New Prius Buyer... A Teen?

Evan, you refute your own point. Here's what I mean:

I know I want a Prius, and I know I want one with Package 9, and would probably accept almost any color. I know that there is a waiting list anywhere I go, most longer than the one I put myself on.

If I read your post correctly, you say that they may call me and say that my car is in but has all kinds of "profit" additions like Toyoguard, and that really makes me a prisoner to them. Well guess what? Everyone on any wait list is such a prisioner, because most people are going to take any 2004 Prius they can get their hands on! For me, any Prius with package 9 will do.

You say that I have limited my options...how? I could only afford to be on one list, whether the deposit was refundable or not, $500 or $1000. Are you suggesting that I put myself on multiple lists just to see which one comes up first? Well I simply can't afford that, refundable or not.

Finally, I made sure that the order papers I signed were clear, so that the dealership couldn't try to add $3000 to the price once the car arrives, or try other shenanigans.

So I say again, if you KNOW you want a Prius, regardless of the wait time, then get on a list that has a non-refundable deposit. Why? The chaff has already been removed from those lists! (e.g. the people on multiple lists, those not serious or just keeping their options open, etc).

I fail to see how that's not good advice since the Prius will not be available on the lots for a long time to come, if at all. Doesn't that make us all prisoners of a sort?

Kevin

 

kevinhnc I agree with efusco on this one. I admit it, I was one of the those people that put down multiple deposits (2 different dealerships), but I also called and left my name and contact information at about 15 other dealerships. Both places that I had my deposits told me it would be about a 3 - 6 month wait. About 2 weeks after I put down my first deposit I got a call from a dealership in Barstow, CA where I had left my name and contact information. Someone who ordered the Prius 4 months prior decided when it came in they didn't want it so he called me. I told him I would take it and went to pick it up the next day (by the way I must say that it was the best car buying experience I have ever had. I got there at 1:00pm and was out of there with my new Prius by 3:00pm). If I had put down a non-refundable deposit I would have not been able to buy the car, or I would have been out my $1,000 (which I could never afford to do) and would still be waiting. I feel also that a non-refundable deposit only favors the Dealership and never the customer. You mention that you have the price in writing and that is a good thing, but if you Dealership thinks they might get more for the car by selling it to someone lower on the list without the guaranteed pricing there is nothing stopping them from skipping over you and selling it for more to the person lower on the list. I have found that Dealership always look out for number one. Then again I must say that the Dealership where I bought my Prius was kind, courteous and most importantly honest with me from the beginning to the end. But that is the first time that I can say that every other time I have gone to purchase a car it was like going to battle.

Good luck kevinhnc and I hope that everything works out for you and that you get your Prius soon!

 

>>Some people are putting their name on multiple lists. I think, in the current market, that there's really nothing majorly wrong with that--it's a seller's market and the buyer needs to take any advantage (within reason) he/she can.

I agree, though when you do buy from one of them ( or a surprise available from another) you are morally bound to call the other dealers rather than waiting for them to call you only to hear "Sorry, got mine 2 weeks ago at XYZ Toyota". I get the impression from some of the forums that this is not uncommon.

 

Personally I think it's bad form to make multiple dealers order a Prius for you if wait lists are short. Not "wrong" per se, but it can be very irritating for the dealer, esp. if say dealer B were to get the thing in just 2 days after dealer A. Certain packages are much less saleable than others to the general public. OTOH, if there's already a great big waiting list, then that's not really a big deal, since they're likely to be able to sell it if they do get it, and if there is a big delay you just get your money back and they could just potentially scrap the order (as long as you inform them).

As for non-refundable deposits, that's bad karma if there already a significant waiting list. You might be waiting for quite some time.

In my case, I picked my colours and package, and put down a deposit in one place, and got my Prius 2004 2 months later. However, I was the first ever to even inquire about it at my dealership (and thus the first to order one). Wait lists in Canada are much lower for some reason. Furthermore, there is only one option package available here above the base model for some reason, so it's pretty hard to screw up the option package.

 

Congrats, Ptpiz! Again, good luck...

 

When I bought mine (in Vancouver, Canada), the dealer was mentioning how they handled orders, wait lists and such.

Apparently all of the Toyota dealers in the area put all of their orders into "the system". There's no paper wait-list per-dealership, everything goes into the computer.

The computer spits out reports for the main provincial Toyota distribution center, where they cross-check for duplicate names, orders and such. My salesman found that in one case, someone had ordered a car from 3 different dealers, so they just took the first order and dropped the two additional ones so as not to mess up their ordering/allocation process.

Of course, he may have just been saying this so I didn't go and shop-around at other dealers and try and get my car faster, but seems reasonable.

Dave.

 

Pete- any auto custom shop can install an aftermarket backup camera for you, as well as tint the windows and a host of other things

I'm with Danny on the toyo stuff too- buy a can of scotchguard and be done with it.

Peace