Don't Believe the Dealers - Plenty of 2010s Available

Having "one" and having enough cars for the demand are two truly different things.
In Southern CA, we do have cars coming in unsold, but that is short lived, I fear. Many folks were awaiting the car's arrival and now that they are finally here and there are some to drive, what was readily available are some II's and some IVs with NAV at my store. They all sold in 1 day - Saturday. Every single Prius we had "laying around" for a day is gone now.
The idea is to have a few around all the time so folks can drive them and make their color and package decisions and leave deposits for the harder to get cars.

I'm glad we have a few here and there unsold. I had some clients drop by yesterday morning with a car that was not doing well for them in their current job positions (an older domestic commute car, really a gas hog) as he had a new long commute to keep employed when his company downsized and moved father away ... anyway, they were able to pop in and get a Prius immediately from me. That's a great thing because they needed one immediately. And, later in the day, I had a super nice Priuschat family drop by and visit with my fleet associate Jane to sit in few cars and check interior colors to see what their own ordered car should have for interior... and in the meantime, these cars are all being sold hourly.

I agree that junk fees are - when excessive - inconvenient and infuriating. But, you vote with your wallet. And, sometimes, that means waiting for the right car, and at the right price for you. If you check with every single dealership in SoCal to get a price or terms and no one can help you, then you're in need of a re-think. If you find someone who will help you at the terms or pricing you need, get your commitment in writing. email's OK but it's certainly not binding Or, find someone with integrity to deal with. Someone who cares about what YOU want and will advise you as a client they want to have for always, not just a one-car-stand (LOL)....
Dianne

 

I don't know where in the country you are, that's not the case in the Northeast. Yes, they're starting arrive and a dealer may have a few II's and III's that are not presold when they land on their lot, but they don't stay that way for very long. IV's and V's are next to impossible to find (I found one IV without Nav). I was at 4 area dealerships yesterday (2 large and 2 midsized) and talked on the phone to 2 others. The good news is that they aren't adding all sorts of POI packages, usually it's just the floor mats.

 

That may be true in your area, but not in mine. I currently have 0 on the ground, and out of 32 total cars coming in, 3 don't have names. But they will within 7 days. Those are the cars that will be here at the end of July. In addition to those 32 cars, I currently have a 19 person deep waiting list.

Since there are roughly 1,500 dealers in the US, and you called maybe 3 in your area and 1 in CT, are you sure that your assessment of the supply/demand chain is accurate?

 

And yet in Sunnyvale, CA, there are 27 sitting in the lot waiting for buyers.
Sunnyvale Toyota is offering $150-$350 (depending on packages) off MSRP on newspaper.
Wait a couple months if you can. With gas price at $3 and no HOV stickers, I don't see Prius selling like hot cake again. It will be a top seller, no doubt, but not like fighting for one.

 

Take into consideration that the car is relatively new to the market. Within two months the dealers will NOT be such obnoxious whores with respect to pricing. I prefer dealing with dealers out of the metro areas. The difference is night and day. I live in NYC and bought my Prius up near my old country house in the Poconos (120 miles NW in PA). What a pleasure!! No pressure, no strong arm tactics etc.

 

i thought the add for sunnyvale claiming 27 cars was about cars on the way in or even at multiple dealerships. do they really have 27 ON THE GROUND at the that dealership. That doesn't sound right.

 

Both Ncal and Scal are large metro regions with a lot of demand and supply with the nations largest ports ie Long Beach carrying the precious cargo. Also there are a large number of Dealers in the LA and SF areas.

If Sunnyvale is as large as Longo the number of Prius mentioned in the ad is actually small.

Just my 2 cents

 

I just bought a prius II @sunnyvale last saturday - they had a sign that said 18 prius in stock on the parking lot fence.
it's a basic II priced at msrp (750 destination fee included) - $150 off + $55 doc fee = $23075 or so, out the door ~ $25650 within a few hours. I wanted blizzard pearl and there were 3 available to choose from. I didn't really negotiate but I asked them to take another $100 off and they wouldn't. so OP may have a good point.

 

Sunnyvale Toyota does have 29 2010 Prius in stock with stock numbers.

Toyota new certified 2005 car dealer in Sunnyvale CA. Toyota Prius new cars for sale online at Toyota Sunnyvale, a Sunnyvale new Toyota and certified car dealer.

 

This appears to be a very localized phenomena. There are undoubtedly areas where they are hard to find, left coast and NE among them. But I am 60 miles outside Chicago and the 4 dealers nearest to me have had unspoken for cars every day since they got their first ones and still do. One of them is up to 5 unsold. The blanket statements on both sides are inaccurate, depends on where you are.

And people have gotten real discounts off MSRP, albeit small already ($250 or so). But in high demand areas there may be no discounts possible, that's how it's supposed to work!

 

Ok, I'll believe you guys. Since numerous people have seen cars on dealer lots. And I am HAPPY to hear that. Due to the way allocation works, that means I will be getting more, which will fill my orders faster. Dealers that have them sitting on the lot are going to get killed when it comes to the July allocation. So far, I have only had one get all the way here without a buyer. But that changed 1 day after it hit the ground. So again, I don't have any laying around.

 

volume and access

First off, in certain geographical areas, such as mine - what sells best are IV's and V's. The III's are pretty limited for production, and most are NAV cars anyway down here. Most prefer IVs for the incidental extras + the leather.

The II's in certain colors are scarce once the popular color combinations are spoken for - like winter gray, blizzard white and black. Even I have 11 package II's incoming unsold and available... but that's for the next 2 weeks! That's not even 1 a day, and we sold 17 Prius on Fri and Sat and Sun.

The cars everyone seems to be waiting for are III and IV sunroof cars and AT package V cars.