[roburr]

I emailed Toyota dealers in my state (Oregon) asking to be put on the list for a 2004 Prius and received only one response. The dealer said that they had been told by Toyota to stop taking names as the total allocation for 2004 has been spoken for and there would be no more available until the 2005 version comes out at some as yet to be determined date . Has anyone had a similar experience or is this a local or regional thing? I'm still hopeful, and willing to be patient to some degree, but 2005 seems a long way off and I'd hate to see Toyota take advantage of the popularity and raise the price for the 2005.

 

[Joel]

This is also the case for Gulf States Toyota region as well. It appears as though everyone underestimated the sales of the new Prius. Many of my colleagues have said that they will get the new hybrid Highlander that is coming out in the spring, instead of waiting on the Prius list.

I emailed Toyota dealers in my state (Oregon) asking to be put on the list for a 2004 Prius and received only one response. The dealer said that they had been told by Toyota to stop taking names as the total allocation for 2004 has been spoken for and there would be no more available until the 2005 version comes out at some as yet to be determined date . Has anyone had a similar experience or is this a local or regional thing? I'm still hopeful, and willing to be patient to some degree, but 2005 seems a long way off and I'd hate to see Toyota take advantage of the popularity and raise the price for the 2005.

 

[whatshisname]

Hi Roburr! One has to be careful dealing with dealers. Everything they say, or don't say, is entirely self-serving; that's the only way they can stay in business. All you need do is ask yourself what would you do under similar circumstances. Make a model change and undergo expensive assembly line adjustments simply because the calendar said so? I don't think so. I say Toyota will keep turning them out as they are until they get caught up. When October rolls around again this year, they'll simply start calling them 05s. Bet on it!

 

[Fredo]

You could check with a few dealers and find out when they get notification of their allotments, and call them a day or 2 later. I've heard here in St. Lous that if you didn't get on the list by January, you'd have to wait for the 05's. But, if anyone turns down their car when it arrives, the dealer will call down their list. If no one takes it, it's available to anyone who walks in.

Also call any dealers you would be willing to travel to to pick up a car. There are a lot of posts from people that got their cars by calling orwalking in at the right time.

 

[Sev]

Availability

Our original foray into the Prius was on Jan 13, 2004, when we drove a 2004 at a dealer here in San Diego. We put a deposit on it immediately and were put one their list (estimated time to wait 3-4 months). Subsequently got on three more lists by going through CarsDirect, Costco and calling (all without a deposit and with estimates of 3-6 months). I then called every Toyota dealer in Southern and Central California, western Arizona and Southwestern Nevada. Many had cars available immediately in models #3, #6 and #9 in most colors though they wanted $2000 to $5000 premium payments over MSRP. I passed on all those. Dealers in smaller towns had very short (if any) waiting lists and were willing to contact me if they got a car. Today, Feb 7, we picked up our Millenium Silver 2004 with package #3 at MSRP with no extra charge from Rogers & Rogers Toyota in Imperial, CA, just a two hour ride from home in San Diego. Great dealer, no hassle, and they are willing to order more for others if you contact them...no waiting list as of now and more cars are on the way. Contact Jerry or Richard at 760-353-9300 and tell them Sev sent you. Work at it and you too can get this fabulous car soon!

 

[satchm0]

I've heard here in St. Lous that if you didn't get on the list by January, you'd have to wait for the 05's.

I ordered mine on January 31. However, there was only 1 dealer of the 6 I spoke to that said they would no longer take any more orders. It was the same dealer that had no test drive vehicle AND was charging $2100 over MSRP. Good way to lose business, if you ask me. Funny, this is the newest dealer in town, too! I won't mention any names, but they are in "west county". *cough - jay wolfe - cough*

Several of the dealers that I am still in contact with are still taking orders, BTW.

 

[rocketman7]

I talked to my sales consultant yesterday and he told me I'm still not on the 'tick' yet (the 'tick' as he described, shows when their cars will be coming in and has about an eight week look).

He said the people getting theirs now placed orders in October. I 'ordered' mine in early December. Bummer. It could be May before I'm driving one.

 

[satchm0]

I find it hard to believe that they would stop taking orders this early in the year. Toyota is planning on producing/selling 48,000 vehicles in 2004. I can't imagine they have already sold or taken orders for 48,000 cars.

I believe this is a U.S. number, not an international number. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

 

[mrv]

I find it hard to believe that they would stop taking orders this early in the year. Toyota is planning on producing/selling 48,000 vehicles in 2004. I can't imagine they have already sold or taken orders for 48,000 cars.

I believe this is a U.S. number, not an international number. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Assuming that only 2004 Prius were
sold by US dealers in these months:
mon yr sales cYTD
Jan 04 2,925 2,925
Dec 03 4,025 24,627
Nov 03 5,584 20,602
Oct 03 4,085 15,018
(The 2004 Prius only became available
in the US in mid-October 2003.)
16619 2004 Prius have been sold so
far in the US over 4 months of that 2004
year. Assuming sales continue at
that pace, that's 49,857 Prius in a
year. Pretty much the only limiter
is how many Prius that Toyota can deliver.

 

[kmbell]

My advice is to contact Toyota corporate to find out the current scoop. I went on the waiting list on November 19 and got a lot of confusing stories from my salesperson. She was also getting the confusing stories and gave me a corporate number to call. I made the call on January 12 and was told at that time that Toyota had just upped their production estimates for the USA from 37,000 to 49,000 and that there were some dealers that had stopped taking orders. But I took delivery of the car last Saturday (Valentine's Day!), and at that time my salesperson told me that she is still accepting orders. The dealer I purchased from does not accept deposits (and never has) because they can't guarantee delivery of the vehicle. It was a frustrating experience but worth the wait for me, and I did pay exactly MSRP. I don't know the outlook for people that are just now making the buy / order decision, but if you can find a dealer that will put you on a list with no deposit or obligation, then you don't have much to lose. My dealer says they are getting order requests at the rate of 4-5 per day, and I live in Northern California. I don't know how many people end up purchasing a different vehicle, but I would have to assume that number is quite large.