I live in N.E. Ohio and have checked local dealers for a III or IV w/solar and haven't found any. Does anyone know if dealerships are receiving the solar packages or would I need to order one? Still debating if it's worth the extra money. thanks.
When I asked my salesman he told me that Hawaii dealerships get up to fifty 2010 Prius a month. Of those 50 he told me they can get up to 2 solar packages. He was telling me that he has a customer that ordered a solar package in July and was told that it will be delivered in March of 2010. Yep that is 8 months of waiting. I don't know if this is just Hawaii or a Nation wide trend. Alan
They are out there but they are few and FAR between. You just have to call, call, call and be willing to travel. I was told 2-4 months wait a month ago. I just found one 400 miles from my house and jumped on it. Keep looking and you will find it.
I had no problem finding them in Northern CA. One dealer had Winter Gray, one had Silver, a couple had Blizzard Pearl....which is the one I bought! I found Craigslist to be the best source. Out there, dealers tend to post them when they get them in and list by number (II, III, IV, V), color and options. I searched for '2010 prius solar' and found 4-6 of them. I called the dealer that had the color I wanted, gave him a deposit, did the paperwork over the phone and they delivered it to me at the airport. Couldn't have been any easier--I was shocked!
We ordered ours. I took about 8 weeks to arrive, but it was EXACTLY what my wife wanted. As far as the extra money, we think it was worth it. For example, it was hot today (mid 90's) and the interior was almost ambient temperature (not like opening an oven door) when we got in. If we were back in TX, I would consider the solar panel a "must have". I don't understand why more cars don't have this option. By the way, the dealer here in Northern VA told us the solar panel option is very popular, and there are none sitting on dealer lots (ours arrived Friday and we picked it up Saturday). I hope you find one!
I put a deposit down for two Prius III with solar roofs on 6/20/09 from a metro Atlanta dealer. My silver Prius with dark gray interior arrived 7/22/09. My wife’s red Prius with bisque interior arrived 7/28/09. We got exactly what we wanted. The dealer put our names on them before they arrived in the port of Jacksonville so we were able to get them with carpeted mats as the only distributor added option. No Toyoguard. The salesman never indicated there would be a problem getting them and there was not. We like the solar roof. Cinderfan, I hope you find what you want.
thanks everyone. hope to find something this week. i'm going to work at it first, then order if i have to.
happy to report that i purchased a 2010 prius III w/solar today. found it online at a dealer 60 miles from my house. they received it thursday with another solar that was a special order. i guess i got lucky. first impressions are good. thanks everyone.
Congratulations, Cinderfan. I hope you enjoy your new Prius as much as I am enjoying mine. Many happy miles . . . --TK