Date Ordered: 6/17/05 Dealer Ordered From (Incl. City/State): Scott Clarks Toyota, Charlotte, NC Timeframe given for delivery: less than 3 weeks Color: Seaside Pearl Option Package: #6, Ivory Leather Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: I sidestepped any list I used the southeast toyota dealers inventory link discussed elsewhere to track if my "dream car" existed. On 6/16 I saw 2 on list that were 100% matches, and passed the VINs along to this dealer. This dealer was willing to make backroom deals with other SE dealers to have the car redirected to them. Turns out that the two 6/16 cars were already firmly committed to other customers in Jacksonville and Durham, but on the morning of 6/17 another one popped up on the list and I called my dealer. My dealer was successful in working deal with dealer in Wilmington. The car will be delivered to Charlotte instead and the car is now 100% committed to me! And to top it all off, I was able to negotiate $500 off the MSRP.
Way to go! The local dealer still charges 3,500 over MSRP and you chew some off of MSRP. You will LOVE this car.
Congratulations bigdaddy! I'm in the same boat you're in and hope to be getting mine from Hoover, AL within a week or so. For Robert, I'm guessing we don't live too far apart assuming "Rocket City" means Huntsville. If that be the case, you must be talking about Bill Penney. If so, that's the exact reason why I didn't buy in the TN Valley and opted, instead, to go down to Birmingham to buy mine ... tax is a lot cheaper down there as well! Peace!
Re: 2005, Seaside #6: Ordered 6/17/05, Scheduled Delivery 7/ Nice to see you have a dealer willing to put in a little effort to get you the car you want. Too many have just sat back and become order takers for the Prius. I had great experiences with my dealer too - it's a nice feeling.
Yep, imho, The Prius bubble might just be starting to burst?? With 10,000s more Prii being distributed each successive year in the states and a dozen or so new Hybrid models lined up for sale within the next year, the exploding supply line will surely be providing significant competition and choice for new customers. Bottom line, don't be surprised to start seeing the used 2003 Prii listing prices start dropping below $20k! Good for future Hybrid owners, not so good for pie in sky Prius-flipping speculators, lol! Cheers~
Closure on this topic. Was supposed to arrive 7/7, came in late 7/9 (just 2 days late), and I picked up next day. Total wait time was 24 days. I would recommend the dealer if you are within a few hours of Charlotte. It was not too bad of a drive for me up and back from Atlanta.
did Toyota install that leather using local installer? Or did you search and hire an independent vendor? Did you get arm rests done or not available? if so, synthetic leather for arms? I had my Mass toyota dealership sub-contract out the leather install for me and i'm very unsatisfied. The leather kit used is only avg quality and had poorly fitting, zippered slip-on head rests. I had to demand the center arm rest be done afterwards, which took another week, but they wouldn't do the arms. My bad for not fully researching the installation ahead of time and for trusting my dealership on face value.
Every extra on my car was SouthEast Toyota, port-installed, options (yep, some say I overpaid, but if I don't do it this way, it doesn't get done. also a one-stop warranty thing with me). I think they did a good job with the seats. There are also some zippered slipcovers that slip over the DVD headrests. The front and back seats are leather (or whatever toyota leather really is), but alas, the armrests on the doors and the center console are still fabric. Like you, I was a little disappointed in that too. I guess I could check into getting this done, but I think I will wait until they start to show some wear. With all of my vehicles, I've been pretty brutal on the console with my long arms and pointy elbows so this day will come soon...
bigdaddy, I 'requested' Toyota have their vendor put a matching vinyl cover over the center arm rest (after first neglecting) as I luckily made this request and had the Toyota dealer's confirmation, prior to the install. It took another 4-5 days to get the job done but I was happy even if it was vinyl, and was satisfied that Toyota covered it.. Personally, If I 'could have' begun my leather install process all over... I 'would have' requested they give me the vendor's phone number. I'm estimating that if I went directly through my Toyota's installer, I 'should have' saved $300-400 bucks. p.s. I also just purchased 4x leather arm-rest covers from an Ebay vendor ($75) which I will install myself.
