Actual order or "take what comes"?

Perhaps, take waht you can get.

I put my name on the list mid November of last year. As of 2 weeks ago, I was told the wait would likely take me into April or May. Thus, I told the dealer I was very flexible with color and package. As in, I would take almost anything. Two days later, I got the call...and the car! It's slightly less featured than what I had first asked for but NO PROBLEM! The car is fantastic. Best wishes to you Tom on getting yours. (It really is worth the wait.)
Dan in Indy

 

I put down my deposit in August. Let's just say that I have gotten increasingly less particular to which color or package I receive. Not that anything will do, but pretty close.

 

Most of the Prii coming into the Seattle area are #9 BC option equipped, so I'm told. Gradually, it dawned on me that I'd need to be more flexible, so I told my car finder service that I would take any Prius, including black which is my last choice, but I told the dealer through whom I ordered it that I would take option 1 or option 7, but not 9. I'm hoping the dealer will come up with a car that will cost me less than the full bells and whistles model. Being flexible is a great idea in any endeavor. Let us know if you get what you actually ordered.
B

 

From the stuff I've read here (posted by dealers), it sounds as if Toyota couldn't care less what dealers' customers ordered nor does Toyota even want dealers to transmit orders to them. It's an allocation system where regional distributors determine which dealers get which cars.

If any of the foregoing is in error, I sincerely hope some dealer on the board will point it out.

 

I don't believe the process varies at all from dealer to dealer. What obviously does vary is what dealers are telling customers about the process (e.g. my dealer initially told me that I was placing an order for an exact color and package which would be transmitted to the manufacturer.....uh, wrong!).

 

The only thing that varies between dealers is the amount of cars they get. I forget the term, but there are certain dealers in every region that are considered "GOLD" or "Award winners" or something like that. Those are the dealers that sell the most cars, and thus, get more Prii.

As an example, my local dealer's initial shipment of Prii was 10 or so (they were expecting 30 according to my salesman). The other dealer near here only got ONE. That's right, ONE (I couldn't even get on their waiting list).

As far as I know, neither dealer got cars in December, but January was a big month. My dealer got 11 cars... 2 cars short of my slot on the waiting list

Fortunately, my salesman promises me I'll be getting my Prius in mid-February.

 

from a dealer standpoint

No, that is not true. The only things that matters is your dealer's part travel rate for the last 12 months - calendar months... meaning anyone who sells-sold a lot of the classics will get more 2004's -- it's being measured in that fashion. If you have a GREAT dealer with lots of awards, but they were not Prius-focused from last year at this time to now, they will get very very few Prii. In Southern CA, Longo's the largest dealer but they are 5th largest for Prius. We are ahead of them even though we are not larger... we have been very Prius oriented since 2000.

Dianne

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The only thing that varies between dealers is the amount of cars they get. I forget the term, but there are certain dealers in every region that are considered "GOLD" or "Award winners" or something like that. Those are the dealers that sell the most cars, and thus, get more Prii.

As an example, my local dealer's initial shipment of Prii was 10 or so (they were expecting 30 according to my salesman). The other dealer near here only got ONE. That's right, ONE (I couldn't even get on their waiting list).

As far as I know, neither dealer got cars in December, but January was a big month. My dealer got 11 cars... 2 cars short of my slot on the waiting list

Fortunately, my salesman promises me I'll be getting my Prius in mid-February.[/quote]

 

I wish I could find an online histogram map that would accept the recall data I saw in the dealer's version of the SSC-40A notice.

I think the 1073 cars being recalled in CA versus 1 in SC tells a lot about where the cars were directed and that *maybe* there's something a little bit wrong with relying on past sales to determine current demand...

 

While I understand Dianne's explaination above, it seems reminds me of the age-old teenage complaint of "How can I get any experience if no one will hire me?"

So, anyway, I guess the best strategy is order from the highest volumn Prii dealer within practical range of where you live. Would you agree with that, Dianne? If so, how can one determine the dealer who cranks the most Prii?

I am feeling more and more lucky that I finally got mine (ordered in July, took delivery on Dec 17). I was pressured to take a lesser one about a month previous, but I held out and I'm glad I did. Absolutely the most remarkable car I've ever owned, and worth every penny

Peace