CNBC reports Hybrid demand has slumped....

Yeah, he has a hybrid on the lot. A used one. For $31,000. My bro went to a Toyota dealer yesterday, not looking for a Prius. They told him (and everybody else visiting the lot) that they have 10 used Prii from Washington, $31,000 each. And there is a 6 to 9 month waiting list for new. So, yeah, they're on the lot, and probably will be for a loooong time at that price.

 

If the dealers aren't gouging I'll bet the car that is on the lot "now" won't be there two hours later and wasn't there when the program aired.

 

So the media is turning against hybrids. Wonder why.

 

I should not say "turning against" because that implies something new. Several times during Prius' history a month of sales has been lower than the month before, or the same month in the year before. Invariably this stimulates someone to predict "the end of the fad". Have long since given up searching for the retractions published afterwards. Zzzzzz.

It's just the media doing the best they know how. Perhaps we can forgive such smallness?

 

There have been several used Prius' on the local dealer's lot recently. (Rentals or share-a-ride.) My new order came in about a month earlier than I expected.

The dealer acted like they are getting well over new sticker for the used Prius' they are selling. Seems crazy to me, but impulse buyers do strange things.

Suggestion: Consider ordering new from a lower volume dealer if you have several dealers close enough. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but I noticed the smaller dealer seemed to have shorter wait lists. Edit: by wait list I actually meant overall wait time (not the number of names on the list), the higher volume dealers were quoting longer waits, the little guy got mine in half the time.

 

I saw about 5 Toyo certified Prius' at Sunnyvale this morning ...

asking $30,000 for a 08 used, pack 4 or 5

others were from 2005 to 07 all pack 2's , asking in the $27k range, 1 with HOV stickers.

No thanks.

 

There's more to driving a hybrid car than just saving money. We still really don't know if hybrids are necessarily the answer to all our problems. I think I am much more interested in a hydrogen-powered car.

 

FWIW, my mom bought a leftover new 07 NAH back in mid to late Feb 08. The Nissan dealer had at least a couple more (some 07s and 08s). Another Nissan dealer definitely had some 08 NAHs.

We didn't have trouble finding HyCams either back then.

I don't know the current situation now, but just in the last month or two, I got a postcard in the mail from Falore Nissan (in Sunnyvale, CA) specifically advertising the 08 NAH and no other vehicles.

I did hear from a newbie coworker just today that he's #220 on a Prius waiting list at Toyota Sunnyvale. I don't know the ETA they gave him.

 

Of course sales have slumped over the past few weeks . . . everyone's on a waiting list

 

I got an oil change this morning at O'brien Toyota outside Indianapolis. The Prius waiting list is 6 to 8 months.

 

Indianapolis is likely the exception. The wait isn't quite so bad at our local Toyota dealer. CNBC's naked statement that 'hybrid demand has slumped' doesn't have the drama, said another way:

ALL car sales are down, but hybrids are still selling like hotcakes, but not quite as hot as a few weeks ago.

or:

The economy is way slow ... so much so, that even hybrids aren't flying off the shelves quite as quick as they were a few weeks ago.

or:

Compared to most other cars, hybrid sales are still ahead of the pack.

Where's the drama in that?

 

It would depend on whether the dealer is bothering to maintain a waiting list. When I bought my Prius in Dec '04 I had been on a wait list at one dealership for 8 mos. I finally got my car when I called another dealer about 50 miles away. This other dealer was not keeping any waiting list at all: if you called them at the right time and could make your deposit over the phone, you got the car.

 

Yep. Worked for me in July 2004. Was expecting 6 months minimum, got it in 6 weeks. Wasn't even close to the top of the list at the local 'high volume' dealer.

A friend just ordered a Prius, wait listed at both the place I got mine and the local. They are not even taking deposits to get on the list anymore, guess they figured out the car will sell no matter what. Both said they thought they could get her a 2008 Barcelona #2 before Sept.. 12th on the list at the 'low volume' dealer, don't know about the local. I figure if they don't have it by the end of Sept, or the first week of Oct, it will NOT be a 2008 because the 2009s will be coming in about then. Don't know how likely their 6 week estimate is though. One color, one package is going to require a lot of luck with the RIGHT car getting to the dealer. I think her only real hope is that some people will be waiting for a 2009 since it is a year 'newer' come resale time.

 

I agree, it's all relative. Non-hybrid car sales have dropped to nothing. Hybrids are selling less than they were with $4 gas, but all sales crashed in October with the financial and stock market meltdown.

Hybrids selling less? Or hybrids outselling conventional cars? Which is the real story?