Waiting .. Waiting .. and still Waiting

[Don Mann]

Anyone have a similiar experience here? Been waiting for my Millenium Silver #9 Prius since late Oct 2003 :cry: . Toyota HQ has stated there are only 10,000 more cars left to be delivered. I'm now thinking that I'll be "bumped" for 1st in line of the 2005 model.

[gene]

There are indeed people who have been waiting for as long as you have (or longer). Many people have called around to many many dealers looking for a Prius, and are even on multiple waiting lists.

We ordered in November of 2004 and just got mine a week ago. We requested a black #7, and happily took a Tideland #9.

How flexible are you being on option package and color, or is it "Silver #9 or nothing"?

[Don Mann]

Color is a bit flexible. #9 is not.

DM

[rminch]

You're not even close to the longest wait! I ordered a Tideland #9 on 9/5/03, later said red or blue would be OK, & am still waiting. I think there might be some August 2003 orders from my dealer also waiting.

[m4prius]

I wonder if the longest waits are people who have submitted several requests thru several dealers...maybe you have been put on a modified list because of multiple submittals.

[rminch]

Originally posted by m4prius
I wonder if the longest waits are people who have submitted several requests thru several dealers...maybe you have been put on a modified list because of multiple submittals.

In my case, it's not because of multiple requests--I only placed an order with the one dealer (it's the one in Carson, CA).

[rflagg]

Originally posted by m4prius
I wonder if the longest waits are people who have submitted several requests thru several dealers...maybe you have been put on a modified list because of multiple submittals.

Actually, I think the opposite is true - that if you've only submitted one request to one dealer, you simply have only one line to wait in. While, the more dealers you can put deposits down at, the better your chances are.

-m.

[humdinger70]

Originally posted by rflagg+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rflagg)</div>

Actually, I think the opposite is true - that if you've only submitted one request to one dealer, you simply have only one line to wait in. While, the more dealers you can put deposits down at, the better your chances are.

-m.[/b]

It's a dang shame they can't do what most banks do - you're in one queue and you go to the first available teller.

In the case of the Prius - you would contact Toyota directly and go onto a regional list (say, one for Southern California, one for Northern California, etc.) with a preference on where you would want to pick up your car (say, San Diego first, Los Angeles area second, other dealership area third) then when your car is available, you would be notified that your car is available at dealership depending on your location preference.

Now if you didn't like the dealership choice, or you went to that dealership and felt you being screwed with, you could notify Toyota of this and go back onto the list and wait for the next call.

This way, you might have to travel a little further, but the odds are you'd get your preferred car quicker (and it's not like we go to a car dealership on a daily or weekly basis, like we might do with a bank).

[rflagg]

Originally posted by humdinger70

It's a dang shame they can't do what most banks do - you're in one queue and you go to the first available teller.  

In the case of the Prius - you would contact Toyota directly and go onto a regional list (say, one for Southern California, one for Northern California, etc.) with a preference on where you would want to pick up your car (say, San Diego first, Los Angeles area second, other dealership area third) then when your car is available, you would be notified that your car is available at dealership depending on your location preference.  

Now if you didn't like the dealership choice, or you went to that dealership and felt you being screwed with, you could notify Toyota of this and go back onto the list and wait for the next call.

This way, you might have to travel a little further, but the odds are you'd get your preferred car quicker (and it's not like we go to a car dealership on a daily or weekly basis, like we might do with a bank).

Hmm, this probably would be a great system for the Prius - but I'd guess that the dealerships wouldn't be happy with this, since their prius alloc. is from previous sales, and I believe that's how they'll continuing allocating in the future - but, yeah, I do agree with the idea, that'd be very nice, especially with how hard this car is to find.

-m.

[mboileau]

I was on three waiting lists at the same. I wanted #9 and any color. I got my car in a week. It was likely pure dumb luck, but the dealer told me keeping the color option open made the difference (I was number 27 on the list at the time).

I didn't put down any cash deposits at any of the dealers. One dealer told me it was required when I was in the showroom, and I refused. I called that same dealer the next day, played dumb, and asked to be put on the waiting list. The sales manager did it without asking for a deposit. I called back a week later and spoke to a different salesperson to confirm that I really was on the list, and I was.

Toyota doesn't require deposits, dealers that don't want you shopping elsewhere do. I'd steer clear of them if you can.