Dealer Jerk-Around or Honest Mistake?

[galaxee]

it's a dealer issue, not a toyota issue.

the dealer is trying to sell you a higher option package, and it's already been mentioned that there are no real "orders" for the prius. the dealer gets some cars every couple of weeks and matches them as closely to their customers' demands as possible. they just severely mismatched in your case. this may be because they want more profit or because that's just what they got. it's hard to tell.

[jackkpts]

You could always try and call other dealers to see if they have any canceled orders / unclaimed cars coming in that are more in line with what you want. I found a package 5, which is what I wanted, in my first and second choice colors in 30 minutes and 6 calls. One was an order cancelation, the other an unclaimed car. Got a call back a week later with a 3rd package 5 in another color as well. Found a number of package 1s unclaimed as well as package 9s. Depending on where you live, there out there. I see no need to spend thousands more on stuff you don't want to spend money on. Unless of course, you want to The extras are cool, though. Some add safety, like VSC and HID. Good luck!

[Infidel]

Well, to conclude the story FWIW, we decided to take the Driftwood pkg 7 that came in, instead of the pkg 3 ordered. In all fairness to the dealer, they did locate a pkg 3 Seaside in Northern AZ that they could swap with.

But at the end of the day, after reading all the Priuschat responses, we went for the extra goodies and are not sorry now! Wow, it's sooo cool! Might as well get all the bells & whistles now, since we usually keep our cars way past 100K, we thought. The dealer even got us a smoking loan rate of 4.95% from a credit union. Only downside is they were a little proud of the extended warranty, so we declined that, planning to go thru PC later.

After driving my first commute today (86 mi roundtrip) I am overwhelmed, this thing is FANTASTIC. With a light foot, I averaged 53.7 mpg on the way home, and its not even broke in yet!!!!

I can see this is one product where they let the engineers work towards perfection instead of "shooting them" early and rushing into production to save money. Totally satisfied, but it is a little intimidating to a newbie trying to learn all the indicator lights and functionality.

Infidel

[mehrenst]

I would suggest you see if he can swap with another dealer to get you a pkg. 5. It has VSC and meets your $2k below the MSRP of what the 7 costs. Then try to keep the $600 off MSRP.

[windstrings]

Originally posted by AlphaTeam@Jan 25 2006, 12:36 PM
I think you will be happy with the #7.

Here is the deal. The dealers get what they get. There are no real "orders" per se. They take a look at what is coming and look at the list and try to match as closely as they can. So while it might have been a mistake of sloppy handwriting and they thought you wanted a 7 and not a 3, but they would have gotten the #7 either way. They can not say "Toyota order center, Tom Smith is next on the list send an 06 Driftwood #3 for him".

[snapback]197234[/snapback]

thats right.. once they get thier allocation they only then know how many of the expected allotment or "allocation" they really get. Before it hits port , they will get thier allotment and then can tell what color, options etc.. they get a sheet on whats coming.
Not till it actually hits port are VIN #'s released so don't freak out if they say they have this coming in but can't produce the VIN #... they should be able to tell you the exact date it is expected to hit port. Then the dealer typically gets it 7 - 10 days after it hits port. They can prep it for pickup in about 45 mins once they get it.

Many times your car could have just not arrived and they really don't honestly know when or "if" they will "ever" get the exact car you ordered. Like I said, once they get thier allocation, then they can tell whats up.
If you get too picky, it could be quite a wait till your particular dealer actually gets what you ordered.

So if they see you are getting antsy and about to flip out, they could construe a story to try and get you to go ahead and get what they have.
The fact is.. in most states, they cannot "hold" your money and not give it back. Especially if they never delivered your order.
Its actually easier to get the exact car you want when you are free to call around to various dealers till you find one that can see on thier allocation what you have.

It is also possible for your dealer to locate your car on another dealers allocation and make an offer to trade them for it. If the car is not spoken for, the dealers will usually assist each other as it pays back in the long run to help each other and maintain good relations. However if the car is spoken for, the dealer will not release it and often it is even "hidden" from view so other dealers cannot see the car at all.

My advice is to ask them to locate the car from another dealers allocation... at the same time you can call around yourself. If you find one, you will have to get your deposit back..... it will be easier if you wrote a check.. to stop pmt if you have to.
Always give a check as a deposit.

Once they see you are asking around, they will be motivated to find something for you.

Happy hunting!... but if you can afford package 7, I recommend grabbing it!.. you won't regret it later I promise!