Can't get the package I want.

It happened to me too. I wanted a #5 package (this was in April '05), but it wasn't available in So Cal. I had a choice of spending more time trying to get a #5 (either shipped or picking up), but just didn't want to go through with it.

I'm happy I got the #6 in the color I wanted, but it's too bad you can't get the exact one you want.

 

I also wanted to buy my Prius from a Central Atlantic dealer and even had a deposit with them based on getting a package #3 or #4, but when they couldn't I got my deposit back and went to a Southeastern region dealer and they ordered THE color and THE package (#4) I wanted and even with and ONLY with the extras I wanted (rear bumper protector, splashguards, and mats). I went to Bones Toyota in Roanoke Rapids, NC (Jay Conner, Sale Mgr.). It is straight down I-95 and right over the VA state line. They sold it AT MSRP and I got the bumper guard and flaps for free. It is worth the extra miles and time to save the extra $2000 for things I didn't need or really wanted. Give them a call and tell him Bert sent you. ($50 back to me)

 

I just purchased a 2006 White Prius package 3 for my wife. I called over 20 dealer in Southern California. I had no luck in finding a car. Just as I was about to give up a dealer I called earlier in the day said the car I wanted just arrived. I jumped in my car, drove 60 miles, and within 5 hours I was home with a new Prius.

The next day, 2 dealers called me stating they had the car I was looking for.

You will find the car you want. Good luck in your search.

 

Bummer. I know the feeling. But, the tax credit isn't available until after 1/1/06 anyway, so why would you pull your deposit now? why not wait another month and see what shakes out?

rob

 

I am getting what I want at MSRP by hopping state lines. There are a bunch of dealers in phx but not willing to deal

 

One more consideration is that the HCH is in the first year of production. According to Consumers Reports, the repair history of first year models is not as good as preceeding years.

The '06 Pruius is a mature product.

This may not be as big a deal with a Toyota or Honda automobile as it might be for less well built cars, but is something to think about.

 

I don't know how much this really matters to you, but have you seen the color choices on the HCH??? That wasn't the big selling point for the Prius for us, but it helped. The choices of '06 HCH colors (at least at our Honda dealer) were: white (DH refuses), black (I refuse), and a light icy/baby blue. We ultimately decided on the Prius for the rear folding 60/40 seats (family car versus commuter car...for our lifestyle) and the cool technology.

Vent away...

We have semi-decided to wait a few more months to purchase an '06 Prius and I keep telling myself... "patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue"

 

I am also in PA and also want a pkg #4. My local dealer said he could get a pkg #6, but no Pkg #4. I am close to NJ, but, he says he can't trade with a NJ dealer for a pkg #4.

I try another PA Toyota dealer 20 miles away and she says no problem for her to order, but it will take 120 days. She quoted me $800 above MSRP, I wanted it at MSRP and she came back and said she would throw in the VIN etching etc. for free and would honor the MSRP price I wanted.

Now, I would prefer April delivery of a 2006 Pkg 4, but, if there is a dealer around who wants to make a quick sale of a 2005 pkg #6 in January - I might be willing to buy 1/2/06 if the price is right!

Don't feel you have to buy from the closest Toyota dealer. They want you to buy a more expensive package that they already have coming in. If another dealer is willing to try harder to get your business go with the other dealer. Contact all of the Toyota dealers within a reasonable driving distance from your location and ask for a quote on the model you want.

I have found it very helpful to go onto the Toyota dealer web sites that allow you to see their present inventory. There seems to be a lot of 2005 Prius models sitting on their lots. Are they waiting to be picked up 1/2/06 or will there be some deals to be had ??? - we will know the answer in a few weeks.

Hopefully you have a refundable deposit with your present dealer. If so, go elsewhere and see if you can get exactly what you want.

Springtime

 

Sorting this out a bit, neither you nor the dealer KNEW in Sept. what packages/colors would be available. Of course, it was the dealer's responsibility to acknowledge this, which they didn't.

You're not stuck with anything. Do you want one before 1/1/06 or after?

 

Your right, you should be able to get it now.... but you can't :lol:

Unless you want a 05... , the 06 will be a nice belated christmas present!

If your gonna spend over 20K... it would be a heartbreak to spend it on something you don't really want.

 

Beware on '05s: the dealer profit margin on the base model is only a little over $1,800. However, it's already been reported here that one dealer offered one discounted $1,500.

Why don't both of you buy directly from NJ dealers? You can find websites for them which will have phone numbers and e-mail addresses (usually "Fleet Managers"). Bet you lunch you can find one you can take delivery on in Jan. with less than 2 hrs. "work".

Good luck.

 

Don't even kid about the HCH. I tested one -- not impressed. Here are a couple of vtec HCH threads. Where are all of the glowing reviews? There are none. The car gets in the upper 30s to low 40s and is no fun to drive!

--this owner gets 40 mpg in California
http://www.vtec.net/forums/one-message?mes...5&page_number=1

--driver trashes his undercarriage driving over some snow, cheap plastic clips holding the pieces....what else in this car is cheap???

http://www.vtec.net/forums/one-message?message_id=458008

 

We test drove the '06 HCH and we both agree that it is no fun to drive. DH was very disappointed with the 'technology'. I knew more about what was going on while driving than he did and WAY MORE than the salesman who basically slept in the back seat while we took an extended test drive. I only knew that stuff, though, because I had spent a couple days reading up on it. The displays are seriously lacking in detail. It is clearly aimed at a different target market than the Prius. For us, it would simply be a commuter vehicle to get lower fuel bills. Not all that exciting...

 

Wow!.. Thats dissapointing for Honda? I've never owned a Honda, but I sure thought they were better quality control than that! I wonder if they are desperate to keep cost down to compete with Toyota?...... I wonder how many K miles those shields will last on average before they are toast?
The few bucks they save on those shields will lose them thousands later. That sounds like good strategy if your going out of business soon.

 

Not quite the same thing but every honda I have owned (3 of them) have had issues with the underbody heat shields. They came loose, they rattle and just plain got annoying and my mechanic got sick of re welding them for me. Also had a Prelude with a vent in the trunk (supposedly to let air out when you closed the trunk) stupid thing leaked and caused a ton of problems including 3 inches of water in the back seat foot wells and wet rear seats. A lot of little problems, not as many as I have seen with some other brands but I am not drawn to "Honda Quality" as I was in the past.

 

I sympathize with you over the options packages, the color, and the long waits. But there is a lot more to the Prius than the folding rear seats. Honda is an excellent company and the Civic will be a very reliable car providing better mileage than any conventional car. If the Prius did not exist, the HCH would be the best car you could buy.

BUT...

The Prius technology is years ahead of anything else on the road. While Honda just stuck an electric assist motor onto its old reliable Civic, Toyota completely revolutionized what an automobile can be:

Item: The prius has nothing even vaguely resembling a conventional transmission. It has a drive train built around a sun-and-planet gearset in which nothing ever disengages. Ever! There is no clutch and no changing of gears. Engine speed is almost completely decoupled from road speed, allowing the engine to always turn at an optimum speed for maximum efficiency, where a conventional car spends nearly all its time at disastrously inefficient rpms.

Item: The Prius includes features only found on much more expensive cars, making price comparisons misleading.

Item: Where the engine on the HCH must turn in order for the car to move, the Prius can (and often does) shut off the engine and run on electric power.

Item: The HCH will shut off the engine at a stop, but must start it again to move, even only to creep forward a few inches in a traffic line, and then will not shut off again until you reach, I think it's 15 mph, so once you creep forward a bit, the engine is running for the rest of the time you wait in traffic. The Prius, on the other hand, under similar circumstances, will use the electric motor to creep forward (assuming the engine has warmed up fully) and in stop-and-go or stop-and-creep traffic will just use electric until it needs the engine to recharge the battery - - and if you install an aftermarket EV switch, you can force electric mode under suitable conditions.

Item: Regen braking means your brake pads will probably last the life of the car. And you recover a nice part of your kinetic energy when you slow down.

My advice: look outside your region if you must to find the package you want, and be flexible about the color. Don't pay over MSRP. But most of all, remember that patience pays off.

Kermit the Frog says it ain't easy being green. He was wrong. With the Prius, it's easy to be green.

On the other hand, with an HCH you can be almost as green. It just won't be nearly as much fun.