Is this dealer telling the truth?

I had no trouble "building my own" touring/1226 when I tried it a minute ago. Package #'s for the touring are 2, 3, 5, and 6. Could you try a different dealer?

EDIT: btw welcome to PC

 

It is true that some packages are location-specific (or, at least they were when we bought our car 2.5 years ago). In other words, certain regions don't get all of the packages that Toyota makes. Dealers can trade with out-of-region dealers for the packages, but few dealers are willing to go through this effort when they feel like they have you on the line.

Note that I am not saying that the dealer is telling the truth; he could still be lying, but it is at least plausible that certain regions aren't shipped certain packages. However, I suppose that saying that such packages don't exist is a lie.

 

I tried your zip...sure enough entering different zips takes you to different url's

When entering your zip it gave me Herb Chambers Toyota and did allow me to put in a 4-door touring (where you send in a request with comments), but as you said, when going into the "configurator" there is no option for a touring 1226. Odd.

I would research into the exact package you want, configure it online with a different zip (to get idea of price), and see if your local dealer can reallocate or order one for you. Do you know which package in the touring you want?

Don't worry about the post....Mods will move it if need be

 

Were his lips moving?

 

+1 That was my first thought.

Re: Packages available with Touring version.

From the website, it appears that the Touring can be had with all the different packages except for #1 which does not apply because those items are already included. However, there is a statement that not all of the packages are offered in every region.

Toyota Prius - 2008 Options and Packages

 

That is exactly what my salesman told me too. I think it is true. There was a discussion regarding this matter at a different forum and everybody else had experienced the same response from a dealer. If you really want to get the touring package, be prepared to travel out of your region and purchase the car from a different dealer. I am not sure, if the dealer you are currently dealing with is willing to make a transfer...but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Your best bet is to look around yourself, because I am afraid that the price may change for their benefit. (They may say not so...but it is almost always a lie)

 

In case it's not clear from the previous responses, yes the 2008 touring model definitely exists with package #5. I have one in my garage to prove it.

 

I just purchased a Barcelona Red Touring edition with package #2 from TriState Toyota in Dudley, MA. They didn't say anything about the touring not being a good car for the Northeast. I can't believe the roads around here are any different from other parts of the country. I find this explanation a little hard to believe. By the way, I would never by a vehicle from HC toyota in Auburn. I have heard too many horror stories about them.

 

I built mine online and when I entered my Ca. zip, the touring ONLY came with pkg. #6 (option A). I didn't pay too much attention to it because I wanted that pkg. anyway.
As has been mentioned, zip has to do with what pkg.s are available in that zip.

 

Just purchased 2008 touring option 5

We just purchased a 2008 touring prius with option 5 (everything but leather). A rough estimate is that about 5% of the Prii are touring. Of the 4 or 5 touring prii within 25miles of Chicago only one had option 5. It happened to be the color we wanted, Magnetic Gray.

Our local dealer was able to get it transfered to him.

 

You might consider getting a basic Prius and upgrading the suspension and wheels. Others have done it.

 

In the months of playing around online "building" different versions of my future Prius, I had the same problem: the touring is not available in western Pennsylvania (at least through the online zip code search).

I saw that touring Prii were available in Ohio (an easy drive), so I fooled around a bit with eastern Ohio zip codes.

In the end, however, my local dealer here (Rohrich, a high-volume Toyota dealership) said it would be pretty hard to locate the touring I wanted from an out-of-state dealer, etc. etc.

I would have preferred a touring but it wasn't a deal-breaker. So I only had to wait three weeks until their next shipment from Japan brought exactly the non-touring version I wanted.

Good luck, whatever you choose. It's been fun as all get-out driving (although I can't wait for spring. I don't think I've driven with the windows down yet in the 2 1/2 months I have had my Prius!)

 

When I was Prius shopping last June I thought a couple dealers might be fibbing a bit about which packages were offered here but since I emailed the nearest 14 or so dealers (so cal has LOTS of Prii) and they all said the same, I figured it was sadly true. I love my baby and would never get a lesser package now, of course.

 

I must of been lucky. When I went to the dealer looking for a touring edition, they didn't have any at their dealership, but found five different ones for me at other dealers in Massachusetts. This was only 3 weeks ago. I'm assuming that you asked the dealer you went to, to check the inventory at other dealerships?

 

That was my first thought as well. If his lips were moving and sound was coming out of them...

 

I too was told by my local dealer in Maine that he cannot get a touring edition in the northeast. He seemed unwilling to find one elsewhere either. However, my real question is whether anyone knows whether there is really any significant difference in the handling or styling of the touring edition. Although I am excited about getting a Prius for all the obvious reasons, I am not a fan of the lack of road feel and lackluster handling. Would a touring model help?