Shopping around advice

You could rent a Prius for a weekend. Hertz and some others offer "green" rental vehicles.

 

its pretty much the case now due to the gas crunch. last year at this time i had no luck looking for an 07, so i waited til november for an 08. the story may be different this year tho and you may have to settle for what comes in. the 09's will start arriving late august, live out of the hip pockets of a few dealers like i did, a deposit here or there might help. i just happened to be near dealer b when i stopped in and looked at about 12 that had just been unloaded. i wanted black touring 6, but they didnt have one, i saw a spectra blue touring 6 and he checked and said its mine if i want it. i even had a deposit at dealer a, which they happily refunded.

 

You are either going to have to rent one, or find a Prius owner that will take you for a test drive. Then be prepared to wait, since everyone else wants one too. Our local dealer is completely sold out through the 2009 model year and is now taking deposits on the 2010.

Tom

 

We did a lot of research before we decided to buy and that cnvinced us it was a good deal. Until I picked up ours, I had never actually touched a Prius, let alone tested one. My wife sat in one in a Wal-Mart parking lot for a minute to check out the rear view. We both (especially she) like ours.
You're not going to overcome the current 4-6 month wait, and you may not get a good deal on the price; but if you belong to a credit union, check out its car-buying service. Dealers will work a little harder with credit unions, knowing they are a steady if not overly profitable, source of customers. At least, I'd venture that you would be kept a bit closer to the top of the waiting list.
And follow some other advice here -- keep calling the fleet or Internet sales office of the dealer to let them know of your continued interest.

 

Most Prius owners I know (myself included) will gladly let you give it a once-over. A test drive may cost you $5.

 

If I had mine (I've been on the wait list for over a month), I'd drive to PA to give you a test drive. I have friends in Palmyra; two years ago I drove to PA to see them (and others along the way).

 

mproper:
The Hertz rental at the Harrisburg airport has Priuses for rent - look for the "Green Collection" when you're reserving online. For a Friday-Sunday rental I paid only $32.99 per day. Weekdays are quite a bit higher.

What dealer did you visit? I've talked to Rahal in Mechanicsburg and Diehl in York - from tracking their inventories online it looks like they each are getting 8-10 per month. I should be getting mine in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed).

 

When you're really serious about buying, I'd suggest going to toyota.com and getting price quotes from several dealers in your area via their internet sales departments. I did that and saw quite a bit of variability in prices. You'll save a great deal in terms of milage and aggravation by shopping on the net.

 

I just got mine today and since so many people are getting jacked around by dealers, I've came up with a plan to get them back for you all. I'm going to each Toyota dealer in the area and I am going to act like I'm trading in my new Prius. Let see how much they stubble all over themselves trying to buy mine from me....

 

I tried a used car for a test ride .... still had to wait until three other couples tested it first .... I call the Toyota dealerships and asked if they had a used prius available

 

Trying calling a few other local dealers. The first dealer I visited told me exactly what your dealer told you....there are none to test drive & people are buying them sight unseen. I called another local dealer and he had a 2008 on the lot for test drives. Of course, they were also asking for a $3,000 premium over MSRP, so I was surpirsed they hadn't sold the test drive model to someone. Good luck.

 

My car is expected to arrive at port on July 3rd in Los Angeles. I have paid for a car that I have yet to sit in, let alone drive!

My shopping spree started via the internet June 16th in Southern Cal and by the 22nd, had signed papers for a package 6. I chose to target dealerships located in ethnically diverse areas where there wasn't a long waiting list for Prii . . .The only drawback is that my Prius will be slightly "pimped out" with dealer options of chrome wheels and window tint . . .

 

I would advise to call around. The first dealership I visited, near my home was the same way...wanted a deposit, but no Prius' on the lot to test drive. Luckily a nearby dealership in Salinas (~25 miles away) had "rentals", where we were able to do a test drive for free, we just needed to show proof of insurance. I'm number 13 of 63 as of 1 week and 1/2 ago. Good luck to you!

 

you can call your local toyota dealers and reserve a prius. Rented mine over the weekend, checked highway speeds, city driving ect. Let the wife drive it and make sure she was comfortable with it. Then decided over the next two weeks to order one (over the phone and using my credit card). Waited 11 months and picked it up. Great car, enjoy.

 

Yeah, I stopped into the dealer briefly in mid-May and did everything over the phone from that point until I picked up the car yesterday. Didn't recognize the salesman that I had been dealing with.