9 months + wait, Thinking about cancelling order

Put in an order at a different place. Unfortunetly, some dealers suck. This is one of them.

Not buying from a dealer just because a dealer is an idiot does not make very good sense. It's the overall company, Toyota, that you are wanting to buy a car from.

but yeah.... just put in an order at a different place. If you were here in CA i would say to go to Fremont or one of the other good dealerships around here. They usualy have a very small waiting list too.

 

[font=Arial:9dc15d983b] [/font:9dc15d983b]My advice for Don is shop around with other dealers since now additional production is lowering most long waits.
And yes, you definitely qualify for the 2005 rebate {I think $700 or so}. I am not sure since I bought my 2004 after a six-months wait and used the $300 rebate The key date is that you did place an order prior to early March 2004.
As you have probably noted from following this and perhaps other discussion groups, most of us truly love the car and say it is worth hassles to get it.
To paraphrase a saying I heard years ago regarding Toyotas: "most people love the cars but hate the dealers"
But in each area of the country some Toyota dealers are truly wonderful, honest and fair. A good example is the work Troy Dietrich in Massachusetts is doing for us regarding lower cost extended warranties and pre-paid maintenance.
I hope others in this group who live in Texam can direct you to some great dealers there.
Bill in Colorado

 

I'm sorry I ever put myself on a waiting list. That was back in April, and the local dealer said the wait time was 6-8 months. After 8 months I still had no car--and no prospect of a car. I put out a request for quotes from dealers within a 100 mile radius through Edmunds.com, and within a few days a dealer within 60 miles of me sent out an email saying he had a silver package 6 coming in next week that they were selling for msrp. I called about 10 minutes after he sent the email, put down $500 on the VISA, and picked up the car 9 days later. This dealer had no waiting list.

 

Personally I don’t think the Prius is worth that long of a wait. They are no longer the hot cool thing that is hard to come by. Everyone has them or can get one pretty quickly. I know of 6 on my street. I got it thinking that they would be rare… but they’re not anymore.

It really depends on why you want the car. And your just going to have to justify waiting any longer and paying the extra 750 bucks.

 

[font=Comic Sans MS:c81b944cd6]In the New York area, a Prius is still hard to come by. There are people here on waiting lists. Sometimes days go by and I do not see one on the road. I'm sure there are some dealers in this area who would be willing to sell off the waiting list for over MSRP, but the Prius is not as easy to come by here as it is in California.
Mary Lou[/font:c81b944cd6]

 

barry,

I understand your state of mind - it is very frustrating indeed. Nah - it is a HELL!!

Now - check out this thread.

I waited long time, too, and almost gave up. Then I posted that message, followed the advice of these nice PriusChat people - and was on my way to pickup my Prius in three weeks flat.

 

Don, I have seen enough posts on getting Prii in Texas to believe that they ARE hard to come by... but if it were me, and I REALLY wanted a car, I'd go to Toyota.com.. build my Prius and ask the internet sales manager to let me know what they can do for me... that's how I bought my Prius and know that it worked in the Denver area.. if you don't get a good response, maybe you need to stretch your looking area.. I just saw a posting on a Yahoo board that there are Prii on a lot in Colorado Springs at MSRP.. I know a dealer who posts here from Greely CO can get a Prius in a month to 6 weeks... I found with my car that I had to be flexible on color.. but that was all...

Bob Andersen

 

Hi dbarry... waiting is nonsense!

You CAN get a Prius, most likely with your choice of color and equipment, and at MSRP, and without a long wait. It's true.

On PriusOnline.com you will find a "For Sale" Section which contains dealers' listings. Also, on eBay if you search on "Prius" you will also find dealers' listings, some at MSRP. These Prii are found all over the US, so a flight and drive back to Houston is the inconvenience you'd suffer. Upon return to Texas, you'd need to register the Prius and pay the applicable state tax (6¼% I believe). The out-of-state dealer should be helpful, some even would collect and pay the Texas tax.

I bought my Prius on eBay, used with 4,500 miles on the odometer and in super condition (like new). Coincidentally, it was in Houston so we flew Southwest to IAH, met the seller and closed the deal. Since the car was used, I ordered a CarFax report. Both eBay and CarFax provided guarantys against misinformation or misrepresentation. In purchase of a NEW Prius (like from a Dealer) the CarFax report might not be needed. After the deal was closed, I visited with Houston area daughters and their families, then drove back home to Dallas.

So.... I say WHY WAIT? If you want a Prius, get snooping around. You *CAN* find one for immediate or very quick delivery.

 

Don,

As most everyone else above has said, you should not have to wait like this.

But I'd like to comment on your rebate problem. It sounds like the dealer screwed up and that the Toyota parent doesn't want to get involved. They want you to work it out with the dealer. I agree that the dealer should be made to cough up this $750, but I suspect it won't be easy. Plus, they will simply make you wait longer.

But I also think that should the dealer deny you and make it hard for you, Toyota itself would probably come through for you should you protest it enough. Providing of course you have that purchase agreement/order form from back in February 04. (Sounds like you've been waiting 11 months.)

Good luck with getting the car, and good luck with getting the rebate.

 

Agreed, there is no need to be waiting this long. Get on the 'net, and do some hunting. As much as this forum has been spammed by dealers with cars sitting on the lot, a bit of work on your part will net you a car quickly. You just may have to invest in spending your weekend getting the car home.

 

you say you havent gotten a car yet?

i believe you need to get the car first

 

As slick Willie once said, "I feel your pain." I've been waiting since April 8. 2004. I'm now about 10 on the dealer's list. I too have looked at other cars, but I'm still waiting. Sure hope it's worth it.

 

I would shop around. I had a good experience buying out of town, though my son found the car for me. It went well. I would encourage anyone to try it.

 

The wait (back in August) at my local dealer was one year. I called a dealer in a smaller town, about 100 miles from my home, and he said the wait was about 6 months. So I placed my order thru him. Three months later, he called and had a car -not the original color (I wanted tideland pearl, but the one I have is salsa red...my second choice - and really sharp as it turns out) with my option package. I picked it up the next day. Try dealers a little farther from your home. This car is both worth the wait, and worth the longer drive to pick it up.

 

If you have a cancelled deposit check or CC receipt from the dealer showing the date, I think you can push the dealer and Toyota for the rebate whenever you get the car.

And of course I 2nd, 3rd, 10th, wherever I am on THAT list. Shop around. I put deposits at 4 dealers I was willing to drive to, told them all I would buy at MSRP from the first to get me an acceptable color/package. I was amazed to have a car in 6 weeks. It especially helps if you are flexible on color and package. And depending on the demographics of the dealers' clients', wanting a BC helps since they make a lot of them and not everyone can fork over $26K plus tax.

 

I'm in Los Angeles. It took me three weeks of reminding dealers that I would only pay MSRP before one finally caved.

I had two deposits out, but I eventually got the car from a dealer that had told me there was a $2500 markup. He called a week later and said that he had my color/package but he couldn't guarantee the price until I came into the dealership (45 min away) I said no thanks and he called back the next day and said MSRP.

I dealt with 8 dealers, two of them are what I would consider upstanding.

I love my car and would have waited months for it.

 

[align=right:1d93d9253f]dbarry, I understand your frustration. The replys in this forum are very helpful, and I too, would encourage you to find a new dealer. The Dealer I bought from in Golden Colorado has them come available once or twice a month if you're flexible on color and packages. I kept bugging them and they called me every time someone bailed on their order or chose not to purchase the car with a certain package. I was able to get one in less than two months. Good Luck :wave: [/align:1d93d9253f]

 

dbarry; IMHO, if you really want the Prius, find another dealer, maybe try the technique below. Otherwise, cancel and buy something else.

Mary Lou; I am in north NJ and was told by the local dealer on initial inquiry it would take months. I was looking for a specific package and ruled out three of the colors.

Salesman phoned once or twice in following weeks with wrong color etc. So I went to Toyota online and started writing down phone numbers, planning to call all NJ dealers about once a week. Then I noticed they all had email addresses, so in a few minutes I was able to click n drag them all to an email group window.

Then I sent a blind-copy mass mailing with a courteous request for help finding our desired car. Most dealers replied, including a few with Prius on the lot but only one with the desired configuration.

Finally the local sales manager emailed to phone him and I did and explained I didn't need the fancy features of his next available car and it would be a waste driving for years with useless items. He noted he did have one in our config but another customer's name was on it. I suggested he ask that customer if they wanted the more expensive package. Minutes later, I had a VIN # and they had two sales instead of one.

It only took less than 3 weeks from decision to get a Prius to having one, in our case. Perhaps luck, but we did use an assertive technique and were willing to drive to any dealer in the state.

So I'd suggest to any Prius shopper to set your own limits on what configurations you'll buy and how far you'll drive then be persistent and make suggestions to the sales managers within that limit and see what happens!

Good luck!