Help: losing patience with my dealer...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 11:16 AM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

Read the OP in this thread and use it as a guide. Sure, it's WA not TX but you get the idea.

Let your fingers do some walking. Look online at Toyota dealers in SA, Houston, and Dallas first and spread your search out from there. I waited three months last year and had my name on a half dozen or so wait lists in and around S. Texas. If you don't mind travel, check out threads referencing other states. There have been threads re VA dealers who have even offered below MSRP deals near the end of the month.

The world is wide open and a car is probably less than a month away (at MSRP) if you look for it. All of this is said presuming it's not an unattainable package for the Gulf States region (like a #8).

 

Boy, have you got the patience of a saint.

One year?

Tell your dealer to kiss off. Point out the body part; dropping your pants is optional. Gesture to emphasize your point. Only one finger necessary.

Then follow the articles here on Priuschat about getting a car. Use the internet and the phone. If you're willing to take any color or package and to travel a bit and drive back, you'll have a car before the end of the month. And you'll pay MSRP and won't have to buy any added port options. Make both clear when you're talking with the internet managers.

Expand your search to dealers within a few hundred miles of you. Find them on the web and e-mail the internet managers.

Yes, expand your search to even out of Texas. If you're willing to go out of state and drive back, you might have a car within a week.

 

Something does not sound kosher, I ordered a prius (05) in June of 05 and had it 3 months later. I ordered another in May 06 and had the car in 3 weeks. I can't believe it would take a year to receive the car. It sounds like your salesperson friend is not too much of a friend.

 

There is no reason for you to have to wait this long. And you can quote me on that. That dealer is simply playing games with you. If they treat you like that before the sale consider how they would treat you after the sale. I wouldn't buy from that dealer even if he had one in stock now. No way.

The above posts are right on target. Take some time to make phone calls and I suspect you will find a dealer within a few weeks.

Good luck!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 12:16 PM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

Why don't you just take a road trip to Utah? I bought mine right off the lot. Magnetic Gray package 3. Nothing over MSRP up here either. People are always flying in from California to buy Prius' here.

 

How does one define "FRIEND ?" It's hard to believe that a "friend" would expect you to wait a YEAR for a new Prius.

With just a little research, you can find a selection of Prius available in many parts of the USA - immediate delivery, in stock. Many at MSRP without added, expensive "dealer options." Might take a flight out of state and a drive back home. Take a look at the "Dealer" section here in Prius Chat... also in a similar area in PriusOnline.

Importing a Prius into Texas is not complex. About the only complication I can imagine might be a "trade" if you have that situation.

Sidebar: I bought my Prius with 4,000 miles on the clock on eBay - 6-day wait, Southwest Air to Houston and a drive back to Dallas - been a terrific car for us. eBay Motors has numerous dealer listings but, as always, be careful. Many, if not most, Dealers have an "Internet Manager" salesperson. If I were to seek a new Prius out of state on eBay, I would utilize eBay as a source of general information and call the "Internet Manager" direct.

 

Ditto all of the above. Tell the dealer to stick it. You can have yourself in a new Prius in 6 weeks or less with a little effort. Good luck....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 11:16 AM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

Wow. That is a LONG time to wait. I'm in Austin (well, Round Rock, the city built by Dell) and submitted an online request for a quote in late April and heard back from a few dealers who (of course) would not give price quotes through email. I was told by two of them that the wait was 2-4 months, although one Austin dealer said their waiting list was around a year long and I could get on the list but would most likely get a 2007 model sometime next year. Um, no thanks, I was hoping to take full advantage of the tax credit. A few days later, Classic Toyota in Round Rock called and said they had a white one coming in that afternoon and asked if I wanted it. "Well, white is about the only color I don't want, but let me talk to my wife and I'll call you back." By the time I called them back an hour later they had already sold it...but they had just received word that they were getting a Driftwood Pearl a few days later, package #4. Driftwood Pearl was maybe my third or fourth preference, but that's fine. I went down that night and put my deposit down, and it came in 2 days later, barely a week after I had put in my initial request. Paid MSRP although I also had to get it with the Extra Mile package which is bunk.

Since then, I have received on two separate occasions emails from (I believe) Champion Toyota that they "just received 6 Prius, they're on the lot, ready for sale, first come first served" or "we just got 9 more Prius, hurry in for best selection" with details on what option packages they were. I've wondered if they were selling someone else's allocation.

If you've waited a year, I'd bet the dealer has probably sold "your" car a few times.

 

I have to agree what several said above.....they are no friend. There is no way you should have been waiting this long. I went in at the end of April and place an order and got it in under 5 weeks. Paid less than MSRP and got refunded my deposit which I let them just apply to the purchase. You are not that far away from me so I would recommend you try Toyota of Richardson and deal with Fabian Gaete. Some of dealerships around here are still trying to overcharge by as much as 6000 over so definately go to the Richardson one. Gaete is the internet sales manager and was awesome. No run around at all and even was calling me once a week to inform me on how things were going and when I could pick it up. Great experience! Sounds like a road trip would be your best bet.

 

That's very odd. Back in September '04 I put my name down on one list (no deposit) and was told the wait was a year and a half (making it February '06). :blink: I figured, OK, I'll make sure my finances are in order. I started getting calls from them in January '05. I ended up buying from some other dealer (the first dealer didn't have my color or options), but it was nowhere near that long a wait.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 11:16 AM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

That's BS. It took two months for my 06' Prius to come in. For you to be waiting a year and still be #70 on the list is beyond ridiculous. Time for a new dealer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 12:16 PM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

Steve, I know this situation doesn't necessarily apply to you, but I learned that dealers who are as little as 10 miles apart may actually be in different sales regions, thus may have different distribution schedules. I placed an order in central NJ expecting to wait 4-6 months. After a few weeks, I decided to check nearby dealers (one of which happened to be in PA only 10 miles farther than the original dealer), and discovered seven (!!!) Prius in stock, two of which were exactly what I had ordered. I drove one home that day. My mistake was assuming that all dealers in a certain region had the same stock problems, which proved to be quite false.

The message: if you haven't already, please check dealers as far away as you're willing to travel for units in stock. I can tell you from experience that it's possible. And, who knows, it may not even require crossing state lines.

- Doug

 

Run away from that dealer as fast as you possibly can!!!

Your patience was unbelievable. After treating you so horrible, they don't deserve any commission. You could have found a Prius ages ago. For that matter, they could have the same way. Call around the area (100 mile radius) then go for drive with someone to pick it up. That can shorten the time dramatically if you're persistent or a bit on the lucky side.

If you do have to start over from scratch somewhere else, it should only take 2 months or so. That's it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 12:16 PM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

Sounds like your friend is taking advantage of his "friendship". I live in South Florida..I know for a fact that my dealership sends Prius' out all over the US. If you want his number email me at [email protected] and I will hook you up with him. He is a good guy and will tell you what he can do for you. There are always Prius' on his lot bec his dealership has the highest allotment in the area. I don't work for Toyota and am not his cousin. Maybe he can work something out with your dealership. I am sure there is a way to do something.

 

Hi Steve --

Riverside Toyota in Tulsa has 4 Prius(s) available and on the lot right now. Check Riverside Toyota to see the colors and package.

I live in Wichita, Kansas. When my wife and I decided on a Prius, and our local dealer was not able to get our color/package in under 3 months, we went hunting. We called dozens of dealers between Kansas City and Houston and Riverside Toyota in Tulsa delivered exactly as promised -- a Magnetic Gray Package 6. They quoted 3 to 4 weeks and it arrived exactly on the 4 week mark.

Call around. And definitely include all the rural dealers you can find...Prius(s) tend to sell slower in rural areas vs. the big city. And don't pay more than MSRP....

And heck...a road trip to pick up your new Prius and a long drive back gives you more time to learn all about your new baby...

Good luck!

Bryan

 

Low 70's is an ideal temperature. Not your position on any sort of a list.

 

Okay, I gotta ask: which package/color are you asking for, and have they at least offered you substitutes? I guess I could understand the year+ wait if you were holding out for something unreasonable, like a Package #17 in Plaid or something...

 

i bought my 06 on saturday the 19 of july 2006, went online found the car and color i wanted. made the deal and drove it home. my search found about 20 cars in my area. i live in va. cannot believe there is this much of a problem in other areas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rebbi @ Jul 19 2006, 11:16 AM) [snapback]288724[/snapback]</div>

I did a quick check at toyota.com, because thats how I found my Prius. Went to several dealer sites around Austin, found one with 12 in stock, on the lot. Check this out

http://www.sanmarcostoyota.com/NewInventor...=FindNextToyota