New Prius shortage coming?

3 at that price. Good luck actually getting one at that price. Even Longo is not discounting their Prius, and they have more than 100 in stock.

 

The Sunday ads around here now only say how many Prii are in stock rather than listing prices. Sounds to me like the discount days are over for now.

 

I was forced to buy a new 2011. A distracted driver rear ended my '04 and they totaled it with only 192,300 miles.

No haggling. Sticker price. I grabbed mine while somebody else was looking at it. One left on the lot. Nobody knew when or if they were getting more. Same thing at another dealer I checked out the day before - one sold while I was looking, and only one left. Of course, the"nobody knows when or if" is probably just a sales scare tactic.

edit: I guess I need to update my sig....

 

Article in today's USA Today talked about dwindling inventories of Japan built fuel efficient cars. Gas prices and the earthquake .....

 

New article on Prius shortages:

Hybrid cars are in demand, short supply

 

New info from Toyota Global:
TMC has decided that the halt of vehicle production at TMC plants and subsidiary vehicle manufacturers will continue until (and include) March 26 (a scheduled Saturday production day).
It's not a good news for me, it seems inevitable that my delivery date would be postponed. But the main thing is still that I send all my thoughts and condolences to the people of Japan struck with the earthquake and it's consequences.

 

interesting.. it is becoming a seller's market..

 

Possibly, which is good news for current owners wanting to trade, but obviously bad news for wanna-be owners trying to buy within a few months. If you're not buying a hybrid until 2013, you'll probably be okay both in terms of availability and possibly new technology.

 

Drove by my Toyota dealer today .... not one Prius on the lot.

Several weeks ago, there were about a dozen lined up.

 

I think a lot of dealers don't care, they just want to move metal and will deal with the issue when they get down the the last few. Those cars cost money on the lot and the quicker they leave the better.

Additionally, I think the bigger issue is the ports, I have a friend that exports to Japan and says everything is very delayed unless it helps support the recovery.

 

Found this on Automotive News:
Toyota Motor Corp.
UPDATED: 9:35 a.m. ET, 3/22/11 U.S.:
• North American vehicle and engine plants (13) running; overtime curtailed
• Prius availability in the U.S. could be affected by damage to a hybrid battery plant; RAV4 crossover also affected

Japan:
• 21 auto and components plants closed until March 26, when it will reassess production plans
• Expects to resume production of key parts for overseas assembly plants this week
• Resumed production of replacement parts for vehicles already on the market on March 17; resumed production of parts for overseas production on March 21.
• Damaged: The Central Motor plant in Miyagi, which manufactures the Yaris; the Kanto Auto Works Iwate plant, the Scion xB and xD models; parts plants in Hokkaido and Tohoku

 

Oh yeah.. dealerships are going to start MARKING UP the Prius NOW!!!

 

Now that Libya has mostly displaced Japan from the headlines, both index oil prices and my regional gas prices have resumed their upward march. But national gas prices are not showing the same pattern yet, up only about 1 cent (vs. 3-4 cents locally) over the past three days.

 

Prius Pinch? Only for the Impatient - WSJ.com

 

Prius production restarting March 28

Prius factory to restart, Honda extends shutdown - Yahoo! Finance

From toyota global - Announcement

 

Not true about the shortages. During C4C, inventories were decimated. I got the last Prius on a local lot just before C4C ended. Had to pay sticker.

 

Toyota to Resume Hybrid Vehicle Production in Japan - check out report on FoxBusiness.com

 

Agreed. You have to be either super rich or super dumb to pay sticker or markup for a Prius. Gas has been $4 plus here now for a couple of months and even then there was plenty of Prius in stock selling with decent discounts. Dealerships now are just using the Tsunami as a excuse to rob people.

Say you bought a Type III at sticker: $25k, with tax, dmw or so (depending on state) would equal to about $27k+. Sorry but I rather wait and get a new mid model corolla, civic, elentra, cruz and pocket the $9k difference ... $9000 buys A LOT of gas.

 

By Kim Peterson on MSM:

"The earthquake and tsunami in Japan are still disrupting the auto industry worldwide, and it could be harder to find that car you want as a result.

Toyota (TM) says it will probably idle a truck plant in Texas because it can't get enough parts, according to Reuters. "It is likely that we will see some nonproduction days coming," a spokesman said. "At this point, we are still not sure of when those might hit or, if they do it, what the duration may be."

The entire sector is feeling aftershocks from the tragedy. Even American automakers are not immune, as they import parts from Japan. General Motors (GM) temporarily stopped production at a plant in Louisiana and laid off more than 50 workers at a plant in New York.

But the Japanese automakers are the hardest hit, with recovery efforts hampered by widespread power outages.

Toyota has closed all 18 of its plants in Japan through March 26 and said it could lose production of 140,000 vehicles in that time, Bloomberg reports. Analysts estimate the company is losing 6.5 billion yen a day.

Toyota builds cars in North America as well but still imports about 25% of the parts from Japan and other countries.

Honda is keeping two Japanese plants closed until at least April 3 and has said one key research center will take months to return to normal.

Smaller parts makers went offline as well. Nissan's chief executive estimated that 40 parts suppliers are still hampered. Honda says a third of the 110 parts suppliers it uses in Japan have suffered damage, The Orlando Sentinel reports.

Toyota is feeling intense pressure because its cars, particularly its new hybrids, are in high demand. The company is scrambling to restore production on three hybrid models -- the Prius, Lexus HS250h and Lexus CT200h -- by March 28, Bloomberg reports. But it's not clear whether Toyota is using its own parts or whether it must find another supplier"

 

Of course, but....

You've forgotten that no smart or rational person buys a Prius to simply save $$$, because they won't -- they're better off buying a Civic, Corolla, Cruz, or Elantra as you mentioned. The real reason people buy a Prius is to make a statement, and spend less money on gas.

To take your example to heart, would you rather have your $9000 go to Toyota, or the oil companies?