My experiences
It's kind of hard to be critical of dealers when you're high up
on the waiting list and don't want to give them any reason to
'forget' you. Now that I've gotten my car (#7 silver), I can
speak freely about the experience.
I bought the car at Toyota of Stevens Creek (north-west
San Jose on the Santa Clara border). On the whole I would
rate my experience as positive, but not without issues.
The Price: The price was MSRP plus about $500 in dealer prep,
plus 184 for floor mats. I probably could have gotten rid of
the mats, but after hearing about some of the deals going on
on this list, I was quite happy to get it at an honest (and quoted)
price.
The Wait: Well, I put my $500 deposit down on Dec. 23. My
original sales person (who quickly vanished and didn't know
the car at all) suggested a wait of 45 days, but when the 'expert'
came over they moved it to 120 days: "Under-promise and Over-
deliver". At that time they told me that the silver #9 was the most
popular package and would have the longest wait. I chose four
colors and #7 which had the safety features I wanted.
Thirty days later, I called to see what was up. My saleperson was
gone, so I started working with the sales manager. At this point
they had no clue and didn't commit to anything.
Sixty days later, I called again. I got the same story. I told them
I'd take a package #9 if that came in.
Ninety days later in mid March, I called again. No idea, but when I
reminded them of my expanded choice they said they expected a
silver #9 in April.
When April came around I called weekly. They still had no idea when
the cars would arrive. They finally called me to tell me when the car
was expected to hit the Port of Los Angeles.
Finally, on April 30th, when these cars were imminent, they called
to say they had a silver #7 available and I snapped it up.
Here's my speculation about what's going on. The dealers really have
very little idea on what they will receive and when until the truck pulls
up. This leaves them stuck in between Toyota's inconsistant delivery
schedule and customers who demand a schedule. (Things like online
UPS/Fedex tracking have really made consumers demanding). Some
dealers are obviously just giving up on customer satisfaction and
dumping the things at a jacked-up price as soon as they show up.
Others are keeping meticulous waitinig lists with consistant rules
and keeping their customers informed. My feeling was that this
dealer was trying to do the right thing for the customers, but wasn't
managing their waiting list very well.
When I picked my car up, I was told the current waiting period
was six months for their list.
My main advice for people trying to get a car is to make their choice
of colors and packages as large as they can tolerate. (My particular
concern was the safety package included only on #7 and #9). If you
need that special color, be prepared to wait a very long time or pay a
premium.
I'd buy another car from them mostly because they didn't play games
with the price. I'm sure they didn't have much control on the wait,
even though they could better manage their waiting list.
