To all those waiting and on lists for a new Prius...

i just got off the phone with carsdirect.com---- they do not offer anymore quotes on prius due to limited availability.

i agree with you that some of the dealers i contacted who wanted me to go on their list i got the impression i would probably never see a car from them.

good score on the car!!

 

While I agree with your statements about dealers being shady, my dealer has been in constant contact with me.

I am now #1 on the list and the next allocated Prius is mine, no matter if they have to trade to get my color. I have done business with them before and they are straight forward, and personable.

 

I bought both of my Priuses in 2005, during the one of the periods of 6+ month wait lists. I bought one in April and one in November. Both times, I walked in and drove off with a Prius several hours later. My father, in Massachusetts bought one in January 2006, he too walked in and drove off with a new Prius.

I believe that when you sign up on a wait list, you basically tell them that you are willing to wait. When a new car shows up on the lot and someone walks in before they've offered it to someone on the waiting list, I think they will happily sell it to the walk-in. After all, you're still on their waiting list, while the walk-in might go off and buy from someone else.

 

You're assuming a car shows up on the lot before it has been matched against the waiting list. My dealer allocates the allocation (so to speak) while the cars are still on the boat. Or so I've been told by two dealers.

 

That still isn't what I'm seeing.

I'm on the "call me when you get a Prius" list. So are 6-10 others (at another dealer it's 30). When the dealer gets his allocation (the list of VINs you allude to) the first thing that happens is the match against the waiting list. Only when a car comes up with no match does it become available for walk-ins. But I don't think it gets that far. My dealer has no unsold Priuses in his allocation.

I called my guy yesterday to tell him that as an alternative to a #6 I'd take a #5 and look into aftermarket leather (I'll also take a #2 but I suspect they aren't getting many of those). He said he hoped to call me next week with news about the June allocation.

Maybe I'm being strung along but I believe in taking things at face value. I'm willing to wait (within reason) rather than pay above MSRP.

 

I've got a Prius that's being made in Japan right now, going to be shipped to Houston and already has my name on it with the $500 deposit. I don't think my dealer would then turn around and sell my car to the 1st person that walks in before me and says he wants it. Is that what's going on in other states? Or is that the difference between being "on the list" and "ordering"? Can you not order your own from Toyota in every state?

 

I've been under the impression that the dealers don't get to choose what cars they receive. They just take whatever Toyota sends their way and then have to swap around among each other to match their waiting lists when possible

 

I've also been told that the dealers here get an allotment and they try to match the allotment against their wait list. No such thing as "ordering," at least not at this point in the model year (perhaps).

 

I sent out 4 emails last Tuesday night to dealers I did not know. By 10:00 Wednesday morning I had purchased a Package #6 at MSRP. The super sales guy said that the people who ordered the car canceled the night before and the other people who were on the wait list... were content to wait. He delivered the car to my home on Friday.

In the next couple days I had two other offers to buy "canceled orders" although the price premiums were substantial. One offer was for a #2 at $4000. more than what I paid in February for the exact same package (we have 3 Prii). It appears that some of the early orders might have been placed at or below MSRP and the dealers are seizing the opportunity to sell the car at enhanced profit to a more anxious buyer.

So if you are on a list and want a car, keep looking at other dealers (as mentioned above). Timing is everything.

 

Here in MA, I was told there is no "ordering", only being on the list. I put down a $1k deposit. I had to initial that the deposit was non-refundable, and I refused since they will sell all they have in 5 minutes, so they agreed.

I was told that as allocations are known, they start calling down the list offering what they will be getting in a few weeks. They will call people on the list no matter what they ordered, in case they decide to get whatever the color/package is anyway.

 

That's exactly what happened with my dealer. I paid my deposit and got on a waiting list on April 26th; received a FAXed sales agreement outlining costs. I originally wanted either of two colors. Dealer called last week saying he was receiving a pkg. 2 with exactly what I wanted on it and none of what I didn't want except it was in Seaside Pearl -- not either of the colors I originally wanted. He said I'm putting your name on this car; it arrives on June 10th. Since I have now seen the color on a Prius two days ago in a parking lot, I like it and will definitely take this car. If I had said "no", it would have been sold to someone else on the waiting list. I was number 6 on the list and feel 6 weeks was not a bad wait. I'm getting the exact car I want and for the price I agreed to pay. I just needed to be a bit flexible on the color.

 

Wow, supply and demand is really hitting us consumers now. It will only get worse if gas stays high.

 

I posted this in another thread, but I think it's worth repeating so it's not missed by any reader on a waiting list:



For those of you getting on long waiting lists with verbal agreements from the salesperson to buy at MSRP:

Make sure the dealer you're buying from has demonstrated in the past (2004-2006) that they honor their commitment to sell at MSRP. Try to find previous buyers from that time period and confirm that the dealer didn't try to pull any funny business once the car became available (and that management hasn't changed).

I had someone try that on the first Prius I bought - they tried to add on $2k on to MSRP once the car showed up, citing changes in market conditions. OTOH, the folks at Toyotatown Stockton honored their commitment, and said that in the long-run, the owner felt it wasn't worth alienating buyers just to take advantage of a temporary market condition.

 

So my dealer was way shady about this whole business I feel. I'm going to call him back with a few more color options so he doesn't just call me whenever the exact one I wanted happens to stroll in. Whenever that would be. I called a bit ago and they promised they have a shipment coming in a few weeks. Few weeks = 4 or 20?! They estimated 9 on the 30th when I "ordered"

I also got to get some sort of signed thing so I don't get bankrolled. Damn