Can't order Prius?

Nobody can actually order a car in the US, in the sense of telling the factory to build you one the way you want it. They're all preferenced: the factory builds a predetermined mix of features and colors, dealers get allocations of certain of these, and dealers have to swap amongst themselves to get the one you want or close to it if possible. I waited six months to get mine.

In and around Dallas there are nearly a dozen dealers, so shop by phone, fax and email for price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ledenton @ Sep 19 2007, 09:35 PM) [snapback]515080[/snapback]</div>

Yep, that's what I was told by the local Vegas dealers, two to three month wait. Lucky for me Vegas isn't that far from San Fran, so I bought mine from there and drove it back. They seem to have an abundance of Priuses of all colors and options there.

 

Use Google to find all the local Toyota dealers within your desired distance and send them an email with exactly what you want. You should be able to order a new one for $200 to 400 over invoice. Use Edmunds to help calculate the invoice with the desired options.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ledenton @ Sep 19 2007, 09:35 PM) [snapback]515080[/snapback]</div>

Don't know about Dallas, but in Chicago I was able to order mine, an '08 Touring package 6. They told me 4-8 weeks, but it arrived in three. I don't think this was "preferenced" because they actually had to "place" the order. I do think it came out of their normal allocation, just modified per my request.

Tim
Chicago

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Sep 20 2007, 04:56 AM) [snapback]515085[/snapback]</div>

Is this something special for the US market?
When I ordered my car, I got an ETA. Then, on July 23. my dealer called me and told me that my car had been manufactured on the 21. of July.

A friend of my ordered a new Audi A3, and was told in advance exactly what day his car would be manufactured.

So for Norway, at least, cars are ordered. Earlier, the dealers would have several cars in store, but some years ago the Norwegian government changed the tax rules so that the taxes for new cars had to be paid when the car arrived to the country, not when it was sold. The dealers won't/can't pay all that money up front before they sell the cars. So you have to order your car. They might have some in stock, but that would be colours/option levels they are guaranteed to sell rather quick. Keep in mind that the car taxes in Norway will easily double the price of the car compared to the manufacturers price.


-Stein

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tim Wilson @ Sep 20 2007, 12:31 AM) [snapback]515129[/snapback]</div>

It was preferenced. Toyota builds a mix of options and sends them to the U.S. Dealers get a certain number of picks from the cars on the way. Think of it as a draft system for professional sports. Bigger dealers get more and earlier picks, so they have a better chance of snagging your "ordered" Prius.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ledenton @ Sep 19 2007, 09:35 PM) [snapback]515080[/snapback]</div>

That was pretty much how it was for us down here in Austin too..We ordered ours right at the transition to the '08 models..They didn't even yet have a date but it turned out to be two months ish for us..They told us that our car would be pulled from a pool of cars when our selections came up. They like you to make a second choice but we didn't as were not in a huge hurry..
Hey are you in Denton? My sister in law and her husband live in Gainesville..Love it out that way..

John

 

Carsdirect.com . Got mine the same day I decided to do it. All options I wanted except color, wanted blue, got white. No big deal. There were 3 cars within 50 mile radius. Go online, fill out the request, and several dealers should email you. Go get the car. Simplest deal I ever made. The only downside, was driving 50 miles on a Friday night after work. Wife was not pleased. Oh well. Give it a try. This was back in 06 when I was told 2-3 months by a couple of dealears. Yeah...right. Why wait?

 

Me and my husband placed our "order" last friday, and we got a call on Wednesday that the Prius that we selected will be in probably around next Wednesday.

The internet manager explained how the "order" process went, they put us on their list with what we wanted and they keep an eye on the area dealer allotment list which I guess is posted about every 2 weeks, and whenever a car that matches what we wanted shows up they would flag it as sold with our names on it. I'm just guessing, but the allotment list is probably the cars that just came into port, that are schedualed to ship to this area.

At the time we placed the order, there was no definate timeline on when we might get our car.. We got lucky, I can't wait till next Wednesday!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ledenton @ Sep 19 2007, 07:35 PM) [snapback]515080[/snapback]</div>

What I did was check Craig's list to get an idea what is out there and eventually bought through a broker. My car came from a dealer but I picked it up at the broker's place. I can't believe you can not find one in the Dallas area...