I would like to know how long dealers are telling people it will take to get one.

I have one guy telling me 8 weeks, and another dealer in the same city saying 6 months. That difference is a deal breaker for me.

What are dealers telling you?

 

I purchased mine last Wednesday after getting a surprise call from the salesman that one came in unexpectedly and was available and he was told to sell it. There was a waiting list but I had just been there a few days before talking to him about the TCH - so he had my name and phone number handy. I got lucky and got the first one off the lot

I suggest if you really want the TCH in the shortest amount of time that you call the salesman regularly and stay in touch.

Randy

 

Most dealers are saying two months or so, but it varies, especially since each salesman has their own list. Ugh. That said, I could have bought a TCH already (in fact I had a few opportunities to) if I wanted leather & moonroof, but I don't, so I turned it down. Still waiting for a base model, which are not nearly as common as leather+moonroof.

It varies. Oh, and this is in southern California, a hybrid hot-spot.

And just because one dealer says 6 months doesn't mean the other one is lying. Dealers that sell alot of cars get alot of cars, so the wait is often shorter with them, though of course this depends on how many people are on the waiting list for the TCH. For instance there's a mega-huge LA dealer called Longo Toyota, allegedly the largest Toyota dealer the entire U.S., and they're getting 25 TCH per month according to them, but a month ago their waiting list was 100+ people! So it would be a long wait at that place.

 

xoham, I found the same thing. It is funny, actually. One person in the same phone call telling me that it would take two months to get down the waiting list said that in one week they would have teh exact option package I was interested in if I wanted to buy it today. Two months, one week, what?

My sense of what is happening is that there is a high demand and that it is being used to accelerate a sense of urgency in these buying environments.

 

I am having serious doubts that each dealer is being honest.

One dealer was telling me he had 25 people on a waiting list and he would get 3-5 cars a month. That seems to have been the straightest answer I received.

Another guy said he didn't know what he was going to get but that he would get them as soon as the end of this week or maybe next week. How could he not know the color, number, option packages? How could he not have his own waiting list?

Seems to me it makes no sense to be dishonest here because the cars are pre-selling themselves. Better to set real expectations so you end up with satisfied customers. But then again I am not a salesperson or marketeer.

 

xoham, I have physically driven a Barcelona Red Camry Hybrid with leather and moonroof that I could have bought right then. Yet many other dealers had long waiting lists. Simply put, some dealers have the cars available and others do not, and it's in your best interest to shop around!

 

The dealer got it in late yesterday. I took a test drive at 10 A.M. today. And drove home with it at 2 P.M.

It was the only dealer to get one in the area. But I got tipped off thru the dealers internet person, who I had been emailing for a few weeks. When she heard it was coming in she called me, so I had 1st shot this morning.

 

Please post reviews folks. Those of us who have been unable to get a drive yet would really appreciate all of your perspectives. I know pricing and financing are personal discretions but the more information you can provide about your own purchase decisions would be appreciated.

Personally, I am trying to read the demand right now. I am trying to get a picture of whether it stands a chance of softening in the next 2-3 months so I could wait and actually purchase below the inflated MSRP. Today, I could get the car I want in a week since every dealer seems to be selling at MSRP but if I wait and demand skyrockets then I could be out 3 months.

 

To get a better answer, I called around and asked for the new car sales managers.

One replied with the color, options, price, and date within a one week window. I may well buy the one car he is getting.

This also worked well when I was shopping at Honda for the Civic Hybrid. The sales manager knew everything about inventory and time.

Given that the Prius still has a waiting list on the order of months to a year, I have serious doubts that prices will fall below MSRP anytime soon. If you can wait, though, I think you should wait as long as you can. My car is about to fail for the last time so I really can't wait.

 

Full MSRP on a LOADED car. I wanted a fully loaded car anyway, so it didn't bother me. But it had everything on the option list. And I suspect most of the cars will come that way intially. Mine had Nav system, full leather, moonroof, heated seats and outside mirrors, satellite radio, mats, cargo net, etc.

And the demand is high. A guy in the next cubicle was complaining because he was on a waiting list(I wasn't), and when he heard I got the 1st one in the area, he was chewing on his salesman big time. And the dealer couldn't tell him when the next one was coming in.

So far I have put just over a 100 miles on it and am averaging about 35 MPG in mixed suburban/highway driving.

As far as the car itself. It is quiet, handles pretty well(wanders a tiny bit in the lane at 70 mph), and the seats are comfortable. The sight lines out the rear are a bit constrained, so you have to use those mirrors extensively or really twist in your seat to check blind spots.

The car accelerates VERY well. 0 to 60 in less than 8 secs, which I consider very acceptable. You won't have to be worried at the bottom of the on ramp merging into highway access. And I don't see any hesitation whatsoever when pulling away from a stop sign.

And I haven't read the 300 something page NAV system manual yet, but I got the basics down pat in about 15 mins. It doesn't seem overly complicated and it provided useful voice prompts turn by turn going home from the dealer.

So far, I really like it. I'll have to drive it for a few weeks before I see if anything bugs me about the car.