I just had a salesman tell me over the phone that Toyota has stopped production or delivery (or something similar) on the Prius and that they only had a few on the lot and weren't getting more. We are looking for a 2008 Touring Pkg.6 if that matters. Is there any morsel of truth in this?
I tend to reject anything a salesman tells me unless I get verification elsewhere. Toyota will probably stop production in Japan to do a model changeover, but it seems to be too soon for that since it is only April 20. I thought that it was later, like June or July. Check with other dealers, either online or by phoning to see what their inventory is. The salesguy might just be trying to get you to buy what he has on the lot (in fact that is his primary purpose). But you should buy a car that makes you happy.
Hopefully its a recall in the crapy paint...I'll keep dreaming. Maybe the 2009 model is coming and some dealers don't want to sell an 08. Maybe the salesman is full of crap. Possibly I would just do some searching. If you want and 08 you can get one.
What he's saying is they've probably halted ordering '08's and that anything new in the pipeline will be an '09. They usually use this tactic in conjunction with, "you need to buy what we have now because the new ones are coming and we won't be able to discount them like these we have on our lot". It's all BS. Repeat after me, "there's never a deal on a Tuesday that you can't get on a Thursday". Mike
they are not taking direct factory orders (like customer wants a silver p.6 ect.) anymore but they are still putting them on the boats. what i've been told, anyway.
Beaverton Toyota has several Silver Pine Mica Prius on the lot and willing to sell below MSRP. I don't know if they are Touring. Odd that the green green car isn't selling as well as the other colors.
It appears to be true that Toyota is no longer accepting orders for 2008 Prius. See http://www.donlen.com/buildstart_toyota.html Ken@Japan provided the link in the following PriusChat string: http://priuschat.com/forums/2009-toyota-prius/45553-2009-prius-released-when.html
If it was more of a British Racing Green I'd be all over it, but it looks more like a green-tinted silver, hence the name.
sounds like BS to me. Call some other dealers in the area. The silver pine imo is the worst color out of the prius. Silver being the best, then grey/black...the rare blue prius is a nice color, saw a few on the lot here last week..in fact only 4 prius all blue.
my wife has the seaside. it is a light blue. The spectra is a dark blue and more a mans color than the seaside IMHO and hers. I OTOH got the Red! Yeah!!:smokin:
Hey, canesfan & Pat Wong, If you look at the buildstart list (in post #7), the final order date for the Prius (& many other Toyota models) is May 12th (3 weeks away yet). So you should still be able to get a dealer to order you a Touring edition. This close to the end of the 2008 production run may limit your choices of option pkg's & color choices, since the way Toyota operates its allocation system & the way the 12 regions control those allocations even more. You are NEVER order'g your car from the Toyota factory (the way we're used to for American cars). You are just specify'g your preferences to your dealer for him to sort out. Some dealers don't care what you want (or even tell you it isn't even made), & they will try to push you into whatever they have on the lot or whatever they know is coming in to them. Some dealers are excellent & will work the allocation system with their computer to find your exact car for you while it's still on the boat coming from Japan. That way the swap is an electronic swap with the surrender'g dealer (before it even gets to the port). There is even a little time once it arrives in the port in which to work an electronic swap (before it gets loaded on a car carrier truck for delivery to the designated dealer), since the port has to inspect the cars first & many times will hold the cars long enough to add a lot of PIO (port-installed options that the dealer is NOT supposed to remove) that add profit for the dealer & cost for you. Once the Priuses are loaded onto the car carrier, it's usually too late to work a swap any more because the swap now becomes physical [having to actually drive the 2 cars back & forth between 2 close dealers (to keep the miles low)]. This now limits you to only the option pkg's & color choices of your region's allocation (unless you happen to live in a state that borders another state that's part of a different region & the surrender'g dealer is willing to do a physical swap with your dealer). Again, this late date in the 2008 production run will limit the remain'g cars in the allocation system, so swap'g to find your desired options & colors may be difficult. They will be start'g to take orders in June for the 2009 models, but they won't start producing them until August. The 1st deliveries of the '09's won't be until between Sept 16th (on the west coast 1st, I'm guess'g) & as late as Oct 31st (on the east coast & anywhere in between). And there will most likely be a price increase if you wait for a 2009. Good luck whatever you choose to do. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
Hi Ken, If that build start chart is accurate, it shows April 9, 2008 as the date when final 2008 orders are due for Prius. I agree with your point that a Toyota customer is merely specifying a preference to the dealer and must hope that the dealer can find the exact vehicle. This is how the process worked when I ordered my 2006 HiHy in 2004 and subsequently received one of the first vehicles shipped to California in June 2005. I specified a choice of three colors as well as my desired equipment config. I ended up getting the exact equipment config and my first choice color.
Wow, I didn't realize the process was so different than domestic cars. With my '08 Jeep I ordered it and about 6 or so weeks before it was delivered I had a VIN assigned to me. From that point I could actual follow it's build process down the assembly line. I knew what point it started, I knew what point it was being painted, I knew what point it was being inspected. When it hit the truck to the train yard I knew it, when it switched to truck I knew it. When I received it the window sticker even had my name on it. I suppose there's a heck of a lot more logistics importing cars over from Japan to have that much granular control. It's so, well, impersonal. Mike
Pat, Wow! You're right, the final order date (2008) & the 2009 initial order date are both in boldface & (apparently meaning they) have been changed from when I 1st printed out that chart from Ken's (the other Ken) post. I printed out my copy on April 4th & it had a "Last Updated" date on it then of 3/12/08 in the upper right corner. I see now that has been chg'd to 4/18/08. Thanks for pick'g up on that & providing the link. I couldn't remember what post I had found that from to print. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
