1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

The integrity of waiting in line for your prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by HyDee, Dec 26, 2005.

  1. HyDee

    HyDee New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2005
    92
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I have to say that Im a little suprised how many posts I've seen about jumping someone's place in line.

    The truth is, most car dealerships are not the standup characters they claim to be, but we as prius owners should not stoop to their level.

    If someone orders a car to be delivered on Jan 2nd and for some reason decides against it, there is obviously a long line of other people that have paid and waited for months and months that should get priority.... thats what the deposit was all about in the first place, right?

    This doesn't effect me personally, however if it did, I would be pretty outraged.

    Come on people, at priuschat we look out for eachother.
     
  2. GreenMachine

    GreenMachine New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2005
    760
    6
    0
    Location:
    Vermont, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    So far so good with my dealer. I am first in line which means that I have right of first refusal for every Prius they get in until I pick mine. So far i have turned down three and am first in line for the January shipment. My deposit is refundable and the price will be MSRP with no extras.
     
  3. HyDee

    HyDee New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2005
    92
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Green Machine,

    This is how it is supposed to work..... however, there are dealers that might be open to someone jumping in line to take your car after your excercising the right of first refusal. My car is waiting for me on the lot, with my name literally on the paperwork inside the windshield....

    So it doesn't seem to affect either of us, however, what if we were say number 10 in line?

    Seems like there are so many great and helpful people on this board... hopefully no one here would take advantage of someone else just because he or she feels she could be pushy in dealing with the dealership to manipulate the system so that they get what they want.

    Happy holidays :)
     
  4. MarinJohn

    MarinJohn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2004
    3,945
    304
    0
    To look at it from the other end, I was first in line at my local dealer and the way they handled the line was to offer each Prius to the highest bidder starting with the first in line. After two attempts at purchase including going directly to the dealer and having 'my' car pulled out from under me and given to the highest bidder, I went non-local to a reputable dealer. Since i got my '04 in 03, I was in what you may call the first wave of owners. Had many people come up to me and ask about that new car. While I was glad to explain the virtues of the machine I made sure to direct future buyers to dealer #2 and caution them against dealer #1. #1 lost big time sales due to their unscrupulous techiniques!
     
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    i'd have to agree with marinjohn. this isn't so much an individual thing as a dealership thing. if you don't jump places in line to take the car, someone else will. either way the dealer makes their money and that's the whole point for them.

    best bet is to stick with the places that treat you and others well and send a message by not dealing with the places that don't have upstanding values. spreading the word to others is also a good thing to do, to help others avoid getting screwed over.
     
  6. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2004
    14,816
    2,498
    66
    Location:
    Far-North Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    My dealer worked just like Green Machine. Heck with a 7-month wait, I had plenty of time to talk with my dealer about how they were handling the wait. When a Prius of any color/package came in, they started calling customers starting with the very first on the list. Exceptions were made only when the person made it clear that they would not budge on color/package combination. I decided to leave color open.

    When a Tideland came in with my package, the dealer called down the line and when he got to me, I took it. My willingness to change colors allowed me to "jump" but only because those people before me refused.

    I support MarinJohn's decision to dump dealer#1 and promote Dealer#2 to prospective buyers. That type of behavior, while legal, seems pretty unscrupulous.
     
  7. ThrillAddict

    ThrillAddict New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2005
    31
    0
    0
    Honorable or not, after having purchased two Siennas and a Highlander from our dealer, he immediately got the car we wanted for us and we skipped the 3 month line at our dealership. Typical dealership move, but I wasn't about to turn down the beautiful black Prius sitting in front of me that night.

    Money speaks VERY loudly in the minds of most car dealers.
     
  8. vortx21

    vortx21 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2005
    23
    0
    0
    Location:
    Burlington, VT
    Hey Green, which dealer are you using? Sounds like a favorable experience. I'm on the list at Heritage in Burlington and have heard both good and bad.

    -Carl

     
  9. geologyrox

    geologyrox New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2005
    513
    0
    0
    really, i think it depends on how the dealership handles their waitlisting. if they are one of the dealers that actually orders cars for people, I see no problem with offering the car to someone else that comes in if someone turns it down - everyone is getting the exact car they ordered in about the timespan they were told.

    if they do it like my dealership is, where they just let the cars come in and then start calling down the list, i'd be up in arms if they let a walkin buy it before me - especially if it matched the specs i'd 'requested'
     
  10. HyDee

    HyDee New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2005
    92
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:
     
  11. dichter

    dichter New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2005
    10
    0
    0
    Around mid Nov, I decide to get a Prius.

    I don't want to wait. I have *no* preference on color nor options (except I don't want a red). I've called 10+ dealers in my area. Around late Nov, I purchased a fully loaded '05 with bluetooth and navigator etc. from one of the dealers.

    I guess my point is... if you don't want to wait in line, and don't have specific options in mind you can probably get a Prius pretty quick. Of course, if you are looking for the *perfect car* you will have to be patient and wait. :eek: