Stupid Waiting List

I'd say call South Bay Toyota and ask.

You are now number 18. Any idea what number you were four months ago? That should give you a good idea of how much longer you can expect to wait.

P.S. The wait is wort it . . . but the waiting does suck.

 

Well, it actually depends on how many people are willing to pay extra (on top of MSRP, that is) to cut in front of you while you wait patiently. Of course, they are not gonna inform you that you just got "cut-off". With the 2006 tax credit going on right now (and the HOV sticker running out), I bet there are a lot of folks trying to cut in front of waiting list people. A couple thousands of dollars usually do the trick. No dealer is going to say NO to $2000 dollars. All they need to do is not telling you that your car has arrived but sold to someone else.

 

Rather than waiting for my local dealer's list to shorten, I simply contacted rural dealers in another state until I found one whose waiting list was only two weeks.....essentially I was #1.

 

I did the same thing. Found a rural dealer and I was #1 on the list and am still the only one on the list as far as I know. I should get my car in a week or two

 

This is probably going to annoy the people on waiting lists but...

My family now has 3 Priuses. We bought mine last April, we bought one for my wife at the beginning of December, and my father just bought one two weeks ago.

In all three cases, we walked in on a whim and drove away with a Prius in about 3 hours. In all three cases, the available Prius was a "order cancelation". We all paid MSRP.

My wife and I live in the Philadelphia suburbs, and my father lives in the Boston suburbs. I'm sure that both of the dealers had waiting lists.

The moral of the story is that dealers seem to have no problems selling available Priuses to customers in the showroom instead of sending them away and calling someone on the waiting list.

So, actually walk in and check your area dealers regularly. They just might have one to sell to you.

 

I did not purchase a Prius from South Bay, but I was on their list a few months ago. My sense is they are honest and will not allow someone to cut in line. They sell at MSRP period, from what I could tell.

 

Apparently South Bay did not tell you that package #2 is not sold in SoCal? How could you be on a waiting list for a car that isn't sold?

I'd contact 15-20 other dealers and tell 'em what you want. Do you have a deposit down at South Bay? You shouldn't need deposits at any other dealers.

Dealers are allocated cars twice a month. Deliveries of cars may be spread out over a month---one here, two there. How many cars the dealer gets is based on past sales of THAT car. You can ask South Bay how many Priuses they're allocated per month.

 

Really... this sounds (and probably is very sleezy), but with both of my family's Prii, my dad just slipped the dealer some cash (a sizeable amount) and magically we were at the front of the line!

Money speaks.

 

I got on one list (no deposit) in Sept '04. I was told the waiting would be a year and a half, implying that I wouldn't be able to get one until Feb '06! They started calling me in Jan '05 with ones (4 or 5 in all) that came in. I turned them down as they weren't what I wanted and got it from a place that had it in stock.

 

I got on the list at Longo (and put down a deposit) back at the end of August. In September I told my dealer I wanted to wait until 2006 to take delivery due to the new tax credit. Otherwise I could have had 'my car' 2-3 times between September and December, but turned it down and chose to wait till Jan 1+. I found out a week ago that I'm #4 on the list and there's 1 person ahead of me who has ordered the same exact car. My dealer says that he thinks there's an 80% chance my car will be here in tomorrow/Friday's allocation. We'll see...

I've been checking out other area dealers, emailing their internet departments about availability of the exact color and package Prius I want. I've been told everything from 'you have to get on a list-wait is 4-5 months' to 'we have one coming in in 2 weeks at MSRP that we can hold for you'. I'm debating what to do but hoping it's here this week at my original dealer.

 

Unfortunate. That's what ruins every system that's structured to provide fairness.

 

I waited about seven months for my Prius. I got on the list in Septerber 04 and bought in April 05. I later found out that if I had bought a package 6 rather than the package 3 that I wanted the wait would have been closer to three weeks. Apparently they make more of the fully loaded cars than anything else, but there may be more demand for the cars with fewer options.

 

I'm also in L.A. In mid-December, I put myself on the waiting list at Symes Toyota in Pasadena, for a #1 or #3, any color, after Jan. 1. I called the salesman Jan. 3, and he said they were expecting a shipment any day. On Jan. 6, a bit after 8am, he called and said they received four Prii overnight, one #1, two #3, and one #9.

I went over right away, and ended up buying the silver #1 (at MSRP). While I was there, the two #3s were also sold.

-- Rodney

 

Sounds about right...My sales guy told me yesterday that according to his inventory guy, their allocation for this week will be about 40% Packages 7 & 8 in various color combos so it must be true that either: a) they make more of the fully loaded cars or b)that particular dealer gets more of the fully loaded cars in their allocation.

 

I also go two just walking in. The dealer I saw had a bunch of full packages at MSRP. I was not picky about the color (got a tan and red one). He said they get very few of the lesser packages. I was supposely 12th onthe waiting list but no one wanted full packages nor a red or tan one for some reason.

 

To be honest, I would bet that if you walk into a dealer that just received their allocation, but before they have called people on the list, they would sell you one. The poor smuck on the list is a guarenteed sale that's willing to wait. The guy in the showroom is a potential lost sale if they let him walk out.

All I know is that both times I walked in, there was an "order cancelation" available, and both times I walked out 3 hours later with a Prius. My father in a different state had the same experience. Perhaps we were just lucky, but perhaps not.

 

Frankly, I really doubt that there is a real waiting list. According to my experience, the dealer would love to sell the car to anyone, no matter in the waiting list or not. The key part is when the car is coming, you are there, or at least make sure the dealer know you can make the payment ASAP, even if you do not want to put deposit or stay in the so-called waiting list.
I got my 2006 #7 at January 2nd, because of the tax credit. Otherwise, it will be sooner. I was not in their waiting list, but I made the dealer to believe that I am a serious buyer.
The funning thing is, I did put my name in a waiting list of another dealer. When I called them to cancel my reservation 2 days ago, they have not got the car for me. I guess some guys must have cut it, since I was the #2 in their waiting list, there was no reason I could not get the car.

 

Check local and distant online inventories. I just happened to check the online inventory of a local dealer and found on the lot exactly what i was looking for.

 

If you're in L.A. you're in a Prii glut zone. California gets a LOT of Prii. No way you should be waiting this long. Even if you were waiting for a 2006 you should still have a car by now. AND at MSRP price.

Get online and check for the packages available in So. Cal. (I don't think we get #2). I think you can even build your own at Toyota's website and then contact dealers within a certain area. Don't limit yourself to one dealer. And don't pay over MSRP. Depending on how picky you are on color and package you should have a car soon. I wouldn't wait on this one dealership.

I'm sure you've read of all of the dealerships in the L.A. area to avoid, contact the ones that have been getting good recommendations. Let us know when you have your Prius.

If you'd like a nice drive home, feel free to contact Howard Sheehy, the Internet/Fleet Manager at

Kearny Mesa Toyota,
4910 Kearny Mesa Road,
San Diego, CA 92111

ph: 858-335-5815,

email: [email protected]

Tell him Mary with the Black Prius with the big "Owie" sent you from Priuschat.