Do (or should) Toyota dealers provide courtesy charging for Toyota Primes and Plug-ins?

What State are you in, Your avatar says USA, If you want charging stations in the area you describe,
Request them from the appropriate State Agency and they may be built in a couple of years, it all comes out of your taxes anyway, so, this is your right.

 

It's in the post above --- I tried that contacting the state media & PR people on Earth Day when they were promoting the EVs and biking and public transit... and nothing but crickets... plus I'm sure I'll be retired before they ever get around to putting anything in .... this state talks the talk, but they don't seem to actually follow their own suggestions....

 

I agree totally. They are really bystanders acting interested.

 

Or.... you could support a brand that is building their own infrastructure as well as supporting the public one

To the OP, I would agree with others that Toyota should, at a minimum, have enough charging at their dealers so they can charge the vehicles they sell and have for test drives.
Providing those charging stations to the public is a marketing choice. Would it be smart, I would say yes IF Toyota is serious about selling the Prime or other plugins.

 

Ideally, all dealers would like you to visit once. And that’s the day that you buy.

 

We have a great dealer by us. They have ONE 240V charger, basically for their own use. If you want to charge at John L Sullivan, in Roseville, you have to ask, after repairs you have to ask, buying a Hybrid, you have to ask, if your low on charge, you have to ask, a test drive, you have to ask..........roughly I
would catagorise them as “ Not With It “ !

 

Well, just the fact that they HAVE a charger puts the, ahead of some.

 

I didn’t know it was that bad !

 

Some dealers are great, some dealers are awful, some are very knowledgeable, while others are simply ignorant.

Some of the horror stories of GM dealers are far worse. Some of those dealers are outright hostile towards the Volt. From what I have heard here, at it sounds like ambivalence is the biggest factor for Toyota dealers, not hostility.

 

When I went searching for a PiP, not a one of them was charged, also the gas tanks weren't filled. When I went for a Volt, not only were they charged, the gas tank were filled. I guess it's all where you go.

 

Is there even one of these plug-in Toyotas that failed to sell because the dealer didn't charge it up?

Was there even one that sold because the buyer walked in thinking "Corolla" and the dealer steered them to the plug-in instead?

Cars on dealer lots don't usually get gassed up until the ink is dry on the contract- you don't want the gas going stale in the tank.

Additionally, they're not going to be inclined to mess with the accessories for fear of losing them, or some shrinkwrap queen hanging up a sale because the charge cord (or other accessory) wasn't virgin.

 

It's a bit easier to sell a car when it is prepped to be tested for what it was intended.

 

Overall I can't disagree with that, but I didn't get a full demonstration of the car I bought either. I have no idea how well the safety cameras work, or the airbags for that matter.

Most test drives (industry-wide) are quite short anyway- and this is especially true on low volume specialty cars. No dealer is going to want to rack up miles on the unsold stock just so somebody can figure out if it goes 20 or 30 miles per charge. It doesn't take that long to put a mile or two of electricity into the battery, and I understand the car can charge itself from gasoline. Knowing that, I think the whole problem goes away as long as the salesman knows to push that button a few minutes in advance.

Some low-volume high performance sport cars are sold without the possibility of test drives. It's just generally accepted that there is too much risk, and that the demo car would be too far depreciated just by the odometer even on an uneventful ride.

 

I certainly wouldn't want to take a BEV on a test drive with just a few miles charged on the battery.

 

If Toyota ever builds a BEV, that will become relevant. Until then...

 

Pretty much, for by then, I'll be driving someone else's BEV.

 

To your first question, yes.

When was the last time you went to test drive a car and the dealer gave you a car that had a dry gas tank?

 

Never.

Now, I have had to wait between arriving for a scheduled test drive appointment and actually getting in the car and driving it. "We just need a few minutes to bring it around" or whatever.

I have no idea if they used the time to splash gas in the tank, run background checks against my license or wipe bird droppings off the door handle, and it doesn't really matter.

It doesn't take very long to put a few amps into the pack, even through the self-charge feature. It would be ideal if they had it all squared away ahead of time and it is okay to be disappointed if they aren't totally on the ball. But it's also nothing to go to war over.

And yes, I would absolutely insist on driving it in all-electric mode just to feel it out. But like most other features experienced in the context of a test drive, I wouldn't need more than a mile or so to evaluate it.

Installing a charger fit for a BEV is just going to jack up the overhead and make all the cars sold there cost a little more. All they really need to do is educate the salespeople on engaging that self-charge mode when they sign it out for the demo.

 

I’d call it ignorance.

 

Yes, I think a newbie would be most impressed by that ( demo/charging )