I need some advice on how to get my new red prius 3. Last Friday I called a dealer and they said they did not have a blue or red 3 but could get a red one there in a couple of hours by doing a trade with another dealer. I went and rather painlessly bought the car, gave them a check and my clunker. They gave me a loaner prius and said it may be a few hours to get the car. No car Friday, No car on Satruday- they said Monday or Tuesday at the latest. No car Tuesday. My salesman is not calling me back- I am getting information if I just call the sales department. Wednesday after no response from any salesperson, I get the receptionist to track down my sales guy and she says my car is not there yet, the salesman has some information on my car and he will call me back when he finishes with his current customers. You guessed it - NO Call! The previous sales people have all been nice on the phone and said they would do something for me for my trouble but no specifics. So any suggestions on handling the dealer? Any suggestions on what I should ask for as compensation for being strung along, ignored etc? They've cashed my check - do I need to get my lawyer? Thanks
Still have the loaner? If so look at it as a free car, I would. By that I mean all the miles you drive on the loaner are not depreciation on YOUR car.
Stop dealing with the sales guy. You need to have a chat with the Sales Manager at least and depending on the direction of the conversation, you may want to be aware of the legal issues involved. Keep us informed and let us know which dealership! Good Luck!
TangaRed, I am not in the auto industry, so all I know is what I read and see on the news. I see several reports that dealer trades are very tough right now because dealers want to keep highly desirable vehicles for their own CFC deals. Maybe it was poor form for the sales person to promise a couple of hours, but that might be a realistic promise during normal times - this is not a normal time. It might be tough to be patient waiting for "your" car. A64pilot is right: if the dealer is not hounding you to return the loaner, you're in a great position. You have a free loaner, of the car your buying. You can practice as much Hybrid driving as you want for only the cost of gas. No depreciation, no wear & tear, no rental cost. What could be better? If you have to have "your" car, you can try contacting the owner, or you can go to the dealership, stand in the middle of the showroom and politely, but loudly, ask to be given the status on your car-on-order and ask why is it taking so long? The risk - they ask for the loaner to be returned and you have nothing. Sometimes being the squeaky wheel works, sometimes it back-fires; you take your chances. If it was me: I would enjoy the use of the loaner, call the sales-person every other day and leave a polite message inquiring about the status of my car. This sounds like a completely positive situation for you. Good luck --TK
when I got mine a little more then 2 years ago the dealership wasn't able to make a dealership swap and ended up having to order one for me. It ended up taking about 10 Looonnggg days. As far as free stuff ideas you should look into for your trouble: I would ask for free Floor and Cargo Mats if you package doesn't already include that.
Go to the dealer's website to find the name of the GM (or owner if it's listed), then drive down (or call if it's really far away) and tell the GM what's happened. I suspect what's happened (although it certainly doesn't justify how you've been treated) is no dealer wants to do a trade because with the CARS program, many dealers are sold out. I saw on the news last night that the Prius was in the top 5 cars being bought under the CARS program (there were 3 Toyotas in the top 5).
The stringing along with bad communication is really making this a nightmare. The loaner is nice to have but I didn't pay 25K for a white used 2008 - They aren't making the best of a bad situation but making it worse. Thanks for your ideas. no call yet today.
Dang, I thought you were driving a 2010. No offense to the Gen II, but I would be upset driving in a Gen II if I'm waiting on my Gen III. Have you looked at Dianne's thread to see if she's got a car coming that your dealer could trade with?
Update! the Sales Manager said the car they had contracted for at another dealer was sold out from under them and there are no cars that match my Prius 3 blue or red criteria. He wants to sell me a different model- I don't want Nav or to spend any more money! He is going to look for car options and call back. He did say he could give me my money back - but I turned in my clunker to them already and it might be a nightmare to undo and redo the clunker application. Ideas?
Look up Dianne Whitmire on the dealers forum. She is the CA guru and I'm optimistic that she can come up with a way.
update - the dealer says they can not get another prius iii from anyone, they don't have any prius allocated and coming in and they could sell me a 29507 dollar prius iv loaded with stuff I don't want. How can they not have any more cars coming in? This is the second shaft I've gotten from a toyota dealer. The first cash for clunker deposit I put on a car at Walnut Creek, I was told after a week that they decided not to do the C4C program. Maybe I should go for an insight.
I am sort of in the same boat but no loaner! Paid for my car in full last Thursday. That is the day the Govt. decided to shut their website down because they were possibly out of money. Then they said (on TV) anyone with the deal made before the weekend was guaranteed their CFC deal. They (the dealer) managed to get my paperwork in (what day I am not sure) but it is still listed as "under review". I still have my cluncker to drop off when I pick up my car but they will not release my car till the govt website says approved on my application. So my car sits on the lot!! Very frustrating! I called another dealer to see how they were handeling these situation and they said they are releasing the cars to the buyer but they have to sign that should the CFC not go through the buyer pays the $4500. I would not be willing to do that.
In spite of all the news from Washington D.C. about how successful the "Cash For Clunker" program is, it has turned out to be a total disaster for dealers and many customers. Everybody is going nuts (dealers and customers) to get a new car before the all the funding disappears. 1) Try to find out how long it is anticipated that the CFC program will last. 2) The current inventory of Prius automobiles may be depleted, but there are more cars coming from Japan. (Toyota Japan has not stopped making Prius automobiles, they are not on vacation, and not on strike.) Sounds like they have taken your clunker and cashed your check. All they have to do is to deliver a new 2010 Prius. If I were you, I'd go to the dealer and have a face to face meeting with the Sales Manager and tell him (or her) that it is their responsibility to come up with a suitable new 2010 Prius. In the mean time, you have their "loaner" car. Be calm and be prepared to wait a few weeks. (I'm assuming that you have a sales contract in hand that was signed when you gave them a check.) The only other alternative is to get your money back, your clunker back, and return the loaner car. Good Luck, Keith
If you are polite and play this right, it may well be to your advantage. I would try to be the nice, but concerned customer. They may try to make it right if you are nice about it.
If you haven't signed a contract you can walk away and demand your deposit back and go somewhere else...:rockon: Me and my wife did this with RK Toyota after they pulled some Sh**, they were very unprofessional... Sure we had a loaner car however it wasn't worth the trouble that came with it, so we gave it back and we are currently without transportation.:frusty:
Good Points... The last time I bought a new car (BMW) was about a dozen years ago. I was very calm and polite throughout the whole ordeal. After I had finished reviewing all the paperwork and signing the sales contract, the Finance Manager asked if I was feeling Ok. I replied that I was just fine. She said that everybody else are always very happy and excited about buying a new vehicle. I explained that to me this was just another business deal. I never get emotional over any business deal because over the years I've learned that when people get emotionally involved in a business deal, they usually screw-up. I've stated many times here on PriusChat - You never get the deal you deserve, you get the deal you negotiate....... Keith
