Any color, base/GY/BI/AM, 10/3/2004, Portland OR

Date Ordered: 10/2/2004
Dealer Ordered From: Ron Tonkin Toyota, Portland, OR
Timeframe given for delivery: 3-6 mo.
Color: Any
Option Package: Base, #1 GY, #3 BI, or #4 AM (2005 numbering)
Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: n/a

The sales reps I talked to were a bit confused... apparently there was a (local? regional?) "Toyota meeting" last week that changed Tonkin's ordering procedure. On the plus side, they didn't want a deposit to get on the waiting list. But they also no longer commit to whether they'll charge a dealer markup when it comes in, or how much it'd be.

 

Got a call back a heckuva lot faster than I expected to. Kelly called me earlier this afternoon, and they have a Prius for me already. They just got allocated a 2005, base model (aka package #0), black... a combination nobody else on their lists wants. $5000 dealer markup, but she called that negotiable, and when she referred me to her manager to work out the details, I talked him down to $2000. Sounds like they may try to make some accessories part of the deal, but we'll see. Made a $1000 credit-card deposit over the phone, and we'll deal with the rest once I can get down to Portland this weekend.

If they're trying to play me, they're sure sinking a lot of effort into the hoax.

Woohoo!

 

Thanks in part to the fact that my wife and I had separate conversations with the dealer before we could all three be in the same place at the same time, we got the ADM almost completely negotiated away, and there's a pretty new car in our driveway now. Yay!