Prius - Toyota dealer disaster looking at Insite

Speaking only for the local area in Portland Oregon, Cash for Clunkers seems to have been amazingly sucessful. Local inventories of Prius are just about empty. Since I don't qualify for Cash for Clunkers anyway, it just means I'm going to have to be patient just that much longer. I can sympathize if you are trying to get a deal done with Cash for Clunkers on a specific model such as a Prius. Seems wrong if you had a deal in principal with these dealers then THEY backed out.

If the priority is taking advantage of Cash for Clunkers you might have to compromise. If the priority is getting a Prius, then I'd wait. I'd never let trouble with a dealer or dealers stop me from getting the automobile I wanted.

$3,500 or $4.500 for a clunker can be a great deal. I can understand if someone wants to take advantage of this temporary circumstance.

Hate to see you not get the car you really want. I'd spend time on the phone and extend your search. Even if you have a long drive or have to buy out of state, it might be worth it to consider a long drive to purchase.

Good Luck whatever Automobile you end up with.

I've kept an eye on local inventories and was suprised at how low they have become since Cash for Clunkers. Good for the economy, nice to see people purchasing. Anything to get people out looking to buy. But it does create a competitive environment for the potential buyer. I was upset my "clunker" did not qualify but now I'm kind of happy I can sit out this frenzy.

 

C for C does seem to be doing great here but inventory from Salem, OR north up to WA and ID was already close to zero by the first week of July due to the WA sales tax exemption that was expiring 7/31/09. Originally it was supposed to run at least through next year and then the legislature pulled it... A fact left in obscurity until a notice put out the end of June by the DOR. So all us WA residents who were not in a rush, hauled. Thus, since you don't have a clunker or time limit for no sales tax (since OR has none), you have the luxury of finding exactly what you want. PS I checked the Twin Cities about 10 days ago (used to live there) and was amazed to see about 50 listed around the metro.

 

Sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble. Try Novato Toyota 415 897 3191. THey had several Priuses on the lot. Talk with Ken. He is good guy, very helpful.

 

Ha, you never mentioned that you got a loaner from the dealer until now.
Why do you have to worry? You have the free use of a car until they find you the car you ordered.

You have no reason to gripe.

 

bedrock8x, TangaRed did mention he had a loaner, it might have been in another string, where I had replied that the loaner was a real field leveler due to just costing him the gas while learning about the Hybrid and developing new Hybrid driving habits without cost on his new car.

TangaRed, If I were you, I would still contact Dianne and see what she can offer. --TK

 

I was able to get a red3; but it did take a little work. Im in MN, not CA. My first red3 was pummeled by racket ball sized hail the day after I put my deposit down at one dealer. They had to declare the car totaled as the body and paint damage was so severe that it voided all of the applicable warrenties. I quickly called another dealer and found one and put a deposit down over the phone. I will admit that the cars were disappearing as I sat there. When I first purchased, the car the dealer had 7 in stock; in less than an hour they had 3. When I picked up my car (after many days of stress due to the f'ck ups with the government), they had sold all of their Prius's; they infact stated that they were aware of only a few left in the state, and that all were 5's with all of the options ($$$$).

The dealer refusing to sell you a car because they don't want to do a CFC deal is probably illegal. I'd report the dealer to Toyota, or the state. The CFC is not suppose to impact the deal.

 

DOR announced it the afternoon of May 18.

Stunned that I heard no mention of it in the press after it was floated as a trial balloon in March, and that I found no clue of it on the Legislature's Bill Info web site in repeated searches during the final weeks of the session and shortly thereafter, I tracked down DOR's references. The &@$*@s in the legislature made sure that all useful keywords in the bill were NOT so tagged, so interested members of the public wouldn't be able to find it without either reading the entirety of every single proposed bill, or having inside information from the Democratic Caucus. With such a large supermajority that they didn't need a single opposition party vote to pass anything, the Dems keep an unusual degree of secrecy over the entire budget process this year.

I ordered my Prius on May 21, while the pipeline was still looking very ample.

 

So much for "transparency"

 

If you get really stuck, I can probably that rabbit out of the hat for you. Will your clunker make it to SoCal?

Di

 

I was minding my own business when I opened my quarterly info mailer from the DOR in late June that I get for my business. The fact that the hybrid tax was "ending" jumped out at me since I never knew we had one . Only that the Prius federal tax credits were all gone. Said whatever since my CRV is under lease for another 15 mos for my bus, but then found myself testdriving the P a few days later. Fell in love, started a 3 state 10 day hunt of over 50 dealers, found it, drove it home 300+ miles 10 days later, then had to deal with titling before month end. Ended up so tired from the whole process that I have yet to really take it anywhere except errands. I would be curious to know how many people took advantage of the credit.

 

That is tough. I was able to get mine using C4C. It was tight when the first release was running out of money, I was out of town and had not picked it up. We actually were able to get it, but also decided that we would get the Prius anyway. The Insite would not fit our family. The smallest person is 5'10" and the tallest is 6'6". We all fit in the Prius, there was no chance for the Insite.

Dealers in Colorado are getting Prius cars in weekly.

Oh, I traded in a Trooper (15 MPG). Took a little while getting used to the Prius, but averaging 52.4 on first tank.

 

We called at least a dozen dealers in So. Cal. could not find 1 series II..called Las vegas 200 miles away, they said it was en-route, he called back 3 hours later said it arrived..I gave him Credit Card deposit and drove up..Used my cash for clunkers and drove away...great car...also drove Honda Insight, nice car but cant compare to Prius...