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Barcelona Red # 4 Ordered 5-6-06 Salem, IL

Discussion in 'Order Tracking' started by craiger, May 6, 2006.

  1. craiger

    craiger New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2005
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    Date Ordered: May 6, 2006
    Dealer Ordered From (Incl. City/State): Marion Toyota Marion, IL
    Timeframe given for delivery: 1-2 months
    Color: Barcelona Red
    Option Package: #4
    Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: no list just waiting to be built and shipped.

    My dealer told me it is a May build. Does anyone know when the dealer is supposed to get the vin. He gave me the color and package, but I don't understand why he wouldn't have the vin. Is it safe to assume a May build means I will get it in June. Also, will the car be ready the day they get it off the truck? Oh one more thing, what in the heck am I supposed to do for a month until I get this thing.
     
    #1 craiger, May 6, 2006
  2. ghostofjk

    ghostofjk New Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat, craiger!

    Priuses are not"built" according to orders placed by individual customers, although some dealers persist in making it sound that way. Rather, your dealer's "anticipation" of when your car will be available is based on the number of cars he is ALLOCATED by Toyota, which in turn is based on past sales.

    More aggressive dealers will try to trade with other dealers for cars with particular color/pkg combos. Many dealers won't---they'll just wait until a batch of cars hits the port, then try to order from that batch. It's at that time they get VINs, not from the factory "when yours is built".

    Not to get your hopes up, but your dealer COULD be looking around for the car you want, find it and surprise you with an early phone call.

    So, your car's arrival time does not depend strictly on its build date.

    After your car hits port and becomes part of your dealer's next allocation, it takes a few days to get trucked to dealers (your salescritter can tell you how many days). Once it arrives at the dealer it takes a day or two for them to charge up the HV battery and bolt on some black plastic parts to the bottom of the car. Then it's yours.

    I always suggest to people in your waiting mode to ask the dealer if you can "borrow" a Prius owner's manual. It'll kill two birds with one stone---you should read it anyway, and it'll keep your excitement "fresh" but not quite so irrational. :rolleyes:

    Please amend your profile to include your location. Danny made that a requirement for new members as of a couple weeks ago, and has asked those who registered earlier to go back and do it. It helps us to answer questions that are posted. Thanks!
     
    #2 ghostofjk, May 6, 2006
  3. craiger

    craiger New Member

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    Oct 20, 2005
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    Here is how the deal went down... Maybe they have changed how they do orders, or maybe this dealer has a special system.

    We arrived at about 5pm on a Friday. This salesman was recommended by a co-worked. I talked to him on the phone earlier and he told me we would be able to test drive a prius. They own or lease one, we had to do a "rental" type of form, no charge for the "rental".

    We did a drive of several miles with the salesman with us.

    When we returned, I finally decided to order a Prius and asked him what he had on order or available.

    The salesman went to get the "Prius List".

    It showed 6 or 7 cars, with their package type and color. It also showed a "May Build".

    We selected from the list a Red one with a package #4.

    He said "May" could mean anytime in May. He said we should expect delivery in June, could be early or late June.

    At this time we are just making Wild A Guesses.

    Hoping for others who have had a recent similar situation may give us details, but it appears that the salesman does not have details.
     
    #3 craiger, May 6, 2006
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