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Tideland Pearl #9, 1/16/04, Hollywood, CA

Discussion in 'Order Tracking' started by afsheen, May 11, 2004.

  1. afsheen

    afsheen New Member

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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Date Ordered: 1/16/04
    Dealer Ordered From (Incl. City/State): Toyota of Hollywood, LA, CA
    Timeframe given for delivery: 2 1/2 to 3 months
    Color: Tideland Pearl
    Option Package: 9
    Your # on Dealer's Waiting List: No idea


    I got the call today telling me that my car will be here this weekend. Although it took four months, I'm getting the exact package I wanted. Was it worth the wait? I haven't been in my car yet, but I'm pretty sure it will have been worth it.
     
    #1 afsheen, May 11, 2004
  2. cybele

    cybele New Member

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    Congrats! Nice to see you found PriusChat, too.

    I've had conversations with Hollywood Toyota - I hope you've got your deal all worked out, I know several folks on the boards have had trouble with them jacking the price up at the last moment.

    Tideland is definitely the BEST color.
     
    #2 cybele, May 11, 2004
  3. afsheen

    afsheen New Member

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    Thanks again for pointing me towards PriusChat. It's a great procrastination tool.


    As for the folks at Hollywood Toyota, they certainly have appeared shady at times -- my place in line seems to have shifted once or twice and they repeatedly called with offers of marked-up cars when people ahead of me in line passed for whatever reason -- but I've got a price quote from January which the guy repeated to me over the phone today.

    I'm trying to remain appropriately wary, however, and I'll be sure to let everyone know if anything unexpected happens when I go to pick it up this weekend.
     
    #3 afsheen, May 11, 2004
  4. Raenstoirm

    Raenstoirm New Member

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    Its worth it! :mrgreen:
     
    #4 Raenstoirm, May 11, 2004
  5. Cris Lombardi

    Cris Lombardi New Member

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    Just curious afsheen, did they quote you MSRP? I had a bad experience with Hollywood Toyota this past Feb.. they quoted me MSRP but made me agree to buy a lojack for $1000, which I eventually agreed to. When the car came in, they surprised me by tacking an extra $2000 onto the sticker price. Not nice at all, and in addition to the overpriced lojack. I couldn't feel happy about being robbed, and I walked. To add salt to the wound, they stonewalled me on getting my deposit back for 5 weeks. Please let us know if you get better results. Unless they've reformed their ways, Hollywood Toyota deserves a lot of bad publicity!!
     
    #5 Cris Lombardi, May 11, 2004
  6. afsheen

    afsheen New Member

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    They quoted me MSRP, plus lojack, paint sealant, and etching the vin number on all the windows (which is supposed to help if your car is somehow stolen by very, very stupid criminals). The three "extras" come to about $2000. Although it's quite a markup, most other dealers that I contacted were tacking one or two thousand dollars onto MSRP without adding anything that would (slightly) lower my insurance rate.

    It's probably not the best deal on earth, but having just graduated with an economics degree, I understand that we don't have much room to negotiate when there are hundreds of people who would gladly take my car for the asking price.
     
    #6 afsheen, May 12, 2004
  7. Cris Lombardi

    Cris Lombardi New Member

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    to go into a bit more detail, the quote they gave me included the paint sealant and etching, and I negotiated those two items out of the deal. when I went to pick up the car, I got the double-team, good cop-bad cop routine, the manager telling me that the salesperson hadn't been authorized to make that deal. after a lengthy standoff, they finally shook hands with me, agreeing not to sell me the sealant and etching. then they wrote up the sales contract, which was when I noticed that they had upped the sticker price by two grand. I think that's pretty sleazy.
    anyway, I hope your experience with them turns out better.
     
    #7 Cris Lombardi, May 12, 2004
  8. afsheen

    afsheen New Member

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    Nobody seemed willing to budge on the sealant and etching, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the other dealerships that automatically add a couple of grand to every Prius. After several phone calls today, I finally got the grand total. Much to my surprise and pleasure, it was within a hundred dollars of the price quoted in January.

    Also, I'm going in tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon to pick it up. Yay!
     
    #8 afsheen, May 12, 2004
  9. Cris Lombardi

    Cris Lombardi New Member

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    hopefully, Hollywood Toyota has changed its ways.. I can't really argue with a dealer that tries to cash in on a hot car. if they're upfront about charging over MSRP, the customer is free to pay the overage or go elsewhere. it was the deceptive sales tactics that I objected to.

    Congrats on getting your new Prius!
     
    #9 Cris Lombardi, May 13, 2004
  10. afsheen

    afsheen New Member

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    I picked up the car a couple of hours ago. If I could, I would sleep in it tonight. I love it. Pictures, etc. later. Now it's time to check out some fuel efficiency tips (I'm getting 35 mpg right now)...
     
    #10 afsheen, May 13, 2004
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