Help me get a Prius!

Welcome aboard. Not sure how the racket, err system works but I wish you all the best.

 

Up here in Minneapolis MN you order what you want. No BS at least at Luther Toyota Golden Valley MN. I ordered mine and it came in a month later at $500 over invoice price.

I looked at that SE region site and it is a mess. I understand that region also tacks on crap that you don't normally get in other states. If you do buy down there beware of dealer add on's.

Most dealers will pick you up at the airport if you buy out of state then you drive your car home.

Mike

 

Not sure if it helps, but you can work with a dealer out of your region and pay for transport to your home. Not ideal, but maybe better than dealing with screwballs in your area.... A co-worker did that for his Lexus CT....

 

Yeah, I am not sure you have to go out of your area,
but you need to email/call a few other dealers.

That way you are on the boat with a few...and may find yours a bit faster.

If you have no problem going out of your area...than that is what you have to do.
Good Luck!

 

I got my Prius from the local SET dealer, specified color and interior, and model. They said give them 30 days, it turned out they had one off the truck in 7 days exactly as desired and only the bumper protector as an added option already installed. It had no miles (5) like a dealer transfer would have, and was just what I wanted.

 

Also, tell them you do not want the ToyoGuard. It is a waste of money, and if the ship hasn't left the dock yet, then they can cancel adding it.

 

I'm not sure if Southeast Toyota's process is different, but the way it works elsewhere in the US is the dealers are assigned their allocation of cars (models/colors/features) by the regions. The dealers can "preference" (request) a certain configuration, and the regions will take that into consideration for future allocations. The dealers are notified of their allocations a number of weeks in advance of the cars arriving at the dealers.

 

I got tired of dealing with the dealerships for several weeks in the gulf coast region, trying to find me a car and coming up blank, with no idea when I'd be able to get what I was looking for.

So I finally called Dianne Whitmire at Carson Toyota in California and had the car shipped to texas. It was easy, we got exactly what we wanted (2 Prii!) and saved $ vs buying them locally, even with shipping.

 

The way the SE Toyo works is that if you visit a dealer website, it shows all available cars. It'll show the available date but sometimes another link is available for cars on the dealer only.

 

Good news!

 

Did you negotiate BEFORE they went looking for one?

 

Awesome. Otherwise they got you but the family jewels!

 

I just finalized a deal In the central Florida area for a pkg 5 w/tech package. It will a dealer trade. I had dealers from Fort Lauderdale - Tampa- Orlando offering me the same exact vehicle I.e. vin number. Local dealers were telling me that everyone in the SE Toyota area would only sell at MSRP. That was BS.

I went through USAA buying service and received immediate written guaranteed prices via email between $1000 over invoice and $500 BELOW invoice. Dealer fees ranged from $499 -$699.

I used the best offer to begin negotiations with dealers on the phone. Had to watch hidden costs like exorbitant dealer fees. After cutting deal and giving small credit card deposit I got a call that from Hollywood Toyota today telling me he got approval to sell me the car at $1000 UNDER invoice. The same guy told me yesterday that they would only sell at MSRP.

Take your time. Even if you give a deposit you can back out of a deal and get the money back if you have not taken possession of the car. Best to give deposit with credit card. You are buying a commodity, that everyone sells the exact same product.

 

How much did you pay for the shipping and how long did it take?
I am in TX as well and I can't find a IV here at all. Did you pay the CA registration?

 

Great!! I am happy for you.:rockon: