Prius Waiting List Stretches to at Least 3 Months

I was at Toyota of Sunnyvale, where I got my car, last week to pick up one of those Matrix bumper covers, that was $44 I think, and they're getting it in, I should be able to pick it up tomorrow. I was told last week by the manager that the waiting list for Prii was 6 months! I'll try to ask around tomorrow and see what further info (opinion) I can glean from them. Ya know, just hang out a little, idle talk... yeilds the best results often hehe.

The only Prius on the lot was their demo car.

 

Hi Denverites...

I'd like to know the dealer as well... my friends at Burt say they are out about three months..

Bob Andersen

 

If anybody in So Cal is interested, I'd suggest checking out Hamer Toyota. They have NEVER charged over MSRP for a Prius there (although they don't sell them for under MSRP either), and they have been a LOT nicer to deal with than many of the other (annoyingly cocky, arrogant) Toyota dealerships in the LA area. I put my name on the list at Hamer and a week later they called me and said they were getting one in for me. I'm picking it up next week, so from the day I put my name in to the day I'll get it was about 2.5 weeks.

Also, if you're a Costco member ask them for their Costco pricing. It's kinda funny how little they take off, but at least it's SOMETHING.

 

Denver folks,

I picked it up at Mountain States Toyota at I-25 and Hwy 36. The actual address is 7300 Broadway. Earlier in the week I had called Stevenson East and they also said 2-3 Months. BTW, I paid MSRP for mine (Silver Pkg 3).

Cheers,

Tripp

 

Speaking of the Camry h: If you think the waiting lists for the 2006 Prius are long wait until the Camry h goes into production. The only positive here is the fact that it is being assembled rigt here in the US so hopefully it might not be that bad.

 

LaughingMan: All I was trying to say is that didn't buy the Toyota quote "— Toyota Motor Corp. said late last week the waiting list for its gas-electric Prius has grown to three or four months in the United States, up from a two-month wait a month ago" - based not on data, but on what I've seen and read in these forums. I agreed that the wait might be long in some markets, but not in all.

While I don't have time to produce inventory numbers from all dealerships around the country, we've seen personal accounts in this thread of folks who were told there's be a long wait, only to drive off in a new Prius that day, or within a few weeks after. Then there's the Denver dealer with 6 in his inventory
Camelback Toyota in Phoenix shows 4 new in their inventory, plus
Scott Toyota in Phoenix shows 2
Power Toyota in Phoenix shows 4
Mark Miller Toyota in Salt Lake City shows 6
Las Cruces Toyota (New Mexico shows 1
Fowler Toyota in Dallas Texas shows 20 available in their inventory

I could go on, but have I just made the point that a "three to four month wait" just may not be accurate in certain parts of the country? The above figures aren't my "gut feeling", they're actual numbers from dealers' websites. Of course, perhaps they're not being truthful either.

 

My experience (when I put my deposit down in August) was that the dealers that had Prii in stock were also the ones charging a significant premium over MSRP. This could be why some dealers have a large stock while others have a long waiting list.

For those in Southern California, I can say first hand that I had a very good experience purchasing my Prius from Ventura Toyota. It was a 30 day wait with no hassles.

 

I had a call from a AAA car broker in Portland OR yesterday to let me know he had 2005 Priuses arriving in 8 to 10 days at $500 above MSRP. So, if you want a 2005 right now, they are around with minimal waiting. But if you want a 2006 after Dec. 31, the wait is looking like closer to four months (that's what I'm hearing from Portland and Tacoma area dealers). Just depends on what you want...

 

<_< I drive by a dealership everyday and have seen at least 2 prii in their lot for a couple of weeks.
This isn't a dealership that keeps one or two around for test drives and they show up as available inventory on their web site.

( :angry: I've had a bad experience with this dealership so I won't be directing you there on this thread.)

 

Most of you are talking about apples and oranges. The fact that there is an 3 months of waiting for prius, does not mean there is 0 priuses now.

Prius is currently the hottest car sold in the USA. Supply is only 9 days. Supply of 9 days means that on average, Prius spends 9 days on lot. Thats 11,000 cars spending 9 days, per month. Compare this to what is considered perfect - 60 days supply.

Next time when you check dealership, make sure to count how many Camry's do they have. I bet if dealership has 2 prius's, they might have at least 20-30 Camry's. It should be only 3x-4x more.

In general, Toyota has trippled the production of Prius since mid 2003. So now, US is constantly getting around 10,000-11,000 Prius's per month, which is quite an number.

Raising production of hybrids to 400,000 is worldwide and for all hybrids. Toyota can not make more of them even if they wanted, since simply there is not enough capacity (they already 3x the production in 2 years, which is amazing for high tech components that are exclusive).

 

CONGRATS, Tripp... my barber, George at Georges Hair Place, 84 & the Popeye's .. well he across the street on the same side ... swears by Mtn States..he is on his second Prius... stop by and say 'hi'..

Bob Andersen

 

Bob, what's the cross street? Broadway?

Cheers,

Tripp

 

i bought my beautiful prius in north palm beach last month.....from this chat, i learned how to pull up the inventory for this dealer.......this dealer claims to get one of the biggest allotments in south florida.......& it is true.... when the dealer called me to ask if i wanted one of the 19 he had allotted, i was ecstatic.... it wasnt the right color.......but i was ready!.....i had to wait 2 weeks.... this dealership was selling these cars b4 they reached the port.... so i know that one of the reasons that i didnt have so many extra charges, is becuz i bought b4 it reached the port.... the deal was made.......this dealer is averaging about 500 cars/mo......when my car was ready....i was unable to pick it up for 4days........(i live 100 miles away).....so that could be a reason why some of these cars are found on the lots.........could be that their owners havent picked them up.. i would also asume that in areas where the prius is not selling as well....they may be allotted or exchanged to areas with high sales.... the dealer where i got my pri was honest & fair....so that is why people buy here, from all over the country.......the cars are sold b4 they reach the lot.... so that is saying that this car is popular.....also, some people are changing their minds after being on the list......many are waiting for those 2006 models or that 2006 tax credit......so that would also leave some cars on the lot....they go thru their list & find a suitable buyer.....but it does get bought.......i'm glad i didnt wait.....i'm happy with the performance & features of this car... & of course those instant savings at the gas pump!....

 

you realize the wait time on the lots does include dealer prep time. back when there was a true shortage of Priuses everywhere, the on lot time was still 5 days. so 9 days means that any small change in the flow will create a huge shortage.

the tax credit in the works will be more than enough to upset the already off balanced supply

 

I was out of town in Portland for a few days and a USA today came with the room so I read it and there was an article on the dropping demand for hybrids is dropping along with gas prices? They mainly quoted Honda dealers but inferred that the demand for Toyota and Ford is dropping.

 

ummm... actually i kinda assumed a slight decrease in demand mostly because of the tax credit coming in Jan.

 

Yesterday I spoke to a saleman at Titus Will Toyota (Tacoma, WA) who reports their wait list time is now down to 30-35 days (from 120 days not long ago). He didn't say anything about any decrease in demand, but did say increased production and the cancellation of fleet sales is having an effect on the match of supply to demand for the 2006 Prius (which you might expect). BTW, Titus Will does not jack the price above MSRP on any car, if you are interested and in the area...

 

So I'm thinking that in light of recent travesties those delays are going to come back... My first car was an 04 pkg 6, paid MSRP in May 04 in Houston where many wanted "fair market value" (inflated prices). Got lucky, someone ordered it and decided they didn't want it after all. Fool, haha.

 

The Crude oil contracts for April delivery expired this past Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at $110 per barrel. The gasoline we are buying today (March 19) are based on oil at about $80 per barrel. $110/barrel translates into gasoline about 38% more than what you are paying right now. Where I live, we're paying $3.99 per gallon at most stations. This translates to about $5.48 per gallon. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? We'll see what happens.... I have a feeling a lot of SUVs will be up for sale in April and Prii, new and used will be in very short supply or non-existent at most car dealers. Toyota keeps saying that the manufacturing halts will only have temporary or little impact on supply. We'll see how that pans out. Hopefully they are right (meaning they normally have the capacity to produce faster than sales, and they expect production to be up and running again soon enough to resupply shipping docks before all Toyotas are sold off of dealer lots).

 

I doubt it'll go that high even in your area. It didn't get that high even when oil hit its peak of over $130/barrel (historical prices at Weekly All Countries Spot Price FOB Weighted by Estimated Export Volume (Dollars per Barrel)).