Gathered Prius Borgs, Sam P., Gary E. & John M. --- Sad to have to say, that my
experience in trying to acquire a Barcelona Red, 2010 Prius III w/ Nav for cash
money, matches Sam*s, not my nearby neighbor Gary. Since I do not want to buy
from an auto broker, John*s approach to a work-around using a broker is a
non-starter for me.

I want Toyota, via their local dealer located just 15 minutes away over on the
mainland side of the Intercoastal Waterway, to serve Repeat-Customer-Me me up
with a *Fair Deal,* not me $$$erve them the contents of our Family Lock-Box.
They need to work to `Earn My Business,' their repeat Prius customer, not the
other way around.

The Golden Rule in the business world of ole Watashi Wa is, *He Who Has The
Gold, Makes The Rules.*

Unlike Sam, I AM NOT `…willing to travel if necessary to get it (i.e. a 2010
Prius).' If I were to dole out the $5,000 dealer profit bonus add-on plus
$1,000s in SET Port Installed after-market, non-OEM low-profile wheels-tires,
floor/cargo area mats, rear bumper protector, et al., it would be like I was
agreeing to let Toyota, SET, and our local dealers *Gang Mug* me.

Buying from a broker may cut out the dealer and dealer hassles, to some extent,
but it still serves up Green Backs of unreasonable added profit to SET Regional
and Old Man Toyota & Company.

In essence, using an auto broker is just rewarding bad actors up the line. Going
along with, and acquiescing to SET Regional and Toyota Corporate for their
participating in and/or placing a blind eye on the whole pseudo-nefarious,
RICO-esque Toyota Corporation HQ-Regional Distributor Network-Local Dealer Prius
Car Sales Scheme, is not only wrong, it is dumb.

I like the Prius, but refuse to join their *I Gotta Hab One At Any Price* Kool
Aid Drinking Cult. I will not Assume The Position, and let SET Regional, in
league with the local dealers here on the Space Coast, engage in *Now Ya See It.
Now Ya Dont* games, and play fast-and-loose with interested 2010 Prius buyer,
moi, trying to run rampant with the contents of my Global Recession impacted
wallet.

Reports that `2010 Priuses are flying out the door, and are as scarce as hens
teeth' is a myth. At least it is a myth based on what I can tell, and judge, by
what I see happening on the dealer's lots here in my neck of the woods.

My local Toyota dealer has been `getting me a Barcelona Red, 2010 Prius III w/
Nav' since the second week in June. They got a Blue Ribbon 2010 Prius III w/ Nav
in about a three weeks ago, and called me in to take a Test Drive (i.e. the ole
Car Fever Generating Maneuver).

They had a sucker sticker on that Blue Ribbon puppy of $32, 575 --- What A
Steal! Buy two, they are cheap.

That Trans-ocean Blue Ribbon ballast, which was offloaded at the Port of
Jacksonville, and trickled down to my dealer via the SET *Stealer* Distribution
Network, was still on the dealers lot when I went there for a Customer
Appreciation 4th of July Barbeque, a week ago. So much for the dealer
perpetuated myth that *They're Flying Off The Lot And As Scarce As Hens Teeth.*

Gary, you may be the Diogenes of Central Florida, and found an honest Toyota
dealer there over Lakeland way. However, over here on the Space Coast, it is
still Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, and business as usual.

DRIVE LONG, CONSERVE FUEL & PROSPER!

--- In Prius-2G@yahoogroups.com, Sam Pratt <sampratt@...> wrote:
>
> Well, I'm just about on the point of giving up on Toyota.
>
> As noted in a previous post, I sold my 2005 Prius in anticipation of getting a
2010 this spring/summer; in retrospect, I should have held onto it, but I got a
terrific offer, and expected that it would be no more difficult getting a 2010
than it had been a 2005 (I got exactly the model I wanted within five weeks of
putting in a request back in Fall 2004).
>
> After all, Toyota has had five years to perfect the sales, marketing and
distribution of Priuses since the last time I bought one, I though. Boy, was I
mistaken.
>
> I have spoken with some two dozen dealerships from Delaware to Maine. I have
encountered some salespeople who clearly have not bothered to become familiar
with the 2010 plans and configuration; others who claim to be kept in the dark
about Toyota's plans; others who misrepresent their allocations, or what they
can get; others who pretend to be able to get what I want in order to sell me a
higher model; others who take a deposit on shaky pretenses, then want to hold
onto for what they project might be anywhere from another month to the end of
the year to get the car.
>
> Far worse, though, than any dealers are the folks staffing Toyota's "customer
experience" line. I have twice used all the resources I developed as a former
national journalist to climb the ladder through the various tiers of customer
service to find someone -- anyone -- who was interested in helping me buy a
relatively expensive automobile in a down economy. The answers I've received
have been ludicrous ("We don't have any way of knowing where our models are
being shipped," for example). And their promises to call back with better info
have been broken repeatedly.
>
> The configuration I'm looking for is technically available at multiple dealers
within a reasonable trip from my home, and I'm willing to travel if necessary to
get it; but Toyota doesn't seem willing to help me find the car so I can go
there with a bank check and drive it back home.
>
> The deep irony here is not merely that in this slow economy, a car company
makes it so hard for someone to put cash down on a much-anticipated vehicle...
Even more ridiculously, the color and features I'm looking for are actually the
ones which appear most commonly in Toyota's ads! Why advertise innovative
features (e.g. the solar roof) or tout others proven to be popular (such as the
Built-In Nav), and then not produce these cars?
>
> What I'm looking for is nothing more or less than what is described in the
company's press releases, website and other sales literature; yet Toyota's
attitude is to shrug, "Why don't you settle for a bare-bones model, or else
spend far more on a higher model with features you don't need?"
>
> I'm thinking it's time to switch to Honda, or buy a
used Prius through a private party -- though I was really looking forward to 50+
mpg, not 40. Either the folks at Toyota are seriously incompetent, or they think
demand for these cars is going to be so high that they don't have to be
responsive to longtime customers. But the lone silver Prius II which has been
sitting forlornly for several weeks now on my local dealer's lot would seem to
belie that latter supposition.
>
> Well, that's my rant. --Sam P.
>
--- In Prius-2G@yahoogroups.com, "gce_sla" <geickmei@...> wrote:
>
> --- In Prius-2G@yahoogroups.com, Sam Pratt <sampratt@> wrote:
> >
> > Well, I'm just about on the point of giving up on Toyota.
>
> Sam, methinks this is much ado about nothing.
>
> I can only relate our experience in getting one of the first Priuses on the
block. They called us and said we could really help them out because they need
to sell 20 cars before month end (or some such BS). So we humored them just to
see what the scam was. Dared them to get us a 2010 Prius of a certain color and
options and keep our car payments the same.
>
> Fuss, confer, confab, research, recheck - you know the routine. They finally
said they could do it, we put $500 down, and we got our car in a few weeks -
about three. There were none coming off the boat unsold that had our options, so
our order went all the way back to Japan until that car was made and shipped.
When it was, it had our name on it as a pre-sold.
>
> And the dealer kept his word when it arrived, and helped us find the lowest
loan, and get the proper insurance and warranty and still keep the payments
where we wanted them - the same as our 2005.
>
> Just find a dealer that is competent and serious, and tell him your terms, and
dare him to sell you a car. That's how their minds work. Their operative program
is, "What do I need to do to sell you a car today."
>
> So you tell them. Gary Eickmeier
>
--- In Prius-2G@yahoogroups.com, "John Morgan" <john@...> wrote:
>
> I've bought my last three cars through very well respected auto brokers,
> totally bypassing the dealer sale department structure and fal-de-ral. The
> deal is simple. Actual dealer cost, less all customer rebates and
> promotions, plus $500. Simple. They find the car anywhere within about 500
> miles and arrange for it to be delivered to my door. In the case of my 2007
> Prius, the broker actually bought one that was ordered but not yet built. He
> then provided me over the next couple of months with manifest sheets showing
> where it was in the manufacturing process, when it got on the ship, and when
> and where it got off the ship. I had it two days later, fully prepped and
> ready to go.
>
> I don't know if the broker could do so well with the high-demand 2010 at
> this time, but, I'm waiting until spring 2010 to trade my 2007 for a 2010
> and I have every expectation to go back to a broker to handle the deal.
>
> John --- 2007 Barcelona Red Touring