Prius really IS more available in West Virginia

For Ohio Prius buyers, I can add a data point on availability—Prius is indeed available with much shorter wait in West Virginia than in southwest Ohio. I can also endorse the advice other forum members have given to Prius-seekers: 1) search outside your immediate geographic area, and 2) be flexible on options and color—otherwise, unless you get lucky, you’ll need to be patient!

Ordering story: I placed my order at MSRP ($500 deposit immediately charged to my credit card) in early January at my local dealer in Cincinnati. When told to expect a 6-9 month wait, I decided to check farther afield. I put myself on the call list of a high-volume Columbus, OH Toyota dealer and was told they had about a 4-month wait. Tipped off by other forum members, I also called looked in West Virginia. My on-line search of dealer inventory showed Superior Toyota in Parkersburg, WV had a Prius in stock. As is typical, it turned out that this Prius was a TRAC car not for sale (actually, it’s already sold once its term is up). But the good news was that Superior said they had no one ahead of me in line if I placed an order, and that they were confident they could have a car for me in two months or I could have my deposit back. So I placed an order in late January and mailed them a check for $500 as a deposit.

Cincinnati availability update: I checked again with my local Cincinnati dealer, who said they had been allocated 19 Prius for the rest of calendar 2004, so my 6-9 month wait in Cinci would actually be over a year, since I was 23rd on their list! For people ordering a Prius today, the wait in Cincinnati is at least 15 months and will be filled with 2005 vehicles! I obtained a refund of my deposit.

WV availability update: Right on schedule per their <2 month promise, 3 weeks ago Nick Harper (Superior Toyota’s one salesman who specializes in Prius) called me and offered a Salsa Red #7 (not my first choice but wow! it looks really sharp anyway!) which I got right of first refusal on since I was first in line. I took it happily, and last weekend drove the ~4 hours each way to WV to pick it up (and got 50mpg on the drive home!) This is a great car.

Negotiation tips if you decide to work with Superior Toyota in Parkersburg, WV:
1) They seem to get about one Prius a month. Available options packages are #7 (most common), #9 (second most common) and #4.

2) They sell Prius at MSRP. Even their paperwork fees are reasonable.

3) However, I was told that their Prius come with the non-optional “Preferred Accessory Package†of cargo and floor mats, cargo net, and first aid kit for a whopping $262—not even close to worth it. Since I was getting the Salsa Red, I have a light tan interior. The matching floor mats are too light-colored to be practical--they show dirt readily. Negotiate yourself out of this if you possibly can.

4) Superior Toyota’s Prius salesperson is Nick Harper (800-478-5884). Nick is very easy to work with, prompt in returning calls, and he honors the order of his waiting list. They were great about the price increase – didn’t charge me the extra $300 even though the increase became effective March 10--a few days before I took delivery of the car.

5) The details of the refundability of your deposit is another item you should negotiate. They offered a full refund if my car didn’t arrive in 2 months or if it wasn’t fully satisfactory at delivery—that was good enough for me. They never cashed the $500 dollar check I gave as deposit with my order…I had a choice of tearing it up or applying it to purchase price at delivery.

6) They currently DO NOT HAVE ANYONE on their wait list! If you place an order, you’ll be first in line. I have been skeptical of dealer predictions on wait times, but in both my case and in the case of another customer who ordered a Prius right after me, Superior Toyota’s 2-month prediction was accurate.

7) Other WV dealers may have similar Prius availability, so call the WV dealer nearest you.

Gary