To all those waiting and on lists for a new Prius...

I have a deposit down at two dealerships now. The first one actually sold one out from under me after calling me to say they had a car in that was very close to my deposit configuration. By the time I got there (45 minutes), they had someone else signing papers for it. Supposedly I'm now #1 on their list, but they only got two in their last allocation. I went to a bigger, and hopefully more reputable, dealership and am #6 on their list, and they received 8 last time.

The new allocations come out on the 5th (in 2 days), so I should know by then. I've been driving a rental car, since I sold my old car when the first dealership told me I'd have my Prius in 14 days (that was on May 1st!). Even if I'm assigned a car on Thursday, it could be 2-4 weeks before it arrives, depending on where it is -- Japan, on ship, at the port, etc.

I so hope I love this car!

 

It seems like my dealer is... hm i dont want to say they don't know what they are talking about but something along those lines. I haven't been able to wring out of them anymore details other than I am somewhere on a "list" and the next arrival of cars is in a "few weeks". Not until today was I even able to get them to say there was a list and I wasn't actually ordering anything. The paper I signed had a line about price subject to change. I will raise hell if I do get my car and they want to charge me a grand extra. But the sad thing is not like they won't be missing my business if I pass up a car!

Sucks because I'm not currently in the city where I will be buying the car. If I was I'd walk in there tomorrow and get my salesman to sit down with me for however long it'd take to get to the straight business! Or be able to go to places in person and fill out the paperwork I need to fill out to get my voice out to these other dealers.

Really freaking me out. I'm going to use the search function to find some GOOD stories about people getting exactly what they wanted!

 

Testm0nkey - I don't know how it works there, but in the Southeast region, the allocations happen every 2 weeks. The next ones are June 5 and June 19. The dealership is told how many, and what configurations, they are getting. Then the good ones go down their deposit list and call them one by one to offer the choices (if an exact match doesn't exist).

My "evil" dealership actually helped a little here by showing me the list I was on, so I knew what the configurations ahead of me were. But I really had to press them to find out how many they received in their last allocation. My "good" dealership also shared the dates, and immediately told me how many they got last time, as well as their average over recent months.

If you can, work with the dealerships Internet Sales Manager (most have them). They seem more upfront with information than the hungry guys standing on the lot.

 

We have only been on the waiting list for 1 1/2 weeks and were told it could be 6-12 weeks or sooner depending on what comes in. We are #17 on the list but #3 for the color and package we want. We told the dealer we are open to 3 different colors but want package 3. While at the dealership & giving them the $500 deposit they had just found out that Toyota was increasing their allocation though they did not know by how many. They also told us they get their shipments twice a month. I sent an email today to the dealer asking what they thought the wait time might be now and got this reply; "I wish I could offer something more concrete, however it all depends on what Toyota "builds and sends" our region/our dealership." I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.

 

Last year when I bought my Prius. I took my wife to the dealer to show her the car I wanted and they only had 2 of them on the lot one black and one silver. Both of them had a sign in the front window that said Sold. I told the salesman that I wanted to buy, but my wife wanted to test drive one first. He goes and gets the keys takes the Sold sign off the rear view mirror of the black one and we go for a ride. We get back to the lot and he goes so what do you guys think and I said when are you getting more in and he goes which one do you want the black or the silver. I almost took that Black one but I really wanted Magnetic gray so I made them "order it". I called my salesman every other day to get the status and got mine about 9 or 10 days after I dropped my $500. I knew I officially had it when the salesman told me that they added my name to the sales of the month wall.

 

I think there must be a wide variation in dealer policy, based on the stories I've read here. Some dealers are more ethical than others. My dealer took a $500 deposit. I said package 2. We settled on a price (the Toyota list price)--signed bill of sale. I was not fussy about color (have had them all anyways), but wanted gray interior. He called the next day, and said he would have a pkg 2 green with gray for me in two weeks. He was correct to the day. I picked the car up for the agreed sticker price. No padding and no politics. There are good dealerships out there.

 

Around here one the local dealers told me they have 43 people on their list and expect a 4 month wait. But they're not gouging over MSRP as far as I can tell.

 

Since I'm accepting a wide range of packages we haven't been specific about price, but when I called to extend from a 2 to a 2 or a 6 the dealer said something like "we're talking about 28k then" (this was just after the price hike) so I think my dealer is sticking to MSRP.

 

I have to say that we ordered a Prius in Jan or Feb of '06.. told them what color and package we wanted. We knew we would have to wait until at least May since they weren't making Magnetic Gray available until then. May 31st we got the exact car we ordered. We paid just under MSRP for it even though we were very specific about what we wanted.

 

Im with the OP here...i went to buy a package 2 prius i knew was on the lot (as of 7am that day) that i had a great quote for (73 over invoice) on april 29, and when i showed up (about 4pm) it was gone (why didnt i put a deposit down over the phone? because im an idiot). Anyways, they put me on the wait list for the quoted price (took some walking out to get that to happen) with a refundable (in bold type) $500 deposit. (I think MA has some laws that these deposits have to be refunded if no car is delivered or something)

They couldnt tell me when it would come, or even when they would know it would come, and I didnt trust them. So i called 9 dealers the next guy, found the car i wanted, color, package, etc on a lot nearby (they had 3 priuses total, the other 2 also sold that same day), and they were willing to match the 73 over invoice price. So I got that car (did put a deposit over the phone on this one and went immediately over), and made the other dealer send me my deposit check back in the mail, which they did, and which i promptly tore up.

 

I walked into the Toyota dealer on Front in Toronto last Monday and put a $1000 deposit on my Prius (I picked the color and paid the retail price from Toyota.ca, I don't think they haggle on this car). The salesman said, "Is Friday too early for you?" I picked it up on Friday afternoon and polished it on Saturday. I asked him about the waiting lists that I read about online - he said his dealership sells more of the Prius than any dealership in Canada, and Toyota rewards them with a steady stream of cars.

One other thing, the Prius is quite a bit cheaper in the US compared to Canada (compare prices on toyota.com and toyota.ca and covert dollar for dollar). Maybe Toyota is sending most of the cars up here to increase their profit margin. I think there is quite a demand up here as well because the federal tax rebate will end in December 08.

 

I am also on the list in MD. The sales manager told me that any new additions to the wait list are now waiting on a 2009...their wait list is much longer than their remaining 2008 allocation.

 

I am also in Maryland. Which dealer have you been talking to? My lease on my current car ends in December anf I am trying to figure out the best time to get on the list so i am not without a car.

 

Just got the call we've been waiting for! Ordered the greenish color (too excited to remember the exact name) Package #2 on May 17th and was told the first two weeks of Aug. to expect delivery. Dealer just called and said that they have a VIN # for us and would we accept our second choice (light bluish color)? Well...Hell Yeah! It will be here in 2 weeks and I cannot wait because I've been driving in 100 degree heat with no AC.

 

Don't give up hope. We "ordered" ours on April 12 and received it on May 14. We got EXACTLY what we wanted...except the all weather floor mats....no biggie....and are completely thrilled with the car! We've put 1800 miles on it, averaging 49.2 mpg so far and increasing every day as we learn how to drive it. The wait was horrible, I must admit, but totally worth it!! The dealer had originally told us 2-3 months, and it was only 1 month so don't get too impatient. We had already called around in a three state area looking to get a Prius from another dealer, and couldn't find what we wanted. We did find a dealer willing to sell us their demo vehicle, but they wanted the same price as a new one and it had 5,000 miles on it. We chose to wait, and our dealer did come through for us.
Good luck with the wait!

 

I placed my name on a list at SANTA MONICA TOYOTA.

let's see how long it takes me to get my 2nd prius. i'll keep you all posted.
this is my 2nd prius from the same dealer. let's see..........................wish me luck!!

 

When I knew I was going to get a Prius and saw all the waiting list problems I tried to be the guy that walks in and tries to buy the car on the spot. I tried hard to buy a Prius on the spot. The dealership told me that they didn't do business that way. So I put my $500 deposit on a car and went on the waiting list. The dealership never cashed my deposit check so I really wasn't sure if we had a deal or not. After 4.5 weeks of waiting my car came in just as I ordered it. I saw it an hour ago and will pick it up tomorrow. Green mica touring with package 6. I am so damn excited!

Oakbrook Toyota

 

There are alot of cars availible in the Southeast. They just updated the webpage today. most are due in mid to late June. Good Luck!