Anyone receive the Prius rebate credit from Toyota?

bikeprius got their car in May. I didn't get my $700 coupon until August (I've waiting since before March 10th). I think bikeprius got their Prius way before Toyota came out with the coupon.

 

Have received no followup letter nor the $300 rebate ...took deliver in aug2004....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"41080)</div>

He does have a Clint-Eastwood-squint thing going on there, doesn't he?

(don't tell anyone - but I think he was squinting from the glare of the snow, he actually was trying to decide if he wanted to plow through over a foot of snow to get out to where I was standing - I like your explanation better :lol: )

He was only about 15 lbs, but he had a small head and paws which made him look larger.

 

he looks a bit like my Sammy, Varko. Or, as my bf says, 'look, it's a Sammy-class kitty!'. Yes, he watches way too much star trek.

-m.

 

I got a certificate about 3 weeks after buying my car. I could choose to get $300 off my 2004, or apply it as a $500 (I think) credit to a 2005. I had to take it to the dealer to get their signature, and fill out crap about my VIN, etc. Why did I have to do this? They KNOW my info. The dealer sent it to them! Just a round-about way of making me wait even longer for it?

 

I took delivery of mine on 6/28 and had my $300 check from Toyota less than 2 weeks later. My understanding is that the dealer has to do something, take some action, in order the check to be processed.

 

I got the certificate as well. But before I went to my dealer for a signature, I called the Toyota Customer Service (1-800-GO-TOYOTa). They gave me a case number and said they would send me the check within 8 weeks. The name on the certificate was spelled wrong, so maybe it didn't match their records.

 

the 300$ rebate was dependent on when you placed your order for the car. there was a price hike in Mar or so and if you ordered the car after that time you are not eligible for the rebate.

i got my rebate in 2-3 weeks from the date my car was delivered. if you have not received the rebate and think you should, then call TMS and inquire about it. your dealer has no control over the rebate whatsoever.

 

I bought my Prius in mid-May. When no rebate check showed up by late-August, I called Toyota's National Customer Experience Center at 800-331-4331. They had my purchase in their database, which was encouraging. The rep called me back one or two days later after investigating. He never told me what went wrong (I did get added to and removed from multiple lists...) but said that a check would be mailed to me. I received the $300 check one or two weeks later.

 

Bought my Prius from Carson Toyota on 8/23 and received the rebate letter a couple of days later.. I sent in the coupon and got the $300 rebate check today. Exactly one month between sending in the request and receiving the check.

Cheers,
Cris

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"41162)</div>

Dave,

I didn't think that toyota corporate had a name tied to an order, that the dealer was the only portion that made that connection. is this correct? if so, how would toyota corporate know when i placed my order? could i just call up and ask for my rebate and they'll give it to me?

-drew

 

corporate tracks who orders the car and what VIN they ultimately received. i received bouque letters from corporate toyota about my vehicle (at least one a month congratulating and thanking me for my patience... i really didnt know what they were talking about!!!) that my local dealer had no knowledge of.

this is true for all car manufacturers. to do it any other way would force you to go to the original dealer for warantee work, etc.

this way, corporate knows who you are and went you bought (no doubt with info supplied from the dealership as to what VIN you ultimately receive) the info is store in a central database under a set of standardized rules.

a good example of local rule keeping is add on acessories which is what my sister does for Ford and there are several things that individual dealers do that cant be adjusted, fixed, etc unless taken back to the original dealer simply because the service is offered locally by the dealer and not by the company.

she frequently gets warantee requests like this that she cant do anything about because although the receipt/warantee uses standard ford paperwork, the codes are not known to her computer so she cant do anything about it. (keep in mind there are things that Ford does on a corporate level that are not available at all locations... for this she must accept the vehicle and schedule a 3rd party vendor or another dealer to do the work)

 

I have NOT received the $300 rebate although I ordered mid-October, 2003 with a $1,000 deposit. I took delivery first week of July, 2004, one day after the car was delivered to the dealership. It was impossible for me to buy earlier than that. I did not get my first choice of exterior color in order to get a car earlier.

I have gotten different stories from the phone staff at Toyota (1 800 331 4331) when I call. No one seems to know "what is up".
Each time, I am "put off" as to the time to expect the $300 rebate. The last time, I was told I would receive it late because Toyota (not the Florida dealership) entered my name misspelled (Delores rather than Dolores) and my address when I ordered was different (I moved) than the address recorded on the purchase order by the dealership.

I reported my new address to the dealership before the purchase, during the purchase and reported it to Toyota at the same time(s). Toyota phone staff always tell me that my recorded address is NOW correct and that the West Palm Beach, Florida dealership reported the sale correctly. I am told that the records now are correct and that I should not send in any type of paperwork like copies of the purchase order.

Different stories told me by Toyota phone staff have included a scenario that I am in an overlap of types of rebates offered to me because I bought in early July and it was a late purchase.
I had several letters from Toyota while I was waiting thanking me for being patient and I received a key chain.

After the purchase, I received the "Customer Accomodation Certificate" which seemingly will only apply to the purchase of a SECOND Toyota.
However, the certificate states "If you take delivery of a 2004 Prius, Toyota's earlier offer to reimburse the $300 increase in 2004 Prius MSRP will still apply".
A conflicting statement in fine print is given at the bottom:
"This replaces the previous offer under which Toyota Motor Sales would automatically send you a check for the amount of $300 after taking delivery of your 2004 Prius".

The certificate spells my first name incorrectly and has the old address on it even though these changes were reported by the dealership and by me prior to the mailing of the certificate.
I do not know what to do to get the rebate due me. I bought with the assurance from Toyota that I would get it. My only conclusion now seems to be that Toyota's rebate offers are not reliable or credible.
This is very bad business for Toyota. Now, I do not trust Toyota enough to buy another Toyota car in the future nor to recommend the company. This makes me, personally, very sad because I really like my Prius 2004.
Dolores "Dodie" Burke, Cape Coral, Florida

 

actually i had no problems with toyota rebates... and we need to examine the mechanics of the rebate system and its obvious that any errors that occur are almost sure to be the dealer. they are your link to toyota and if they dont provide the correct info then you are in trouble since you do not have a direct link to toyota until your dealer establishes it.

[font=impact:02e6ad4269]so if you have a beef, you should direct it towards your dealership. i very much doubt that TMC is too blame.[/font:02e6ad4269]

 

To DaveinOlyWA
To repeat from my previous message:
>>......."Toyota phone staff always tell me that my recorded address is NOW correct and that the dealership reported the sale correctly. I am told that the records now are correct and that I should not send in any type of paperwork like copies of the purchase order".

So far, Toyota customer service dept personnel have been telling me, with repeated and profuse apologies, that "they" (the department) are the ones making the mistakes like spelling my name wrong
and not entering the correct address properly in all the databases.

The dealership entered the correct spelling of my name and the correct address on the purchase order and this is the info they submitted to Toyota. I am not interested in playing a "blame game".
I just want the rebate to which I am entitled.

I will doublecheck with the dealership again since I did not get a standardized answer from Toyota, just different info each time I asked.
I will also call Toyota again. If you have info which would be helpful to me, please reply.


I am happy for you that you had no problems in getting the rebate. Others, like me, have not been so lucky. The others have had a variety of different responses from Toyota and some of them are still waiting.
Dodie Burke

 

We ordered our prius in december 2003. Finally got it in august. Waited patiently for rebate. Nothing. I phoned Toyota & found out that we ordered under husbands name "Tony" & bought under "Anthony", though the same address, check info, etc., needless to say that if I hadn't phoned, we would never have received the check. (Yes, we did get the check).

Beware all of you Jim, James, Sue, Susans, Bill, Williams, etc.

 

to Maliblue...
>>Thank you for the useful, specific info...This alerted me to doublecheck how our names were listed on the 2003 order. Aha! My husband's name and mine were both on it but our intent was always to have the purchase for me and in my name only.

The dealership reported the sale correctly in my name only and the Toyota phone staff at Customer Service have this single name now correctly entered on my record. Therefore, in my case, there is no indication that the two names on the Order confused the record. There IS an indication, though, that Toyota's misspelling of my first name altered my record enough so that there was not an exact "match" between the Order and the Purchase.

Your clue about possible variations in the name of the potential buyer on the Vehicle Order might give ideas to other owners who have not gotten their rebate in timely fashion.

>>>we ordered under husbands name "Tony" & bought under "Anthony", though the same address, check info, etc., needless to say that if I hadn't phoned, we would never have received the check.

Another helpful hint I received directly to my email address noted that there is a difference between the Toyota regions in how paperwork is processed. The SouthEast region had a history of problems in various aspects of buying a Toyota including the processing of paperwork. This tip is of value to me because I will doublecheck to see if the regional office completed the paperwork correctly. I might have a problem in that the Toyota office told me NOT to send in a rebate form to the SE office because my purchase had already been recorded at the Toyota national office (Customer Care Service).

Note: In case someone from the GST region has similar problems as those now being discussed in this "thread", I will relay the comments from several Prius 2004 owners that GST also has problems similar to the SE region. I assume that GST means the Gulf States region.
Anyway, buyers who do not receive the rebate might consider doublechecking with their own particular region about possible problems in processing the records.

These identifications of possible problems help a buyer investigate what might be wrong if their check is not received. Many buyers have already reported additional problems in several other Prius2004 "chat rooms". The intent is to help correct any problems and get the check. I doubt that it is simply to complain.

Dolores "Dodie" Burke, Cape Coral, Florida (SouthWEST coast)

who is happy to report that although the recent four hurricanes did a lot of damage in our city and in my neighborhood, that my Prius2004 was not damaged. I also want to mention that my Prius is a fantastic car to have when there is no gas available at the gas stations because of hurricanes. At the start of each hit from a hurricane, I had almost a full tank of gas so I had the ability to drive a long distance if I/we had to evacuate.