Any color but driftwood, #9 (BC), 4/27/04, Berkeley CA

Dealer Ordered From (Incl. City/State):Berkeley Toyota, Berkeley, CA
Timeframe given for delivery: 6-7 Months
Color: Any Except Driftwood - Blue first choice
Option Package: BC #9
Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: Don't know exactly. I believe he said there are about 500 on the waiting list, and that they've sold about 250 of the 2004 models so far this year.

Paid $1000 deposit! The agreement said "NON-refundable" but when I explained that I couldn't agree to that (didn't mention that it seems to be illegal in CA) the guy told me to cross off the word NON before signing the document.

Soooo ... we'll see. He also said that it may be a '05 as they're not sure how early '05 will be introduced.

 

DOH!

Too bad the avatar doesn't show on "preview" of a post, eh?
I deleted it until I can find something more appropriately sized!

 

Heh!!

Then I'd better be careful not to post too much right away ;-)
I need the excuse, apparently! Or maybe just more coffee ...

 

Thanks for the welcome.

As you can see, Danny fixed me up so I no longer have a goliath avatar ... talk about hospitality!

This certainly is a friendly place -- maybe I'll be able to stand the wait ... I think of myself as a very patient person and this car is wreaking havoc with my self image!

 

Marin Toyota -- Tim Anwar
My hero! artytime:

OK, so I still can't believe this happened to me. I never have luck like this!
I got the call today -- each sentance had me waiting for the catch ...

1. Cell rings, answer to hear: "This is Tim from Marin Toyota".
(I am hopeful for a moment, then remember there is no chance of a car for me yet)
2. "I have some good news for you". (more hope, but more that he's either calling to tell me I'm up higher on his list or that if I'm really lucky he has a car that is a different package/color than what I want).
3. "It's a long and strange story, but due to unusual circumstances, I have a Prius for you" (Elation. Worry that it's too good to be true.)
4. "But, it's blue." (Um, that was my first choice)
5. "And I'm afraid it's a #9 option package (But that's *exactly* what I wanted!!! OH, he's saying it that way for dramatic effect, I catch on. Super Elation. Wait, what is the catch).
6. I ask, what is the bottom line price? He says "Well, you know there is no negotiation on this car?" ... (yes, I know) ... "So it's whatever the sticker price is, do you want it?". (DO I WANT IT???)
7. Yes, I want it. I run out of the office, grab a good friend who is a coworker to drive me over, and head to the dealership.

The car has two miles on it. He gives leather a very mild sell -- when I tell him I'm 20% interested and 80% not interested he says "Well, forget it then, you shouldn't get it!". (Later mentioned when I told him my son is 1/2 Indian, that it's a good thing I didn't get it, as Indians might not like cowhide upholstery!)

The car mats are included, and the price for them as well, but no other optional items were added to the car or the price.

Since it's come up elsewhere, I'll mention that there was a document handling fee, but it was $45

The guy was amazingly nice, honest, and straightforward, and everyone (especially me) was very happy!

Apparently the background story of how I ended up with this car is as follows: that they work their way down the list and whichever salesperson added the customer to the list gets credit/commision for the sale. My sales guy found out that one of the Prius was recently sold to his customer but that another sales guy called the customer and therefore claimed the credit/commision, even though my guy was the one to do the initial test drive/sales job. So he demanded justice from his boss -- who wanted to make everyone happy. So his boss said that he'd let my sales guy have a Prius out of this shipment to sell to one of his customers (and therefore get a commision). So he called the other people that he personally had added to the prius list (who wanted #9 blue) and either couldn't reach them or got a "no thanks". Until me that is!

Yeeeeeha!

P.S. My has named it "Squirtle" after the blue water Pokemon because it's cute and blue.

 

Thanks I do love the blue - first time I saw it in person was today. I had a Mazda once that was a very similar color and loved it then too!

My son wouldn't be offended -- he's only 6 years old! However, I should have clarified that I meant Asian-Indian. His family, if they were here, would most certainly have a problem with sitting on cow hide. It is true that cows are actually sacred there, to Hindus. His family isn't here, though!

I agree 100% with respect to how I guess native american culture would view leather car seats -- good to use all parts of an animal that is going to die anyway, right? Also good to use as much natural material as possible - which Asian Indians would agree with the BIG exception of the cow.

I actually like the interior color *much* more than I thought I would -- so that was the real reason for not deciding to go for the leather. I was mainly impressed with the sales guy for quickly turning off the "sell" when I said I didn't really want it so that's why I passed on the extra comment.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!
I'm very tempted to go sit in the car right now ...

 

Sure, I'll do it for you -- oh, no, wait, I'd get the good luck that way, that won't work.

(Talk about unfair.)

I'm still in shock! I need to get a loose piece of trim fixed (the black bit under the bumper on one side is not attached properly), but I'm unwilling to take it back to the dealer ... afraid it'll disappear and I'll wake up to find it was all a dream!

Prior to this, my luck has not been so good, so I'm enjoying the h*ck out of it and if I'm dreaming I'd like to stay asleep as long as possible