Tideland or Seaside #9 or #7; May 15, 2004; Austin, TX

Date ordered: May 15, 2004
Dealer: Charles Maund Toyota, Austin, TX
Timeframe: 3-4 months
Color: anything really, Tideland and Seaside were my top two choices
Option: anything with the side air bags. VSC would be nice too, making #9 and #7 my top choices
# on list: 5 or 6

The Prius list at the dealer seems a bit schizo though. I initially contacted them through email, and the salesman (internet sales manager) has been very consistent with his answers when I have inquired about my place on the list and the kinds of cars they had been allocated recently.

But a friend tried to walk into the dealership to get on the list, and was told that the wait was 5 years and then the salesman tried to talk her into an Echo. So, I don't know if that salesman was just clueless or wanted the commission for himself (supposedly only the one guy handles all the Prius sales) or if they have two different lists, retail and internet, and I just lucked out.

 

So I came this close to getting a Seaside #9 or Silver #7 from a dealer in WV at MSRP today. After contacting him by email, I thought just a little too long about calling to put down the deposit--about 30 min, at which point the car was gone. I haven't done a ton of car buying, and never by phone, which is why I think I didn't jump at the opportunity--I have no idea how to handle buying a car over the phone and out of state and it makes me kinda nervous. Plus I got into this expecting to wait until at least until July or August, and there are still all the sticky logistics of selling my current car and having enough time to make a cross country trip if I buy in another state. And I've only been waiting a month, so I don't think I'm desperate enough yet.

 

Grrr... found out recently, thanks to PriusChat members who frequent the Central Texas forum, that I may be working with a dealer that will sell a Prius to anyone who offers $3K over MSRP before offering the car to their wait list. So I'm seriously considering buying out of state, probably WV. Debating between trying to find a dealership in a larger town in WV that other folks have worked with, or going with a dealership that I've been talking to (also found through here, somehow) that's in a tiny town (read--2 hours to the closest major airport though they do have a tiny airport nearby, but the only airline that flies there is one that does not fly to Austin, argh!), but is very close to NC, where we have lots of friends and might be moving to in the fall.

 

I agree that if a dealer wants to sell for more than MSRP and can find someone to pay that, it's their right (just like it's my right to laugh in their face and turn them down). But then they should be upfront about it, and not string people along on their wait list and pretend they're going to get a car. 'Cause if I had known that this was their practice right from the beginning, I never would have joined their wait list. At least I figured this out after only 1.5 months instead of 6 months (thanks to the online community!).

 

So here's my latest update.

Have not officially dropped my Austin dealer yet (they haven't cashed my check, so I figured I'd leave my name on their list, at least until I get to my two month anniversy and call to find out if the list has been moving at all) but I'm not holding my breath either.

I left my number with Ramey Toyota in WV last week--they said they'd give me a call with the next allocation. The salesman didn't ask for preferences until I asked him if he wanted them, so I think they just go down their wait list until they find someone who wants the cars they got that month.

Today I placed an official order with Beaman Toyota in Nashville. I wanted to have an order that would go into the Toyota database in case Toyota decides to refund the price difference of the 2005 and 2004 to people with standing orders (like with the $300 increase earlier this year). Since I haven't gotten any letters or keychains, I don't think the Austin dealer ever put me into the Toyota database. No exact number on the wait list, but estimated time for delivery was 15-20 weeks and they're currently filling orders placed in April. I've heard good things about this dealership, and the internet sales guy was really straight with me on the phone and good about explaining everything w/pricing, how the whole waiting process would work, and how the out of state sales would work.

 

P-Car,
I was really hesitant about ordering out of state too, but I knew all the dealerships in Austin had at least an 8 month wait. Plus GST often adds on extra port options that people don't want. And even in Austin, our dealers aren't getting that many cars and we probably get the most in Texas. I tried calling rural dealerships in Texas, but no luck there either (granted, I only called like five and avoided any that were near Dallas or Houston).
I talked to both the WV and TN dealerships about how out of state works. Basically, they'll give you a temp tag from their state that is good for 15-30 days. When you register your car in Texas, you'll pay tax, tags, and liscence for Texas. TN did mention that there's a "TN business tax" but it's only like $75-100--not the full TN tax. I know some states will reimburse if you pay tax in another state, but I don't know if that's the case here. Anyhow, it wasn't too much, so I'm not that concerned. A lot of people have ordered out of state for various reasons... there is a little added cost and time in flying (but Southwest flies to Nashville) and having to drive the car back (freakin' Texas is huge, living smack in the middle of it and having driven cross country a few times). Make sure whatever dealership you go with out of state doesn't play games with charging out of state customers more than MSRP--some dealerships are doing that. I'm sure if you browse posts (or start a new topic), people will give their experience and tips about buying out of state...hmmm, that might be a good idea.

 

Had a little bit of a scare last night with my faith in the reputable dealership in Nashville I placed my order with. I saw a posting (lurking on another Prius board) from a salesman from the dealership that stated they charged MSRP plus $1000 for out-of-region customers. I had specifically asked my salesman about premiums for buying out of state when I placed my order, which the dealership did not charge at the time. So I emailed my salesman asking about this new policy and whether it would affect me, and he said he would honor our original agreement of MSRP only and had stopped taking orders since the dealership implemented the new policy. I definitely respect him for that decision, and am glad I placed my order with him.

 

ack! I just passed on a car

I got a call I was never expecting to receive--from the Austin dealership that may (or may not) be up to shady practices. He was offering me a white #6 with the extra mile package B, upgrade in stereo, key guards (or something like that), and leather. I didn't really hesitate to pass--I'm high enough on his list (supposedly... he claims he called maybe 2 or 3 people before me) that I'd rather wait for a car with VSC, plus leather is not particularly compelling, and white is way down on my list (and I have my trusty back-up order in Nashville, which I hope will be coming through in Sept or Oct). But the encouraging thing is the price he quoted me--$24,792, which matches MSRP on the Toyota website for a car with all the extra crap added on. I'm still a bit jittery from having actually passed on a car though. I feel like I'm giving up some huge gift that has been granted me when I pass on a car.

 

Got the call from Nashville today--my Prius is on the boat from Japan!

Hopefully it will arrive by Oct 11, because that's the only time we can drive the car back from Nashville before Nov.

Austin offered me a souped up #6 again last week (pretty much same config as before) but I turned it down.

 

Indeed... I heard sketchy things about Maund here, which is when I started looking at other dealers. The two cars Maund offered me were at MSRP, but they weren't what I wanted and loaded with extra stuff. At one point, I did try calling around small towns in Texas, but no luck. I had other reasons for going with Nashville.

Matt, I wouldn't be surprised if you got your car in the very near future 'cause I think you ordered at most two weeks after me... that call may be just a few days or weeks away. I did specifically ask Kevin to give me as much notice as possible so I could make travel plans.

 

I do know he would have advanced noticed of when it was coming in (though I didn't think it was as far out as 6 weeks)... I was hoping that there might be hope for you because this should be the mid-month allocation (dealers usually get allocations around the 1st and 15th of the month) and maybe he just hadn't gotten around to calling you yet...

Hm, so how long does it take for the boats to get to the west coast and then get the cars distributed to the easter half of the US from there? I hope it makes it by the middle of October. Though I had already decided that if for some reason the Prius would have had to sit at the dealership for over two weeks before I could pick it up because of my crazy travel schedule, I would have given up the car in exchange for a guarantee for a car in the next allocation... in which case, you can have had my car Matt .

It just kills me that I just replaced my starter... although I guess it looks better than if I had sold the car and it immediately died on the new owner .

 

Patience, it's all about patience. Isn't that a prerequisite for buying a Prius?

Kevin called this morning (I was going to call him mid-day if he hadn't, because I have some plane tickets to buy, and I know he doesn't work on Thursdays). He has a partial VIN, I asked him to fax me everything when he has the full VIN. The boat will be in Portland on Sept 20 and it takes them 2-3 weeks from there to get it to the port in Memphis. He told me to book my ticket for Oct 11, because he should have the car before then. So sorry Matt, you don't get my car .

I decided to fix my car as well because I knew that if I tried to sell my car without fixing it, it probably wouldn't start when someone was test driving it. Or I'd sell to someone I know and have a very angry friend. Plus, at the time, I didn't know that I'd be getting a new car so soon, and I feared getting stranded without anyone nearby to rescue me.

 

So, I had been meaning to go by the Austin dealership to cancel my order but I hadn't gotten around to it. Got a call from them just now offering me a 2005 white #6. I didn't get to hear what extra options were on it or the price because I had to tell him that I had been meaning to call and cancel my order. I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if there were extra options on it of some sort. While buying a car in Austin would save the hassle of driving back from TN, the TN dealership has treated me much better. And I prefer the Tideland color to white. I know Matt, you're probably disappointed I didn't decide to take the white car in Austin, 'cause then you might have gotten my Tideland .