After visiting 6 different Southern California dealerships and being informed of a 1 to 2 year wait (if I make a deposit now), I got fed up and emailed corporate directly. I informed them that there were NO Prii for test drive, and obviously none on the lot. Some dealerships had no brochures, but could hook me up with a Matrix today...which gets pretty good mileage. In the letter I directed them to their own web site BuyToyota.com, which states: "Thank you for your interest in the 2004 Prius. Currently, dealers are experiencing a temporary shortage of Prius vehicles" In my book a 1 to 2 year wait is NOT temporary shortage. Even if they doubled production, that's a 6 month to 1 year wait. They need up increase production by a factor of at least 100. It's difficult to share one's passion for a product that is forever out of reach. I sincerely hope hope someone at Toyota Corporate "gets it". -Billg_sd
increase production by a factor of 100?? no offense, but that can only be an exaggeration for emphasis. 4-5 times maybe, if they were really confident demand would continue.
I think that demand will be greater soon. Up until this year, the Prius has been a huge unknown. The newer improved model will make the Prius one of the hottest items in the auto world. Word of mouth will do it better than any advertising campaign. I estimate that there is well over 100 Prius' in my area and most have appeared in the past 6 months. Before then, I might have seen a couple a week. now i see at least a couple every day. It does help that 3 people at the Gym i belong to drive them. (1 Classic) I think that the negative press the Prius has gotten lately is a result of the oil and american car companies running scared.
It is not hard to buy a 2004 Prius Many dealers can get these cars, you just need to be willing to pay over the sticker price (in some cases $5000). I know it is a bit shady, but that is what dealers are doing now. My friend wanted to buy a new 2004 Prius and he got the same "Limited supply 2 year waiting list" nonsense, and then he said "How about if I paid you an extra $4000" and the dealer called him back the next day and said he would have one by the end of the month. In addition, every so often I see on EBAY a used 2004 prius cause of the usual financial issues, lost job, canot afford, wife threw me out, etc.
Re: It is not hard to buy a 2004 Prius Thought that Toyota (as well as ourselves) were trying to discourage gouging. BTW, Called Toyota Consumer Service 800 # to inquire about the ECU 40D software fix and asked about Toyota production plans while I was at it (ordered 2nd Prius several weeks ago.) Officially, the current plan is to increase production by 50% :?
I purchased mine at Merced Toyota in California. Their list is short (smaller town), and I had a great saleswoman, Melissa Favello, who really treated me well. MSRP for my #7 with mats, plus a $45 documentation fee. If you're tired of long waits, call Merced or other smaller dealers (West Virginia seems to have good availability as well) to see if you can get a car faster. BTW I turned down two cars since I was holding out for a red one. I ordered in early January (I think) and the car arrived at the dealer on March 23rd. Merced Toyota rocks!!!!
