I am really hoping everyone's watched the video there online at the toyota.com/plugin site and seen the order process in sequence. It may seem a little pedantic, but it's really very accurate and streamlines the process for you, the buyers. I'd like to address a few concerns that were put to me? The order process starts with you, the buyer. You place the order by choosing color, then package, then post production accessories such as mats, bumper appliques, and the like, and then click to confirm. At that point, your order is moved to your dealer of choice's queue. Your dealer clicks your order open IN ORDER OF RECEIVING IT, because the system won't permit orders to be accepted out of sequence. The dealer send back their pricing and acknowledgement. You have to open your email to get the confirmation code, and when you log in to accept, the order is complete. In my own personal case, in case you're wondering :: koff :: everyone's paying the same price. The discount is the same for all. And, I offered it up for everyone without requiring a group purchase. $100 Gas card too. No reason for me to confirm anyone sooner versus later unless someone decides to delay their final confirmation because they won't need the car right away. No way to accept anyone out of order. No favorites and no geographical issues. First in, first out. You control how late or early you get the car. And, with everyone paying the same, it will be consistent and smooth. Haggle or hassle on your part doesn't affect me, because if you don't accept my pricing when it gets back to you, then we both move on. I don't have to ask anyone's permission to get online and do anything car order related. I have plans for 5 of us working on orders the day the order window opens. Everyone right there in my office with me (it's a very large office) and me at the helm. A few mouse clicks and you're done. Its not like we need to move away from the computers to do this! I hope that answers a concern or two from ya'll. I'd love to see and meet many of you, finally... and see this very important milestone to its historic end. Been working with a very popular Laguna Beach artist to come up with something special to commemorate all of my PHEV buyers purchases. I'm excited about the design - this will be quite a rare and valuable keepsake for years to come. And, of course, the super special personalized plaques. Lots of good things. I'm excited! I just hope the historic moment we're all waiting for isn't over in a blink of an eye!! I hope and pray daily there are many many cars in the priority order rollout and not just a relative handful in comparison to the demand. One more thing to set the record straight? You pay sales tax for where YOU register the car to, ie your own county of residence. Title too. If you live in Simi Valley, you pay Ventura sales tax. OC, pay OC tax and title. Out of state purchases vary with each transaction. And, if I can avoid a deposit, I will avoid deposits. You don't need me to sit on your hard earned money to make me keep my word. I think that goes without saying that I'd do it w/o a check. I don't care where you live or how far away you are. You are all equally important to me. Dianne
There is a reason your screen name is badboy, huh? I'm not in the habit to troll for clients. I've been asked to clarify and explain a few things. Especially the part where someoone may presume their dealer might confirm an order for someone else faster for some reason, like they might be paying more or they might live closer to that dealership. That isn't the case with my orders. It's possible that some other entity has thrown that idea out there to others to make them fear ordering from a large volume store, but these orders are more in YOUR hands than mine. I cannot click in and confirm what I haven't got back from you TO confirm. Anyway, speaking of troll...........
I was not referring to myself in that post. It's conceivable that other dealerships would do that. You know, if you buy your car from XYZ dealership and pay an amount that doesn't match up with what you read in a forum somewhere, it's different. If you hook up with me here and read that I gave a better deal to someone else ON THIS CAR, wouldn't you wonder why? I wouldn't want for my buyers to have that worry -- and there's no need for it.
My clients know what to expect. They also know I am hoping to do better once I know the car's costs but Toyota doesn't have to provide that information to us dealers till it's delivering time. They are not obligated to invoice me for a car till it's here so this all could be a big surprise. One we're willing to chance. This is an exciting time, and a very fun time! Been seriously looking forward to this car since July 2 (LOL) and would like to make this a super special experience for everyone. The Laguna artist series "Prius" keepsake is just a small part of that. Just make sure that no matter where you order, you act swiftly on the first pass (the actual order) and then quickly again after the dealership sends back the pricing. The speed of the order is really up to YOU!
In defense of Dianne, whom I suspect doesn't need any defense... I don't believe she was "Trolling for Customers" so much as she was legitimately illuminating and sharing her knowledge of the ordering process. But beyond that? Dianne sells Prius...so even if you want to believe she's "trolling for customers" there really is nothing wrong with that.... The difference is the integrity inwhich one treats one's customers once obtained. I've never read a negative post from anyone about their experience dealing with Dianne Whitmire. So excuse me for butting in, and putting my 2 cents in, where I fully suspect for most people it's not needed. As much as I dislike the "usual" dealership experience in relationship to my past experiences....I wish I lived close enough to Dianne Whitmire to make purchasing from her make sense. Based on feedback I've seen here....being a customer of hers seems to be a pretty positive experience. Troll on Dianne, Troll on....
Thanks for the update! This is more info than anywhere else i've read. question is, can toyota's servers handle all the order traffic without crashing?
Well, they know they could have at least 40,000 people prepared pop in and order... so let's just imagine they are ready for the max # of people.
I once heard someone that I respect say that people who make inferences about others honesty, character, veracity, integrity etc often do so based on their own values. Just something to think about. The irony is that (sadly) many dealers know way too little about their product, and frankly, could care less about it. Rarely is the opposite happening, where there is an actual passion for the thing that sales people sell. Yes, we all have bad stories about sales folks - and if it makes anyone feel better, sales people have their own quiver full of horror stories about customers. Hopefully people can try and remember that everyone deserves to be given an oportunity to be judged by who/what they actually are, rather than steriotyped. .
Hill, I second everything you say and would add one thing more. There was a character in a Walt Disney movie which those of us in my generation remember well who was called "Thumper" (a cartoon rabbit). He had a line which seems even more important today: He said "If you can't say somethin nice, don't say nothin at all"
Dianne rocks... in the 1.5 years I've known her, I've put four transactions through her and she's been a pleasure to deal with. Looking forward to my PHV!
