Zero to Prius in <1 Month (My inaugural post)

After calling around to 3 states trying to figure out who could get the Prius I wanted soonest, this dealer said: Hey, why not order with a refundable deposit at several area dealers and play the field, but give me $100 (instead of the usual $500) and I'll get it for you first. Well, I took his advice to heart, and for whatever reason, he was absolutely right (and I don't think he had foreknowledge of a specific vehicle for me). Made my order on June 16, and took my delivery on July 12. This after being told the official waiting period could be 9 months.

Now I'm waiting on a few of the other dealers to make good and give me back my deposits (some have, some still waiting - and the ones making me wait are the same ones who gave me grief when I broke them the news). Furthermore, these other dealers nearly all told me that the #7 package wasn't available and I'd have to pony up for #9. And those were just the dealers I went ahead and left deposits with.

I had one tell me that Toyota was charging an extra $2,500 for out-of-state orders. I had one tell me that Toyota wouldn't allow a single customer to place multiple deposits with different dealerships. I had one tell me that he was refusing to accept any more deposits because the people on his waiting list were bothering him so much. I had one tell me that I was welcome but deposits were non-refundable. And, I even had one offer to deliver me a Prius the same day I called him! - but I turned him down because it was the wrong color and package.

Koons did me two great services besides getting my car so quickly:

A) The first day I saw them, I found out about their in-house Toyota rental service, which for a time was renting '04 #8's at $45 per day with unlimited mileage (I believe the rental department has since sold all their Priuses to the used car department and can no longer do this). So although we had already taken three short test drives, my girlfriend and I got one for 24 hours and did a road trip to the West Virginia mountains, putting 350 miles on the odo and getting about 47mpg in spirited driving with the AC on. This experience really enabled me to get to know the car better, and by the time we returned I knew I wanted to buy one for sure.

B) Even though they are a Virginia dealer and I'm a Maryland resident, Koons was the only dealership I visited - including all the ones I went to located in the state of MD - who informed me that MD's excise tax holiday on Priuses expired at the end of June. No other dealer I was working with could confirm this, and several denied it. But a little research with the state showed that it was indeed true. By making my purchase on June 29, before the car actually came into port, I saved about $1,200 that I would have unwittingly been out with any of the other dealers. (Thanks Art!)

This is the first brand-new car I've bought in my life, and it's the only car that's come along in my adult lifetime that's made me want to do so (as dictated by the demand outstripping the supply for the foreseeable future). I gladly paid my MSRP, and now look forward to a nice long love affair.

(Oh BTW, about my username: look at a white new Prius, from the side and then from the front

 

Sabrina: The salesman I'm dealing with at Koons Tysons Toyota is Art Dias. He's relatively new to both the dealership and the car game (but isn't a kid - he just finished up a military career), which can be and in this case was a good thing. Not the smoothest talker, but very conscientious followup - get him now while he's still fresh and unspoiled! Basically, I think Koons simply gets in more new Toyotas than the other dealers around DC (they were formerly Kline Tysons Toyota until fairly recently). I didn't have to pay any premium, just list incl. dest. charges plus the usual 'processing' fees (which are higher in VA, more tightly regulated in MD) and the de facto standard floor mat/wheel lock accessory add-ons.

Rflagg: What is the recall you refer to?

 

Thanks for the info. In a just a couple of days of driving the new Prius, I've had: enthusiastic reactions from two of my customers; a guy who looked to be about 70 and driving a Honda CR-V pull up next to me at a light and gesture emphatically toward my vehicle, then flash me the thumbs-up sign; and taken a party of 6 to dinner when all insisted they wanted a ride instead of driving separately, cramming four into the back seat. Now I'm getting to the point where instead of going for my keys when approaching the car and then remembering that I don't need to, I'm reaching for my house's front doorknob empty-handed before realizing that it didn't come equipped with the Smart system...

 

Broke my first part on the new Prius today. I predicted this would be coming soon from the first day I had the car though: That little plastic cover for the under-dash 12v outlet sticks down like a sacrificial hanging chad when the outlet is in use - and I keep my cell cord plugged in there continuously. Sure enough, my briefcase (really a sample case - it's wide and heavy), standing up in the footwell, sailed forward when I had to stop short and decapitated that bugger at the hinge point. Oh well, I guess it's officially mine now...

Streyle: See my response on your thread. Was 'Arthur' Art Dias? (He never refered to himself that way with me.) Anyway, if you want your Prius and you're willing to wait a bit, just place your refundable deposit (at MSRP) and order one there - from what I've seen, chances are they'll get it sooner than any of the others, but you've got nothing to lose.