Prius c Supply Drying Up?

I still have yet to actually see one in person.

 

Just was talking to a local (Pittsburgh) dealer who had some choice words for Toyota regarding the Prius C... Basically he couldn't understand why they're bothering to advertise them so much when they don't have them to sell. He said at best their dealership is getting a slow trickle - a few a month, and they'll all pre-sold.

Apparently they've been getting quite a few angry customers who want to check the C out - you know, look, drive, buy - but can't because none ever actually make it to the lot. They've got a waiting list going, but are still turning away many people each day...

Eventually supply has to catch up, right?

 

An average of a little over 15 per state (divided up evenly), I'd say you're correct.

 

I was looking for a summer rain prius c two and there are no prius c's in summer rain of any level withing 500 miles of of where I live. No other dealers are willing to trade at this point because their is a waiting list at every dealer. I have been working with several dealers and I am ready to buy, but it's the same story at every dealer. If I order now none of them are exactly sure when I will recieve the car, some said it may be 2-3 months, so I'm just going to say the hell with it and wait until the 13's come out at this point.

 

There were 6-8 Prius C in my local dealer when I bought mine. I went back there for service and accessories couple times and I didn't see any Cs in the lot. I was curious and go to their inventory and it showed there was none. I think it's a really hot vehicle, hotter than PiP because I still see 2 in the inventory this week.

 

robtco99 - Do you know there's none available because you called every dealership? or are you just taking some dealership's word for it? The first dealer we went to told us the same thing, there's none in the area, the best they can do is sell us a C3 Summer Rain or put an order in to Japan and wait 60-90 days. We called 15-20 dealers, some told us they don't have it, some were optimistic they could get it. We put deposits at 2 dealers, within a week I was driving my Summer Rain C Two. I'm pretty sure most dealers won't do much for you until there is money on the table. Good luck!

 

Yes, here in Milwaukee WI, all inventory allocated to the dealer I went to had been Pre Sold. I ended up putting in an order. They too have no idea of how long it will take. Approx 2-3 months. I figure at least this way I will get what I want, rather than settle.

 

I wish to explain a phenomenon that's being dreadfully misunderstood by many dealerships... and thus the reactions are passed on in a less than reasonable way.

The Prius c made its debut the first week of March.
Toyota has cars allocated thru weeks in advance, creating a pipeline of sorts. You know what's at one end, but the pipeline's long and it takes weeks and sometimes months to get what's at one end of the pipeline to the dealership.

Cars allocated last Feb in both early Feb, middle Feb, and early March started collecting at the start end of the pipeline and making their way down to the states and thru the system from the ports to the dealerships over a 6-8 week period. Thus, there appeared to be a whole lot of cars pouring in early March, but it was just cars that were pooling from Feb finally arriving. Those cars met the early demand, and cars allocated in middle to late March are finally arriving now.

In Middle March, they changed the way they allocate cars to a system that reveals what's coming further down as later arrivals. Meaning, instead of me seeing cars that would come within about 2 weeks, I can now see 8 weeks ahead. That shows me with more cars on the inventory sheet, but cars I can't put my hands on till the middle of June.

This confuses lots of salespeople and even managers that see no cars on ground, and cars trickling in super slow with lots of cars not even available till June and for some regions, late June and early July. That creates a whirling maelstrom of activity and concern around the few cars actually for sale and with the demand high, thus remain the prices. Also, some regions don't order every single model in every single color and configuration, which makes things tougher still.

And, the pipeline stays full BUT the demand for the car is higher than the supply... which tends to push folks into the Prius II and III again.

Anyway, at this point, waiting for the car you want vs taking an obnoxious color combination OR just settling for 1 model up might not be a bad idea, but freaking out over what's going on in Japan isn't right... Japan cars use completely different systems and right drive and virtually everything is different.

The supply isn't exactly drying up - even as the demand grows. Your dealers just get visibility to cars way further down the line than they used to. That means we aren't "waiting weeks and weeks for more cars" really. We just can now see what we're waiting for.

 

Appears that there are two C2's available at my local dealer now. One black, one silver. I know they sold through their initial allotment right after I bought my C3 so these must be part of a second batch that came in within the last couple weeks.

 

My dealership isn't telling me a whole lot. I do have the sheet on it and it was getting loaded on a ship yesterday but I didn't know what port to look at on the link. I have a VIN number for my C but not what ship.

 

My dealership has two C's right now so if anyone wants a Habanero or Moonglow.. I can hook you up with them.

 

My dealer is being vague too. The salesman told me it would be built on the 25th and they're supposed to call me with tracking information, but the last I heard was just an estimated arrival of the third week in May. I'm trying very had to be patient but it's so difficult when there's GPS tracking to be done!

 

Thats some good news, congrats!

Not too bad for the trade. They will turn around and put about $1k in it.
Certify it (if there are service records) and sell it for $13-15k.

My local dealer is showing they have three C's in stock.
Their online inventory is never correct for the Prius line, so not sure if it is accurate.
BUT what is this NATL mean?
Does it mean they are in the north atlantic area?

New Toyota Car | For Sale | East Petersburg, PA

Use the drop down to select Prius C
2 habaneros and a super white, hmm

 

My local dealer as a single red C1 in stock now. Couple weeks back they had a black and a silver. Looks like they're selling through them as they get units. Still havent seen any others on the road in my area, though.

 

I bought my Prius C March 7th and hadn't see another one in Massachusetts until last week. This week I've seen five, so there seems to be hope more are becoming available. Hang in there.

 

No PC's available in Puerto Rico at this time please call later!!
236 sold in March.

 

My dealer in Texas City is having trouble selling them. They have 3 available right now.

 

Some sales numbers and production news at Bloomberg:

Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest seller of hybrid vehicles, wants to boost supplies of its four-model Prius line as demand for the fuel-saving cars is outpacing the company’s initial U.S. target of more than 220,000 this year.

“We’re tracking well ahead of that,†Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an interview this week in Los Angeles. “I’ve ordered additional production. I’m confident we’ll get additional production, but globally we’re seeing high demand, particularly in Japan.â€

 

I see a couple but the regular Prius seems more available. Still yet to see a Prius C in real life.