday night, called the place on Saturday.

The kid I spoke with was distracted, and having other conversations etc. during the call, but he seemed nice enough and pretty straightforward. The price was good, and several hundred less than any other place I had checked, and I was ready to go.

The guy told me they didn't have the car in, but that he'd get an "inventory list" on Tuesday showing the cars that were coming in on the next shipment, and he'd call me then to let me know either way. If the car wasn't there, he said, we could order it, and it would take a month or two to come in. I'm in no particular rush, so I said that's great. No, I didn't press him to have me leave a deposit or credit card number. Should have.

Well, Tuesday came around. No call. Wednesday, no call. I work from home on Thursdays, so I finally had the chance to call again. Got his voice mail, and left a message. Then sent an message to the email address that the quote was .

Friday afternoon, I received this email back from him:

I just got back from my day offs. I did get your messege regarding the Red Prius. Toyota just came out with a bulletin saying there will be a shortage of the prius. Our dealership normally gets 30 to 35 Prius every two weeks and now we were told by Toyota Manufacture that we will only get 12 to 15 Prius every two weeks. Which means to you and me, it may take longer than usuall and my General Sales Manager is going to change the prices. I will have a meeting later with our Toyota Representative and my General Sales Manager and figure out why Toyota have a shortage for the prius.​

Ah. "change the prices"

I wrote a nice letter back, telling him I hoped he would honor the "old" price, since I had spoken with him based on the quote.

Oh silly me. Had I forgotten who/what I was dealing with?

After speaking to my Fleet/Internet Director, I cannot honor you the same price if the price of the Prius changes. Even if you contacted me before the price increase, I cannot give you the same price. On the price quote I gave you, in states very clear on the bottom that the quote expires in 72 hours. Which means at the time I quoted you, you would have to purchase the car before the 72 hours.​

I guess I should have known, but this has certainly soured me on the whole thing. I wrote back to remind him how we spoke based on the quote, he had misrepresented when he said he'd call me Tuesday, and forgot to mention that he would be taking "day offs", and that I was very disappointed, but not surprised. I also told him that avoiding these types of "talk to my sales manager" games was the reason I went to web/fleet quotes to begin with.

I kept it as measured as I could, and ended honestly:

I told him to let me know when they decide a new price based on what the market will bear, and that I will buy the car I want at the best prices I can get. My check book is primed, and I'm ready.

Am I so soured that I wouldn't buy from the guy or the dealer now? Probably not, if they can get me the best price, but I sure would have reservations. It's not like their price was THAT great to begin with, but it was the best I could find in the area (SF, Marin, and north). I've since read a few singing praises of a dealer in Walnut Creek, so I wrote them for a quote last night. Tried Costco today, just to see what number their affiliate (Novato) can come up with.

That's my story. It's hard when you seem to have it in your grasp, and it's lost like this. I guess maybe I hit it at just exactly the wrong time - when demand skyrockets, and dealers do anything they can to get out of their commitments so they can raise the prices. Demand up, supply down, of course - I get it. But it's still hard, and not worth the aggravation.

Thanks for listening folks. Hope to join you as a happy Prius owner soon.

-- garyZ

 

Just want to thank all who have replied so far, and all who will in the future. Know that I'm reading and taking in your advice. I will give the Toyota number a call, continue my research (realistically - not looking for a super bargain here - just looking not to get screwed), and I will let you know how it turns out.

Really appreciate the support. It helps!

-- garyZ

 

Thanks! I'm looking for a package #4, and probably Barcelona Red. (I think the Spectra Blue is nice too, I tilt a bit towards the red, as my current ooold Celica ('88) is red too. It seems not to show the dirt as much as a very light or very dark color.)

Funny thing: I saw one of your posts earlier today or yesterday where you mentioned Concord Toyota, so I will definitely give Gino a call. Already had his name/number written down! Also have heard good things about Walnut Creek, so I emailed for a quote or callback. And tried Costco, just to see what they could get me, and got a call back from Novato Toyota, but I missed the call.

I'm in no super rush to get the car, but I don't want to wait so long that the '09s are out by the time I get my '08 either!

And I'm waiting to see if the folks at City Toyota (the original offenders) come back at me with a quote again. They were the lowest of the near-SF quotes I got a couple of weeks ago. Though I'm a little soured on them, if all the dealers jack up their prices, they might still come in low. But it would have to be significantly lower than anyone else for me to go with them now.

Thanks again.

-- garyZ