Group buy for SF bay area?

Group or not, orders have to start online and currently are only open to pre-registered people. Is the deposit refundable ?

 

Deposits are refundable (addressed on Toyota's FAQ).

 

? I count 7 according to your first post....

Regards, Peter

 

gosh how did i miss this... i have been obsessing over danny's premier thread. anyway i will PM you.

 

I don't wana sound picky-you-ny ... but 'probably' isn't really a committment. So even if someone said, 'probably $5,000' it wouldn't be enforcable. So when someone only says probably a discount? ... one could just as easily interpret that to mean, probably a discount on your 1st oil change. ... i'm just sayin' ... say it in real numbers and real words or it's not saying anything at all. FWIW, when someone is sales deliberately says magic nothing words to me, it's a red flag, and I run the other way. Maybe it comes from being an attorney, and seeing too much of people's reality.

I'd think it'd be highly unlikely a dealer would even be ABLE to effect a group buy. New models that are highly anticipated often get premiums added to them - not discounts. Knowing that, what would be the motivation for a dealer to follow through? I mean, they likey want to send their kids to college, and they can't do that by undercutting one of the few cars they can make a little extra coin on. It seems like when ever a car comes along that creates a line, there'll always be someone behind you, if you don't want to pony up full price, much less one that's marked up a bit. Nevertheless ... and not meaning to rain on any one's parade . . . . good luck!

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I'm also interested in this potential group buy. I am already pre-registered with Toyota. greenleaf -- I will PM you about joining the google group. Thanks!

 

Coming from sales, I can see a very good reason why a sales person would want to take this opportunity... It is a great way to get recognized by your peers and management. If I knew I had a group of people wanting to buy something, I'd make an effort to have them come my way and then boast about it to my regional manager.

 

Your comment highlights an important point. Ignorance of the ordering process leads the uninformed to make the typical "new model, highly anticipated, no discount" comments. Unfortunately, the dealerships have the same misconceptions because they haven't taken the time to learn the ordering process.

 

Count me in!

 

If there are five Toyota dealers in the Bay Area and you are number five wouldn't you be looking for a way to increase your volume and visibility? Since you have to do very little work - just deliver the car - I think this is an excellent discount sales opportunity.

 

Great. If you haven't done so yet please join the Google group.

 

Right. Importantly, this isn't normal car sales.

In normal car sales the company sells cars to the dealer and then dealer sells cars to the customer. With demand greater than supply, if a customer won't pay their asking price they'll simply wait for the next one. As long as there is one sucker for each car they have no reason to cut a deal. This traditional model was used by GM for the Volt.

For the PIP (and the LEAF) the company gets an order from a customer, who chooses the dealer. Even with demand greater than supply, if a customer won't pay their asking price they won't have a car. They have an incentive to cut a deal.

 

Still struggling to understand the order process. From the ordering process FAQ at toyota.com, step 2 is:

2. Order

• Select a dealer - Pick the dealer from which you'd like to purchase and pick up your Plug-in.
• Submit an order - Send your configured order to your selected dealer via the online system. This step secures you a car, but not a place in line. After you place the order, you will have 96 hours to confirm it, or the order expires.
• Arrange your deal - Contact your dealer to agree upon a price for the vehicle you are ordering. This is a good time to ask other questions about the vehicle, financing options, and trade-in values, if applicable.
• Place a deposit - Provide your dealer with the $500 deposit.
• Confirm your order - Once the dealer has approved the order, you will receive a final vehicle order agreement. Sign the agreement online, confirm the order, and you're ready to go. Don't delay – this step gets your order in line to be fulfilled!

Are we tied to the dealer once we select it at the start of the ordering process? If so, then we basically say, yes, we will buy the car from Dealer X, then go to Dealer X to negotiate a price? What leverage to we have to negotiate once Dealer X already knows we have to buy from them? Or what incentive is there for Dealer X to honor any previously agreed upon group deal at this point? Yes, they want a sale, but they probably know we want the car more.

Greenleaf: I am on google group, but feel free to add me to 1st post list. Thanks.

 

The Ordering Process FAQ shows:

It looks like you can change dealers if you don't like the price the first dealer offers, but it will take additional time to arrange a price with a new dealer, pay them a deposit, and sign the agreement (which may end up putting you later in the line to receive your car).

 

I think the whole idea is that you are supposed to negotiate the price from the (reputable) dealer before the order window opens. If you are trying to do that while you are placing the order, you run the risk of being at the end of the line when it comes to having the vehicle delivered.

 

Everything I am reading here is right.
The initial click, request, send for dealer confirm is right. That holds A CAR.

Then you have up to 96 hours to click to get the car confirmed, in which time you can change your dealer as much as you want. That's what will throw your car to the end of the production line - the dragging of the feet between the first click to order and the end of the order process.

Really... guys and gals, based on what I understand, this window will be open for such a short time the day it does open, I'm prayin that things change and the powers that be do things differently with their volume in regards to pre-order.