[SYNCMASTER]

I read recently on the internet that dealerships don't really order a car that you want to buy, and toyota corp does not take special orders. Instead, toyota corp just mass produces cars and ships them to dealerships and the dealerships have to deal with other dealerships for a specific color and package.

Does anyone have info on this subject?

 

[MRMOTH1]

The Salesman at Gale Toyota in Enfield CT. said the same thing to me.
As I said in another thread, He told me that if anyone said they were ordering one for me, they were lying. Take it for what it's worth. Tracey in Wisconsin , a very reputable consultant, says he can.

 

[orbops]

The various dealerships in the Phoenix area that I called all told me the same thing. You can't special order your car from Toyota, they just get an allotment of cars from Toyota, and then they look at the waiting list to see if its the package that you requested.

 

[LouieNet]

"order" a car

I'd imagine that for some salespeople, the term "order" is used very loosely.

Louie

 

[paprius4030]

I also think it depends how good your dealer/salesperson is. I wanted a sliver pkg#2 period. Salesman told me he had a white one like that coming on the ship and that he was sure he could trade with another dealer for silver. Sure enough I had my silver Prius in 2 weeks. No fuss no muss LOL

 

[jeromep]

Ok, synchmaster, part of that is correct and part of it is incorrect.

Correct: Toyota does not take custom orders for the vehicle. For MY 2005, there are 6 packages and a number of different interior/exterior color combinations. Toyota uses an algorythm to determine the combinations of option packages and colors they are going to manufacture.

The statement that Toyota dealers are just waiting for vehicles to come in, and they have no ability to get you what you want is incorrect.

The correct answer: Some dealers are motiviated to get on their allocation the vehicle you want. You tell them the package and color and they look for it on other dealer lots, in port, in transit, in manufacture or pre-manufacture and then they request that vehicle to be in their allocation or they do a dealer trade.

So long as you make sure you are not trying to get options ala carte you should be able to get your dealer to manipulate their allocation so you get your exact vehicle. BTW, you cannot get individual options ala carte, you are limited to the packages themselves.

So, simply put, your dealer can get the exact vehicle you want, and get it on their allocation right now if they are motivated.

If you are dealing with a dealer right now, you need to let them know you know this fact. If they deny it, find a different dealer who will play ball with you. Depending on where you live, I could direct you to a dealer who will play ball.

 

[Emilyjohn]

The explanation we were given last March was that Toyota allots specific colors and packages and amounts of Prii to specific dealers and areas of the country. If you want a car that has a color and a package that is not alloted to your dealer location, the dealer has to work and search to get that car. We ordered a white/package #4 that our dealer was not alloted. We waited for 3 months, and our dealer was able to divert our car from another dealer in another area of the country; because the Prius we ordered had not been sold or ordered, just alloted to another dealer.

 

[DanMan32]

Think of the dealers more as brokers. You put an order in to your broker, he sees what he can get. I am sure though that there has to be some sort of 'ordering' that determines what dealer/region gets, but it is probably determined in bulk, not individually, probably most of the decision done at the region level.