Getting on the waiting list

Also when getting on multiple lists, make sure that the deposit is refundable. It is at most dealerships, but there have been a few stories of folks having to fight to get their deposit back.

 

I was on a wait list at two dealership. One here in Austin that required a deposit but didn't cash the check and one in Nashville that required a deposit and did cash the check/charge the credit card. The dealership in Nashville put me into the Toyota database and the Austin dealership did not. The Nashville dealership was also a lot better about keeping me updated, etc, and delivered the exact car I ordered. The Austin dealership offered me a couple of cars, but always with a ton of extra port options I didn't want and packages/colors I didn't want. BUT I don't think this necessarily has to do with requiring a deposit or not.

When talking to dealerships ask them how many cars they're allocated a month (and possibly what types of packages since you're only interested in one), how long their wait list is, how they handle orphan cars (some dealerships will go down the list until they find someone who wants the orphan and some will sell it for a premium to the first person who is willing to pay it), how much they charge, and at what point is the deposit still refundable (some dealerships will let you back out until the car is allocated and some don't care if you back out after the car has been allocated to you). When choosing the second dealership to go with, I went with one that I knew would honor MSRP, that allowed me to cancel up to the point of allocation, never sold cars at a premium, and gave me a timeframe of 3-4 months. I think you'll have to call around to figure out of there is any correlation between deposit/length of wait in your area.

 

YES! Until Toyota builds and ships to order, limiting yourself to 1 dealer is not in your best interest. Find dealers within your acceptable driving range. Find out how long their list is, and if they know, how many want the same package as you. Find out how many of those cars they are getting per month. You'll probbaly find that the ones that are NOT in the bigger population areas have a shorter 'order to delivery' time. Only sign up with dealers that sell at MSRP and if they want a deposit, it is refundable. Make sure they put it in writing. I signed up with 4 dealers. I told them all I was doing so. I expected at least a 4 month wait, and 8 to 10 wasn't unexpected. But, I got mine in 6 weeks from one of those 4 dealers and got my deposit back, without complaint, from the other 3.

 

If you are willing to drive (or fly) a ways, then you can get your car much quicker. We got on our local (San Luis Obispo) waiting list in mid-October, and they said it would be 8-12 months. I heard about Asif at Toyota Town in Stockton getting cars to his customers in a matter of weeks. I called him (209 327 0488) on Oct 26, he offered me a car the very next day in a color we didn't want. We got our 1st choice of color and option package in 3 weeks. MSRP only, great dealership and Asif is a great salesman to work with. I'm sure they'll pick you up at the airport, as many of their customers are coming in from S. Ca. The cost of a one way ticket to Stockton probably beats waiting a few months, no?

 

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I'm pretty sure there are no commercial passenger flights into Stockton airport. You can take Amtrak, or make a one-way rental with Hertz or another auto rental company. The closest airports with commercial passenger flights are Sacramento, and then Oakland. I did the one-way auto rental with Hertz; they drove me back to Toyota Town after I returned the rental.

 

I was on 6 waiting lists here in the south east US. I got my brand new car 2 weeks ago from an ebay auction. Paid 300 over msrp and had to drive 3 hours to pick it up. If you are fairly competent and watch closely, you should be able to find something similar.