The integrity of waiting in line for your prius

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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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'

 

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.