How to purchase a new blue 2023 Gen5 Prius LE FWD

idk what sold order request is, but if you have been reading the gen 5 threads, you already know that if you haven't been on a waiting list for some time, your only hope would be to stumble on one accidentally. an unlikely scenario.
toyota is having a difficult time with the supply chain, and cannot currently meet demand.
patience is the key, unfortunately, and expect to pay msrp or higher.

 

This is the same scenario that happened in 2004 - 2005 where gas prices went up over $4 /gallon for the 1st time & many wanted to snap up a new gen II prius.
It took us nearly a year scanning the used pri market - just waiting for some financially strapped person to unload one used.

 

The two methods you are using are what I would do. I don't know how you would pick which dealers to put down a deposit, since some are likely better than others for actually delivering you a car, and you can't do them all. On number 1, I would suggest you be willing to expand your geographic search, do it by email rather than phone (or through the dealer's online inquiry) and seek out dealers that are bigger dealer but in remote areas. The reason for remote areas are I think these cars are of less interest to rural buyers (I could be wrong), just thinking logically that the 40 miles of EV mode is not of as much interest as it is to someone in a city or suburb who may on a daily basis not drive more than 40 miles. Good luck.

 

You are trying to buy one of the hottest cars in the country and you don't want to work very hard at it. Good luck!



Now if you change your mind and decide that working a little bit more is worth obtaining the car you want, then do the following:

Sit down one afternoon and cut/paste an email inquiry to 30 of the nearest dealers to your location. Ask to communicate via email and do not use your regular email account.

You will end up with a ton of emails from sometimes multiple contact points inside each dealership. Reply to EVERY message with a cut/paste response ("I'm looking for a 2023 FWD LE..."). Use the cut/paste as often as you can, because you will be asked the same question over and over and over. It will often seem like the dealerships aren't listening. Continue to reply to all emails calmly until you get a solid lead on a car. They will press you to get on the phone or drive down to their dealership. Do not! Tell them you will talk on the phone once they are actually allocated a car and will sell it to you. Agree on the price via email! Also assure them that you can close on the sale within hours of it arriving at their dealership. Once they have the car you want allocated, get a signed purchase agreement completed, and send them your deposit.

It's also a good idea to ask each dealership when their next allocation "drops", then hit your contact points with the same question again on that day. It took me exactly 3 weeks (4/7/23-5/1/23 to secure a deal on my 2023 at MSRP. Takes another 4-6 weeks to actually receive the car.

 

Here is my story and how I stumbled upon one on the lot...

I had been looking for one for about a month. I used Autotrader and had my search area set to 500 miles. Every dealer I called said the wait lists were estimated to be anywhere from 6 months to 12 months depending on the dealer I called.

On the day I found one, I made my rounds of phone calls to check back with dealers. I called a local dealer who said they had a Prime XSE available. Wait, what? I tell them I'll be there in 15 minutes..

I arrive and sure enough, there it is! in Wind Chill White, which is the color I wanted..

Long story short - I ask how on earth do they have one.. The sales woman says they just got it in and the buyer of it notified them he needed to cancel the hold.

She said she then spent about an about on the phone calling people on their wait list and they either didn't answer or they wanted specific models / features.

She advised it was mine if I wanted it.. Work out my trade, and a few hours later it's mine!

I made a few compromises.. I wanted the 12" screen and this one has the 8". I also wanted the sunroof and this one did not have it. Not deal breakers for me by any means..

No dealer markup and no dealer add ons. I paid the sticker price and drove away with it a few hours later..

 

Poor salespeople don't listen to their customers. Just "patiently" repeat the same cut/paste, over and over and over. You'll know when you get a real person, or when they actually have a car to make a deal with you.

"I'm looking for a 2023 Prius FWD LE in blue, red, or white. If we make a deal, I can close immediately."

Paste that over and over and over.

Don't discriminate between dealership sizes as someone else suggested. You don't know where or when your car is coming from. Mine came from a tiny dealership, in a tiny town, 45 miles outside my city. It felt like a miracle. These "miracles" happen when we increase the size of our sample.

And if you have something to trade, that helps with your priority in their minds. They. Need. Cars.

 

Good luck, I talked to one dealer before the cat was out of the bag on the 23 Prius! Now I think everybody wants one, my dealer said he’s only received about 10 since the first of the year? I think on the West Coast they’re telling people 14 months to two years! I had my name on three dealer lists one came through the other two yanked me around.

 

Just editorial: the usual expression is "jerked me around".

 

Mine quickly went from "waver" to "wither". Right from the get go: no spare, forget it. Then, in Canada, you have to take 19" rims, sunroof, AWD, all the dreck I'm not remotely interested in.

 

No spare, true enough. But if I’m that concerned, I’ll go buy a donut and a scissor jack.

To avoid the other items… go for an SE Prime. And get $5k back from the govt of canada, possibly more at the provincial level.

 

Yeah, SAW one the other day: Apart from the ghetto wheels, looked ok.

 

With the used-car prices crashing rapidly, it is looking less and less likely that I will trade in my beautiful blue 2021 Prius Prime Limited for a 2023 Prius Prime SE.

There is also not a single nice color choice for the 2023 model year.

 

Moreover, this is the worst time to buy a Gen 5 Prius/Prius Prime. In two years, not only the MSRP will fall but the cars will sell $5,000 below MSRP, as few people will want to buy a Prius/Prius Prime by then, just like what happened with Gen 4.