I think my dealer is telling me a bunch of bull. Hopefully someone out here can set me straight. On July 6, 2009 I put a $1,000 deposit down on a 2010 Prius IV with the Solar Roof package in Ft. Myers FL. My sales rep said she would call me almost on a weekly basis updating me on the status of my order. Since they are the largest Prius seller in Southwest FL they would be the first to get any SRs allocated to them in the area and I should expect a 6-8 week delivery time. It's now approaching week 9 and the storytelling started 3 weeks ago. While I was on vacation in MN I called to check up on the status of my Prius since I knew they had at least one allocation since we had last talked. This is when I was told that parts for the SR are in short supply and Toyota told them not to take any more orders as they didn't know if they could fill the orders that has already been taken. OUCH! But she reassured me that Toyota then said that they would work with the dealer to fill the orders that they had already taken. Then last week she called with the allocation update and gave me the story that the problem is that there is a defect in the Sun/moon roof and that they had stopped production on the package. Folks...this smells fishy to me. I'm a female and this is the first car purchase I have done on my own so I'm trying to do all the research I can to ensure that I'm not shafted on the deal. Can anyone confirm or deny the "storyies" my dealer is giving me?
Googling finds a few stories about the SR being in short supply. Be patient. Do you have a written purchase agreement stating the price?
I'm not sure what the defect might be? Our sunroof is opened almost daily and the solar fan has been running daily. We have driven in a couple of very bad rain storms and it has been sitting in a few too and nothing has leaked. I think the dealer is making excuses for some reason.
Dianne at Manhattan Beach Toyota, CA, has a lot of stock/coming Prius with the sunroof option. http://priuschat.com/forums/dealers-pricing/68289-diannes-early-mid-september-allocation.html Ken@Japan
Yes, I have a purchase agreement that states the price of the car I'm buying, all the options we agreed to and the price they are going to give me for my car. The problem I'm going to run into is that they wanted no more than 78,000 miles on my car and I'm almost there with no new car in sight. What I'm afraid of happening is that by the time my Prius comes, they won't give me the money I need for my car to finish the deal. If I get less for my trade-in I can't afford the new car. Thank you for the post.
Thank you for the feedback. I haven't been able to find any data suggesting that there are defects with the package. I'm glad you are enjoying your sunroof option. Can't wait until I get mine.
Toyota has admitted to underestimating demand and having problems meeting demand. But I have heard nothing about this having to do with anything but a supply issue. No defects. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Yup. Dealer wants to sell you a car they have. Understandable. My sales person tried pretty hard to convince me that silver (which they had in stock) was the right color for me, not Blizzard Pearl.
My dealer hasn't tried to sell me anything else yet. Just offers to give me my deposit back if I'm tired of waiting. My parents are coming to visit in mid October. I think my dad and I will pay a visit to the dealer if the situation is still at "your build hasn't been allocated to us yet". At that point I will have been waiting 16 weeks for the car.
Alluraromel, I am thinking it is just short supply to meet the demand. I can find no information about any defects, unless the Factory may have had a bad batch for installation, and they delayed the build side?? That could maybe be the case?? But I was waiting for an allocation for 2010-V, and they told me anywhere from 8-16 weeks as a estimate, and the car arrived in 10 weeks to the port and then to the dealer a week later. So keep calling and keep praying and it will come I think, just a demand issue....in my opinion.
Dealers are telling all sorts of stories about the solar roof because they just can't get them. If you can afford to do so, I would put a deposit down at a couple of other dealers, too. Keep looking around and be prepared to go a little further.
