Why can't I buy the Prius I want?

'This region has been designated ...'? No. It is more like 'This region has chosen to ...'.

I ran into the same thing on interior colors in my region.

 

My dealer told me the same thing when I asked for no nav. "All the Prius sold in this region come with NAV". Told him ok and ended the call. Came back the next day with exactly what I wanted. Said it was a concidence but...who knows

 

That's hilarious.

I have a Barcelona Red 2010 Prius IV WITHOUT Nav.

I have a Garmin that does what the $1800 Prius Nav option does. Why would I want to pay for an option that I don't need?

 

Check out this thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/dealers-pricing/62941-toyota-sales-region-map.html

Then start googling and calling. I bought my car in Mankato (I live in the Twin Cities - 70 miles away). The dealer there got it from Cedar Rapids, Iowa which is about 200 miles away from Mankato. Others here have gone further to get their cars.

 

I'll easily believe that it was imposed on the sales guys or even dealership from higher up, but would be very surprised if it was really imposed by Toyota on just one region. Other selection restrictions haven't worked that way.

In my case, it was very clearly a marketing decision made at the Region level, and the local dealership had no choice. Other PC buyers in my region (outside the few pre-order specials) reported the same problem. But in the end, the color I received was the best fit for us.

 

It can be true in certain regions. For example, there's no way a So Cal dealer can preference a V without AT so all Vs without AT around here were obtained via the non-traditional route at the port.

You might still be able to buy the Prius you want if you locate a local dealer who's willing to obtain one at the port (usually earmarked for other regions). Otherwise, buy out of region.

 

This bizarre state of affairs is not limited to the US market. I've already posted about my frustrations in trying to get both decent wheels AND the sunroof on my prospective purchase, but it's also a factor here in the UK that you can only get the light grey dashboard colour IF you have the blue painted exterior.

What is up with that?!?

In the case of the US market, how much extra admin is required for Toyota to stipulate that one area gets this where another area gets that, and that, but not this. Surely it would be better to just offer the car for sale with the options listed as just that; options.

Mental, as we limeys might say.

 

I'd take a look at the web sites for dealers in the Cleveland/Akron area. I could be wrong, but I think I recall seeing IVs without NAV when I bought my II a couple months back. I wouldn't mess with a dealer trade, I'd just buy it direct.

 

I guess to be fair to Toyota, certain packages sell together while others are unusual. So while in theory you can get any and all combos, they keep the number of combos down to either (1) increase profit or (2) decrease price for all consumers. That is, if Toyota has to keep all combos available, the stocking fee will be high and it will be passed on to all of us. As you move up the luxury chain, they assume you would want other luxury items. They can't change their marketing brochure because it was made a long time ago before they knew what combos sell well.

Of course, there is a profit motive. As long as the regional office can sell every car they ship, why make low profit cars (no NAV) available? This is the real reason. If you don't buy the car, they wait a day and somebody else will buy it.

 

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Surely you can just get new maps if it's such a big deal? My Mercedes has a map disc from 2004 and it's accurate 99% of the time - new roads aren't built all that frequently.

I've not known a built in navigation system in any car that can't have the maps updated.

TomToms, Garmins, etc are all very well and good but who really wants wires trailing all over their dashboards? Built in satnav every time for me.

 

When we were looking in the summer, here in the Northeast, you couldn't get a Prius III with a Solar Roof, without leather. Finally, option configurations changed, first evidenced on toyota.com, and within about a month I found one of these rare birds. Maybe things will work out for you!

I found my car on Vehix, under their new-car inventory pages, and purchased by phoning the dealer's internet sales department. Also, I discovered that Southeast Toyota Distributors (SETbuyatoyota.com) has inventories online, although I'm not sure how up-to-date their pages are... Hope this helps someone! And SET seems to do many add-ons and has nasty-high "doc fees."

 

Did you call Preston Auto Group in New Castle?

They have a Red IV that's about $2k less than the Red IV's that either Kenny Ross or Rohrich Toyota have.
At $29,850 I'd suspect it doesn't have Nav.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi SecondGear, Did you ask about placing a special order? The Region might impose Prius IV with Nav, but would they prohibit a customer from placing a special order for the exact combination of features you want? --TK

 

I'm on the other end of your region in SE Virgina and you're pretty accurate. IV's normally only come with the NY or SY packages.

The reasoning is clear...that's what sells in our region right now at this moment. If you want one right now at this moment then yes you should vote with your feet and buy in the Cinci region or the NY/NJ region.

Toyota only ships a certain number of vehicles to the US and only a certain number to each region. Our region, CAT based in Baltimore, decides from past sales and customer input what packages move here. That's what they order to Toyota, what moves the quickest. It's all about inventory turnover. Now if you're willing to wait several months then as others have said get your friends to place a specific order for you.