What happens when you get "on the list"???

I think I might be on the waiting list for a Prius... can anyone tell me what happens now???

I went to my local Toyota dealership on Saturday (In the middle of nowhere in the California desert) to get on the waiting list for a Prius. The salesman (err... "Assistant Manager") didn't even know that there was a waiting list. They actually had a Prius on the lot that they offered to sell me, but it was a pretty stripped down model (and goshdarnit, I want my perks!!!), so we told the salesman that we'd like to just get on the waiting list for what we want. He took my name and phone number and wrote what I'd like on an order form. We'd forgotten our checkbook and their credit card machine was down, so I told him I'd come back Monday morning with a check. He told me that as soon as we brought that in he'd "put in the order" (yeah, it sounded odd to me too).

I went this morning, took him the check and the printout of what I want (Package #5 with dark gray interior, not too picky about exterior color, but preferably something light so dirt won't show). He said he had looked into it and that you couldn't just put in an order for the Prius because there was a waiting list (which I'd already told him on Saturday) and tried to sell me the one they had on their lot again. I told him that it didn't have what I wanted and I'd rather wait, and he told me he'd just "see what he could get" and would let me know when he found what I wanted. He had no idea how long it would be, or when we could expect to hear from him.

Is this a typical experience? Does anyone know how long I can expect to wait? Is it helpful to call him frequently and bug him?

I've only bought one new car before (1999 Plymouth Breeze with 240K miles on it that I still drive) and just bought that off of the lot, so have no idea what I should expect, or if there is anything I should make sure the dealer is doing to help me get my new Prius. My husband is dead set on using this dealership, so I guess I have to work with them, but I'm not even sure the guy knows what he's doing.

Any help, advice, explanations of the process, etc. would be VERY appreciated!!!

 

We live about 100 miles from the next nearest Toyota dealership and there are reports/rumors that the local dealership will refuse to do warranty work for vehicles not purchased here, put them at the back of the line to get work done, do only the legal minimum, etc. I don't know if that is true or not, and I don't think it would be legal, but he's lived here his whole life and says that people have tried to report them before to corporate or law enforcement, but that nothing happens.

He also likes to "keep his money local" and tries to support local businesses...

I've put in some calls to other dealerships in Lancaster and Bakersfield and they seem a little more clued in, I think I'm going to talk to him about getting on a couple of other waiting lists too, just in case...