Prius - Toyota dealer disaster looking at Insite

Ok now I have had two deals on Prius III reneged on by Toyota dealers. First Walnut Creek took a deposit on a red 3 then said C4C would start in a day or two, called each day until Friday when they said they would not do C4C. Rushed out, found a dealer in Fairfield CA, purchased a red3 that they said would be traded and in the delivered to the dealership later that day, and then the next, then Tuesday, then it was on the truck Tuesday night. Of course no one is calling me from the dealership. Today I get hold of a manager and he says the other dealer sold the car, there are no 3's to be had, they aren't getting anymore and he could sell me a 4 or give back my money. Walnut Creek still had my deposit - so I called them - they have no 3's said they did do C4C starting last Friday and would sell me a 4 without CRC.
So after two weeks of being run around by Toyota dealers I think I have to go get my clunker, a 20K + check for the full amount I already paid,my other 500 dollar deposit check and go look at a Honda Insite. I don't believe that there are no more cars coming in and all the delays now means the car I wanted is now not available.

Prius chatters thanks for all the good info but I just don't think a prius is in my future.

Deja Vu all over again.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/66574-probably-getting-insight.html

I do notice that local dealers are rapidly running out of IIs and IIIs, leaving IVs and Vs left.

It does not make sense to spite yourself to spite the dealer. I too experienced that same thing. Dealer finally said they would call me when the car came in. They called, I went the next morning and the car was sold. Happened at 2 dealers simultaniously. To bad for them, i finally hit the right day at the right time, ended up driving 70 miles to get one, but am happy I got it. I considered the Insight and it is a good car but what I really wanted was the Prius. Suck it in and hold out, try different dealers. You may get luck and then you will be happy you waited.
Good Luck

I'll run down and look at the insite - if they have my money (check has been cashed) and we have a contract - aren't they compelled to produce a car?

I'm sorry it did not work out.
I would not settle though. Make sure you really want the Insight. Saving $4500 just might not be worth it.

They are going to extend cash for clunker, wait maybe?

Agreed. If you really want the Insight, that's fine. But if the Prius meets your needs better, it's hard to understand why you're only talking to 2 dealers. Now if you went through 10 dealers, then maybe you're really trying. Or if you spent a couple minutes using the search feature on this site to locate California dealers that other people have had good experiences with. There are plenty of them here and they are so easy to find.

I picked up my Prius II today (woot!), and the dealer said he won't get another II for six weeks. The II's have been in demand. He said he had calls from 5 other states looking for them

Fly on over to St louis. I counted 8 Prius II's in stock and a couple of III's

Don't repeat my mistake.

Seriously, the 2B is expected to last until Labor Day. I'd wait a few weeks and see what you can find. The Insights will be there - Honda can barely move them of the lots. I went through the same thing with a couple Toyota dealerships. Unforetunately, it seems like 80% of dealerships (any brand) are infested with bad people.

I don't blame a dealer for not selling under the C4C knowing that the money ran out and who knew what the government would do. Now that there is another $2B you need to go for it. This is not the dealers fault.
The government really needs to have a better grip on this. There needed to be some sort of website where dealers could log in and take an allocation for a deal and know that they have an allocation of the money for the deals they make.

TangoRed, It sounds like you have had pretty bad experiences with two dealers. I tried one dealership which took me about three questions to determine I didn't want to deal with them. At the second dealership, I had much better luck and had a very positive, pain free buying experience, except for the sticker shock of MSRP, of course.

I don't know the distances, but hey, you are in California with Dianne Whitmire, who posts on the Board regularly and it sounds like she works pretty hard to get buyers the car they want. What do you have to lose, if you talk to Dianne, and you really want a Prius? --TK

They are not compelled to produce a car. In the US all a dealer can do is look for one that some other dealer has and trade for it to sell to you.

Really, if you just gotta have it right now then you are putting yourself over their barrel. If it's worth having it's worth waiting for.

Ahhh Tango, you sound like a 'I gotta have it now' kind of person. (I can relate!)

Unless you really feel it is a better car for you, don't go get an Insight just because this is a tough thing. Look up some of the very early threads and you'll see winebuff's story - she called dealers all over the state of Washington and Oregon and got hers (the first on PC) in CA (I think). Put your phone to work and start calling all over the place - really - call far and wide. I think you'll be able to find your Prius!!

Don't expect the dealers to find the car for you. (Dianne had a great post about how hard it is for dealers to do a trade) and most of all, don't settle!!

Good Luck!

Well, I would just recommend doing a good test drive of that Insight before you buy it. IMHO it is not even in the same league as the Prius. The Fit was more fun to drive.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with the dealerships. It is incredibly poor form to sell a car to someone else after you've put a deposit on it.

Contact Dianne. She seems like a good person who works hard to get people the cars they want.

I agree about contacting Dianne. I realize you are on the North end of CA, but it could be worth it to you.

I had a bad experience at a Toyota dealership in the past. I really love their cars but was really soured on them. I've had a really good experience with the dealership I am working with now. They get an A rating from the BBB compared to the F rating of the dealership I used in the past. Maybe look for dealer ratings on the internet and the BBB. But it does look like the stock of II's in CA is pretty depleted. But I would hold tight until you hear the program is ending before jumping ship.

The bay area is hardly the "north end of california!". There are a bunch of Priuses at dealers in and around San Jose. Do some research before panicking.

Well he is 6 -7 hours North of LA.

I can relate. Trying to buy my II has been a nightmare - there just aren't any and when they come in they are gone that day (especially with C4C).

I feel lucky my original dealer found me one to fix the fact that the one I sat in and dealt on in person was sold out from us basically while still there.

I also feel a bit sour on the bit of attitude many Toyota dealers have. They really seem to have no need or care to even pretend about customer service - they act holier than thou about buying a product, it is weird and I understand how it leaves a bad taste.

Best of luck, but don't bail or decide on a purchase out of spite, you will regret it after the emotion wears off.