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Transporting Car from other dealership?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by shuyananah, May 18, 2012.

  1. shuyananah

    shuyananah Junior Member

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    We are buying a new Prius II 2012 Sea Glass/Tan interior. The dealer has located one in that specific color at another dealership and is going to trade the dealer for it. He is going to have a driver pick it up when it gets to that dealer. He isn't telling us who the other dealer is or how far away it is.

    Should I be worried about someone else driving the brand new car before I get to? Don't you have to drive a Prius a certain way the first 200 miles? Should I be worried the dealers driver will ruin it somehow?

    We are being specific about the exterior and interior colors. He has a sea glass pearl on the lot but with grey interior and we want the tan. Should I demand that we be the first person to drive it???
     
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Usually, such transfers are made by transport carrier. If the car has more than 10 miles on it, you can always refuse to take delivery.

    Once you take delivery, just drive it.
     
  3. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    It is normal for the dealer here to swap cars with other dealers in the area and have drivers drive the car from the other dealer's lot to here. There are certain things that need to be done for the first few hundred miles but the driver should know this but you have no way of knowing how he drove the car though.

    So you must decide what is more important to you, the exact car that you want now or someone else driving your new car. It may be a while before the dealer can get your color combination on the lot again.

    If it were mine I would not worry about it.
     
  4. shuyananah

    shuyananah Junior Member

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    I think this sums it up for me..."So you must decide what is more important to you, the exact car that you want now or someone else driving your new car. "

    Buying a brand new car is this whole weird thing to me. It's not like buying anything else. I'm so used to just getting exactly what I want with the exact options I want.

    I really only started working with this dealer because the inventory search on Toyota.com told me he had exactly what I wanted in stock. Then I got there and he has to locate it for me.

    Now I'm wishing I would have just called around myself to find a dealer I could work with directly that had the car I wanted on the lot.
     
  5. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    If you want to tell what each dealer has on their lot while doing an inventory search look for the VIN number. If the VIN number is complete then the car is either on his lot or in his pipeline to be received. If the VIN number is not complete the car is within the dealer's region, or in other words, on another dealer lot or in their pipeline.

    Rather than searching Toyota.com go to the dealers in your area's websites and search their inventory.

    For my dealer, when I do an inventory search, the number of vehicles in the dealer's inventory is listed along with the number of vehicles in the region inventory. I normally select only the dealer's inventory.

    When I bought mine I did what you are doing. I found the exact car that I wanted from a dealer 100 miles away. I called, they held the car for me, I negotiated the payment terms, and then drove to the dealer and picked up the car. The car had 4 miles on it when I drove it off of the lot.
     
  6. kalome

    kalome Member

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    When I bought mine (Black package 3) only 1 dealership in Arizona had the car.
    The one I was at (Camelback) didn't have the car and was going to have it delivered there. I called around at other dealerships and found out where the car was and got a better deal. The dealership that had the car wasn't that far of a drive for me so it worked out well.
    The original dealership I have been negotiating for a few days straight and couldn't agree on a price, I walked out twice. He called me on the third day and gave me his bottom line price and said he could not go lower and they had to pay a small fee for getting the car to his dealership.
    I called around and was able to get around 500-600 less than the cheapest offered.
    I visited a total of 3 dealerships and the one that actually had the car was the cheapest.

    I suggest calling around and see who has the car. You can negotiate and get a better price.

    "Don't you have to drive a Prius a certain way the first 200 miles?"

    I think (trying to remember) the first 200 miles you can't brake real hard or slam on the brakes and the first 600 miles you shouldn't drive the car at very high speeds like 80 and over and be careful not to accelerate very quickly.

    If you decide to have the car delivered, IMO I wouldn't worry about it.
    When I first got my car I had a very close call (someone pulled out in front of me) and had to slam on my brakes. I had under 200 miles on the car.
    Happening just that one time is no big deal.
    A toyota employee driving the car from one dealership to another would have to go out of his way to damage the car.
    When the car does arrive you can inspect and test drive it, then make your decision.
     
  7. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    No, there are no such limitations. Brakes are usually the opposite -- "bedding pads in" -- but most drivers will not know how to do that or be able appreciate the difference.
     
  8. jabecker

    jabecker driver of Prii since 2005

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    Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Be sure to inspect the car carefully before you finalize the deal. But remember that a new car has the same warranty when you drive it off the lot whether it has 1 mile or 200 miles on it. My car came from a dealer in the next town and had just over 100 miles on it. I'm perfectly happy with it. :) (Sea Glass Pearl with the dark gray interior, which was what I wanted.)

    This is from the Toyota manual:

    ■Breaking in your new Toyota
    To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:
    ●For the first 200 miles (300 km):
    Avoid sudden stops.
    ●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):
    • Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
    • Avoid sudden acceleration.
    • Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.
     
  9. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    My Prius was from Louisiana, so had over 550 miles on it when I took possession. It currently has 94,000 miles on it and I never worried about those first 550 miles.
     
  10. kalome

    kalome Member

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    I'm just going by the Prius user manual.
    Wasn't my exact quote, but it states avoid sudden stops.
    I believe hard braking needs to be avoided only during the first 200 miles.
     
  11. d2mini

    d2mini Active Member

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    10 miles is nothing. Even if it was driven 200 miles it's still a new car and will be sold as such.
     
  12. samdaman

    samdaman Junior Member

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    I'd be more concerned if you live in a state without front plates and the car is from a state which does. Hate those holes -- with or without plugs...
     
  13. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The warranty starts when the car is delivered and dealers usually don't attach the front license plate bracket until delivery takes place, in case they have to make a swap to a dealer in a state that doesn't use them.
     
  14. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I went out a bedded in the brake pads the moment I got home. Lots of smoke and stares from people driving by. At that time I had 30 miles and now I have 32k and the brakes work great.

    Why did I do it? Because the brakes were not stopping well enough for my tastes.

    Point is, if this is the exact car you want, do not hesitate to let them acquire it.

    MB860 ? 2
     
  15. mad-dog-one

    mad-dog-one Prius Enthusiast

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    It all depends on how much work you want to do locating the car and whether that work saves you $. By the time you get the car home, it will have about the same number of miles on the clock, whether you we're behind the wheel or a driver for the dealer.
     
  16. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Long story short, my Honda Fit ended up being a dealer trade. From a dealer about 40 miles away.

    They didn't transport it, they did just send an employee to make the trade, BUT....they told me what dealership it was, how far away it was, I approved the action, AND I was allowed to go with the employee and drive the vehicle back.

    I see no reason the dealership shouldn't be telling you what dealership the trade is being made with...and how far away it is.

    You are buying the vehicle, IMO you have a right to know from where it is coming from, and how many miles in transport are being added.

    If the trading dealership is 100's of miles away? You have a right to know this, and if you don't want 100's of miles put on your vehicle by a dealership employee? You have a right to not want that as well.

    I don't really understand why they don't want to tell you who they are trading with...unless they are afraid you'd just jump over and deal with the other dealership directly.

    But if they aren't paying to have it transported on a flatbed or carrier? If it is going to be driven from dealership to dealership? I think you have every right to be concerned, and know what dealership it came from, and how far away it is.
     
  17. ikagan

    ikagan Junior Member

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    Just don't worry about it. Prius is not the type of car someone will want to
    drive/corner fast. If it was a sports car I would be worried:)