2006 Prius Orders

[llyons]

My husband and I put down $500 at a local dealership that claims that it is not possible to order a Toyota but that they will search for what we are looking for and let us know when they find it. The good news here is that the money is fully refundable.

We are in the market for a 2006 Toyota Prius Classic Silver Metallic with package #8.

A few weeks back I contacted another dealership that is a few hours away and there they told us that we could order our vehicle the way we wanted it and have been put on the list. According to the salesman, he won't take money from us until he has specs. He told us we were number 57 on the list. At this dealership the $500 is non-refundable.

Both dealerships sound a bit fishy. For one, I'm not sure if I'm getting the truth from the first local dealership when it comes to ordering. Secondly, the fact that the other dealership won't take money from us yet and claim that they will be able to order my vehicle the way I'd like, doesn't seem very assuring either since they won't take a deposit yet and haven't gotten back to us with specs.

Might anyone know accurate information on sales and ordering? Any suggestions on what we should look out for?

TIA

[Tideland Prius]

US's ordering system is weird. Here in Canada, I walked into the showroom, ordered my car and placed a deposit of a minimum of $50 (I think we placed a few hundred). Then our order gets sent to Toyota Canada who then orders the car for us. After 3 weeks, my salesman said my car was built and was on a ship to Canada. After 1 month and 10 days, we picked it up!

Anyway, back to the states.

Umm, from what I gather from PriusChat, some dealers put you on the list and whenever a car comes in, they give it to the first person on the list with that specification. (Hence ordering silver like you did gives you a better chance than ordering... say white).

[Prius1]

My dealer took my $200 refundable deposit and signed off on the order/deposit slip to not deliver the car prior to 1/1/06 so that I was certain to get the tax credit. Time will tell.

[TbombsGen3]

I am an Internet Sales Manager in Florida. We can't really "order" vehicles, only have somewhat of a say in what gets "allocated". If you have something specific then I have to find who has it and see if they will swap with me. As for 2006 models, they haven't even given us one iota of info, other than the new color changes. So wheb you talk about package 8's, I have no clue what that is. Must be a SET thing. But the process is usually to give a deposit (refundable) then I get the car, ASAP.

By the way, anyone interested in pack 1 05's I have a couple on the way in the next 2 weeks. Be available Nov 1st and 3rd.

[isaiah58]

very interesting posts. Dealers set their deposit requirements. most state laws do not allow a dealer to keep your deposit, they can not make you waive your rights - any dealer telling you a deposit is not refundable is NOT worth talking to.

It is true, the 2006 Prius has not been allocated yet, pending "orders" can not be processed yet.

The Prius is preferenced, not ordered. Each dealer has a allocation that varies based on their prior sales and other factors. Some dealers may get 20+ Prius vehicles a month, others just one or two. The smart dealers submit their customers "orders" into the preference database. The local distributor (CAT for my region) then goes through a lottery type system and as each dealers next slot comes up they match their pending orders as best as possible.

Dealers that just take lists do not reserve your position. They take the buyers that were willing to pay the most and contact them first as vehicles come in. So, someone that comes in January 15th and is willing to pay over MSRP will get their vehicle faster than someone on the list 3 months that asked for $500 below MSRP.

Best to find a dealer that is submitting your order as a "preference" based on the date you placed the order, as long as you are comfortable with their price.