12-18 month waiting list?

There is this graphic on Toyota USA's Prius page (

):"Thank you for your interest in the 2004 Prius. Currently, dealersare experiencing a temporary shortage of Prius vehicles. Click herefor more"

and that graphical link brings you to (

):"If you are in the market for a new 2004 Prius, we appreciate yourpatience. There is currently a waiting list at many dealerships acrossthe country. Since the vehicle launched in October of 2003, there hasbeen an extremely high demand for the 2004 Prius with Hybrid SynergyDrive. Toyota is making every effort to increase production to try andrespond to the current high levels of demand. We'd like to thank youfor your patience. For more information about the Prius inventorysituation in your area, please visit your local dealer. "

However, I suggest calling to different dealers not just in your area, but wherever you're willing to go to get a Prius. There are some rare dealerships that are getting in cars, and have no/little waiting list. Some other dealerships just sell to the highest bidder, waiting list or no. Some dealerships have a waiting list per salesperson, as opposed to one waiting list for the entire dealership.

Either be persistent looking around, or be willing to wait, or be willing to pay an "availability surcharge" over MSRP to get a Prius today.

Michelle knows her stuff. I contracted to buy a Prius on Nov 17, 2003 and it was just delivered last Saturday, and not even the color I wanted. Now, due to the positive reviews and awards which generated a lot of interest and buy orders, many ordering today may end up having to get a 2006.

So you can learn from my mistakes, I did the process wrong...my first mistake was putting a non-refundable deposit down at the dealer who sold the most older style Priuses in the area, figuring that that dealer would get a larger allotment. Most medium and larger dealers are only getting 1 to 2 a month. Nowadays since dealers can't guarantee delivery, they shouldn't take deposits. Second mistake was not putting my name on more waiting lists at other dealers that didn't require deposits. At smaller dealers I entered the list in single digits and was offered Priuses in color/packages I didn't want as short as 3 months later. One small dealer in Virginia offered me a #4 Salsa as a walk-in. Another dealer in NC got a Prius although they weren't even expecting any, so it also sold to a walk-in. As the Lexus R400H and Highlander hybrids hit the market, the waiting lists should end for the Prius, since those other models will probably be in higher demand. I'm already #3 on a Highlander waiting list.

Good luck, Bill Black #9 2004 and Ice Blue 2001

Absolutely! At my local dealer, I moved up about ten places in about three months, and currently 38th (as of four or five days ago). I got on the list at a dealer about five to seven hours away in early May, and I'll be picking up a Prius there in three or four days.

Another of the local dealers won't take any more orders; they're more than a year back ordered, and until they get list down to about six months or so, they won't add anyone else to the list.

But perhaps in demand from a different demographic. I don't want one of them because I don't want an SUV of any type--and besides, they won't get nearly the same mileage as the Prius does.

-- the other Michelle

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 20:41:49 GMT, "Bill McCalla" put together some random words that came up with:

I don't believe so. They are different market segments, and the SUVs won't get nearly as good gas milage as the Prius. On the SUVs, they are EPA rated around

33-35 mpg (as per Lexus' and Toyota's web sites), and probably won't hit more than 25mpg. Those two puppies are heavy, and with the big battery, they will be even heavier. As a comparison, my Nissan Murano (which is wider and higher then the Lexus RX) gets 20mpg in a city/highway mix.

I had the option of waiting for the Lexus or the Highlander, and opted for an '04 Prius for that reason.

The problem here is that the Highlander with the 4 cylinder engine (if you can get them) will get around 27 mpg. When I went shopping for a Highlander early on, you couldn't get the 4 because the dealers couldn't make enough profit on them, ordering one would take a long while, and they didn't come with the options that the 6 cyl Highlander came with.

Steve in Miami Seaside Pearl #7

Fascinating info...thanks. I'm glad to see such interest in the Prius to be honest because it means people are interested in doing "something" to try to save resources, which may mean that that's profitable (who knew), which may mean that we'll see more of these cars.

At any rate, this makes me want to consider an Insight or a Civic hybrid because they don't have the waiting list- unfortunately, they're also not as hip. Thanks for the pointers...

Pete

The Insight is a two seater; that is a major consideration. The Civic doesn't get the gas mileage that the Prius gets. Neither of them has all the modern features that the Prius has; that may be a consideration.

But I guess that in your situation, availability is one of the prevailing considerations.

-- Michelle

I've found Toyota to be pretty honest wrt availability of their models. I'm not in the market for a new Prius because I'm so in love with my

Sounds like a load of crap, but I'm not in that market...here in Northern California, the list is holding at about 6 months...we're currently filling orders that were placed in February and March. About 90% of those who have placed deposits have been patient enough to wait out the delivery process.

As has already been suggested, continue searching...and good luck!

Mike C

I placed an order with Michael Toyota in early May, and took delivery on July 22nd.

I was actually about 12th on the list, but the people in front of me

were waiting for the 2005 model did not want a silver model and/or did not want package 9

So I got a 2004 silver Prius with package 9

Not surprising. The Prius is one of the hottest, most popular cars available, and unless gas goes to $20 a barrel, won't stop being popular. My wife and I started the purchase process in September 2003 and took delivery two months later. This was before the write-ups and before $2 per gallon gasoline.

Kevin

Locally (N.W. Iowa) they were telling us two years - they actually weren't even interested in talking to us about the Prius.

We have a daughter in Colorado who thought she could get us one there. We paid the thousand dollar deposit in June and picked up our #7 Driftwood Pearl two weeks ago.

Believe me, the two month wait was more than worth it!

Don't expect to have any success trying to get a deal. There are no deals. You'll pay sticker price and you'll take the option package and color that they offer you. At least that's the way it was for us.

We've driven it from Colorado to Chicago to Minneapolis and back home. SWEET RIDE!

Larry Morphew

I don't mean to brag but ...... I stopped in to my local Toyota dealership Friday night around 6:30. Took the 2004 Prius for a test drive of 30 minutes. Sat down with the salesman worked up a very good price on the Prius and a very good trade in for my 2003 Honda Accord. Came back Saturday night around 5 and picked up my new car.

What waiting list are all of you talking about?

Alan p.s. This car had 5 miles on it and is the Tideland Pearl color with the #4 package.

You're the luckiest guy in USA. I ordered a Prius from Rockland Toyota NY back in April. They called me in August to confirm order details. The car

came in two weeks later. THEN THEY SAID I HAD TO PAY EXTRA $3000. OVER MSRP to pickup car.

I refused. They then sold my car to someone else. I"m back on the waiting list--they said DEC 05 at earliest.

THEY ARE VERY VERY GREEDY!!! I'M PISSED OFF!!!! Are all Toyota dealers greedy pig bastards????

Aaron Klein

Did you get a written order with a price on it when you got on the list? If so, they have to honor that price.

No. Most of them sell at MSRP. Shop around, especially at dealerships in smaller cities and towns.

YES,

I ordered the car in April. First they tried to make me sign a contract for 2000 over msrp. I refused and the salesman came back with a contract for msrp only, which I signed.

then they pull the 3000 over when the car arrives!!!

I'M STILL VERY PISSED OFF!!!

Aaron

So sue. You appear to have a cast-iron breach of contract there. Assuming you are American, I'm surprised you aren't in court already ;-)

Jerry

I ordered the car in April. First they tried to make me sign a contract for 2000 over msrp. I refused and the salesman came back with a contract for msrp only, which I signed.

then they pull the 3000 over when the car arrives!!!

I'M STILL VERY PISSED OFF!!!

Well, it is pretty normal, it seems, for mysterious charges to appear at a dealership. After all, their job is to get as much cash out of you as possible for the minimal investment in time and materials. However, perhaps you should read the contract carefully (and pay attention to those TINY words at the end). I suspect that you will find, somewhere in there, a clause that allows them to charge expedite fees or something like that...and THAT is the $3k "extra" you were talking about. Now...while IANAL if the contract was a solid offer for the MSRP, and does not allow for "dealer Prep" and other fees, then, it is perhaps worthwhile to take them to court. Just remember...they have been doing this a LOT longer than you have, so I suspect that, unless they are massively stupid, there are a number of clauses in the contract's fine print that allow them to pump up the size of the final check you have to write them. That is, alas, pretty much the way reality is these days. Regards Dave Mundt

Then you have a genuine legal claim against them; you can force them to honor their contract.

I'd suggest that you get in touch with a newspaper or TV stations consumer help line. I'm sure that the dealer doesn't want the adverse publicity that your claim would cause.