Salsa Red, #1 RW, ordered 01/25/2004, Portland, OR

Date Ordered: 01/25/2004
Dealer Ordered From (Incl. City/State): Ron Tonkin Toyota, Portland, OR
Timeframe given for delivery: 3-4 Months
Color: Salsa Red or Silver (I'll consider any other color)
Option Package: #1 (RW)
Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: Don't Know

 

With my wait going on 2 1/2 months, I called my dealer for an update and got exactly what I was expecting. No car and no idea as to when it will arrive.

Interestingly enough, a few days later I saw an article in my local paper on rising gas prices (http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf...l?oregonian?lcg). In the article, the Ron Tonkin fleet manager states his wait list has grown to 75 (hopefully, most of these now behind me). In addition, he is quoted as stating that the wait time is "at least three months to arrive."

So it looks as if I am approaching the end of my "at least" wait and will soon be on the "will it ever happen?" wait. Well, I just have to keep in mind that a longer wait, means a larger down payment. Luckily my current car shows no signs of eminent death (yet).

 

With my wait now at 3 1/2 months, I stopped into Tonkin yesterday for my monthly update.

Currently, I am fourth in line for the package #1 (ninth in line total). At the current rate, the salesperson guessed that I might see my car sometime around mid to late June. I reiterated that I'm open to any color (though I'm still hoping for the Salsa!), with the super white as my last choice.

As per the salesperson, the majority of Prii they have been receiving have been BC(9), AM(7) and RW(1), with the RW package being the lowest quantity of the three. Oddly enough, two of the orders in front of me are for the GY(2) and BI(6) packages, though they have seen few (if any) of these packages delivered.

Currently, they have around 80 outstanding orders, and yet, are still averaging 2 new orders daily. He also stated that Tonkin has stopped taking fleet orders (which are usually comprised of the RW package) until they can fulfill some of their existing orders to the general public.

I’m sure (from what I’ve read here on PriusChat.com) that I could increase my chances (or decrease my wait time) by calling every dealer within a 400 mile radius, but I’ve gotten quite accustomed to my lack of a car payment. Besides, my main goal is to be behind the wheel of a Prius before our summer vacation to southern Oregon this August.

 

With my patience getting shorter with each passing fuel cost hike, I stop by my dealership to see if my salespersons prediction last month of a “late June†delivery is still possible. As usual, I am intercepted in the parking lot by yet another overanxious salesperson (I must admit, I am beginning to enjoy the dejected and deflated responses I’ve been getting from these folk once I toss the word “PRIUS†into my first sentence).

Since the salesperson fielding questions from hopeful Prius purchasers was not available, I am redirected to the fleet manager whom, at first, seemed fairly uninterested in speaking with me. After checking “THE LISTâ€, it appears that not only is a June 2004 delivery not going to happen, I am STILL fourth in line for a package 1. The manager goes on to explain that the arrival of package 1’s have all but dried up (they haven’t received any for the last 2 ½ months) and the only arrivals they have been receiving of late are 7’s and 9’s (with the 9’s being more prevalent). Now I may not be a math major, but at this arrival rate, it appears that I will not see a package 1 for at least 8 - 12 months.

I had considering upping to the package 7 last month, but was quoted by a salesman an additional cost of around $3,500 for that upgrade. Not having committed to memory the MSRP of each package (yes, I do have a written quote of MSRP!), this was more than I was willing to pay for the additional features. This time (having already checked this info from Toyota) I again inquired the additional cost and was quoted the correct MSRP of around $2,000. When asked what my place in line would be if I upgraded (the manager now VERY interested in speaking to me), he replied that I would be “up there†and he would be calling me within the next two weeks.

So it appears my choices are as follows:

1) Stick with the package 1 (now a 2005), hope that this package is still offered in 2005 and wonder what the MSRP will be if offered.

2) Demand my deposit back, stomp out of the dealer annoyed and spend the next 5 years or so driving (and paying off) another auto (that was a distant second choice in the first place).

3) Convince myself that I can not survive without the additional features of the #7. I REALLY did want the upgraded lights and fog lights, my wife (being more safety conscience than I) needs no convincing about the side air bags and VSC. Besides, how I ever survived in the past with those pesky car keys?

So a package 7 it is!

While this dealership has been fairly up front and honest with me, though perhaps slightly uninformed, they have not gone very far as to assist or volunteer information to those awaiting “uncommon†packages. Most of the orders received before me (some as far back as November 2003), are for packages other than the 7’s and 9’s. With these cars in such demand, I imagine that this is not such an uncommon occurrence.

 

Thanks Danny! I hadn't even considered the insurance!

When I calculated my net gain vs. cost of this upgrade, I had only considered the fuel cost savings and required repairs to my current car to keep it running for another 8 to 12 months. These factors alone will cover nearly two years of the increased monthly cost of this upgrade.

Thankfully, I would have just recently arrived at the top of the list had a chosen a package 7 in the first place, otherwise I would have felt truly stupid for my Germanic stubbornness in sticking with the package 1 for this long.

Does anyone have any information as to what discounts insurance companies are offering for safety features such as side airbags and VSC?

 

I GOT THE CALL! Now standing at day 144, the dealer called me and offered me a Black #7 which will be arriving here at the Port of Portland this weekend.

Let’s hear it for being flexible! After 4 ½ months with no word and no estimated arrival date, the Tonkin fleet manager called me four days after expressing my willingness to compromise with both color and package level and offered me a Tideland #9. Seeing as I started back in January with a order for a package #1, I wasn’t too willing to jump to the highest package level. He informed me that they were expecting a new allocation in three weeks that would include a #7, so I decided to pass on the 9 (though I was left with a nagging feeling that I may have passed on my only opportunity).

That afternoon, I checked the schedule for the Toyofuji Shipping Corp and confirmed that indeed a shipment of Toyota’s were arriving here in PDX on the June the 21st. Now only to wonder what color the Toyota Prius Roulette wheel would land on.

While Black is not one of my top color choice, it does have the gray interior, which I greatly prefer to the tan.

 

Congratulations Esther!

It's amazing how fast I've been able to forget about the stressful wondering and waiting of the last five months. It is truely worth it!