procedure for ordering your yaris??

[static808]

greetings everyone: for those members that pre-ordered a yaris, what exactly was the procedure that the dealership used in ordering your vehicle?? our dealership simply jotted down our preferences on a preference order sheet, marking items like power windows, power door locks, automatic transmission, side airbags, etc. however, we did not receive a copy of the preference order form, we were not asked to make a deposit, we werent given some kind of tracking number or information to check on the status of our vehicle, and they simply stated that our car MAY arrive here in 2-4 months, without really giving a guarantee of our vehicle's delivery. my wife and i were just wondering of others' experiences regarding the matter of pre-ordering your yaris. thanks in advance for any information you can provide for us!

--B

[foober]

Next step is to get to be good freinds with the guy that orders the cars for that dealership. He's the guy you have to be in constant contact with. Once a week should be enough. Other dealerships in your general area will also get their quota of yaris's so if your good buds with the ordering guy you can arrange with him to possibly snag a yaris from another somewhat close dealership.

The problem is the yaris is in high demand right now. So your going to have to find out everything you can about toyota's shipping agenda from japan.

[Mario]

Same thing they did to me at Toyota Carlsbad, but I did make a deposit. They told me 1-3month wait.. Made the deposit July 29th, it should be in before the end of October IF things go right. They said they would call and give me an update today, but the call never came. I'm starting to look around at some Honda Fits.

[static808]

thanx for the feedback. looks like we'll be playing the waiting game. for those that did "pre-order" one, did you get the exact one you wanted, or did the dealer get you the closest thing to your preferred specs?? my wife and i are willing to wait, but not for too long!

--B

[kaymm]

Basically, sat down with them and told them what I want. They said, a car with those specs are hard to come by but give alternatives to color etc. They said it would take 3 weeks, said fine. Gave them $500 deposit. The car came in 2 weeks matching the specs I wanted. Not the colour though. But I didn't want to wait to get a black. The wait might be even longer than 3 weeks he said if I wanted the exact color.

[miss_piggy]

I'm in australia and ordered my yaris late august.
I told them exactly what I wanted and they put the order in as soon as i paid a $500 deposit.
I've got 3 contact people - the guy who sold me the car, the lady who gets the car ready when it comes in and a sales manager.
The sales manager calls me every fortnight and gives me an update with the progress of my car.
She called me yesterday and said that they're on schedule and my car will be here in mid november, they'll have it for a couple of days to do everything and then give it to me i cant wait!! but its only 59 more days! They'll fly by...

[Mario]

I haven't been able to get a hold of any of the two salesmen who were trying to sell me the car. I was told I'd receive a call on Monday, but with no avail. I called yesterday and again I was promised a phone call within a few hours. Nope! I called again today, and was told I'd get a call back. I went to the dealership but neither of the two were there/available. I spoke to someone who looked up a list and then went in to the sales managers office to try to scrounge something up. He came back out and told me that my "special order" had just been confirmed today and that it should come in November.

From reading up on the boards I'm led to believe that no car is really a "special order." They make x amount of whichever option combinations and then are distributed throughout the US. And two months to send, receive, and confirm an order? How the hell did they send it, snailmail? Loads of BS. I'm tempted to ask for my deposit back and just get a Fit.

[static808]

yeah, its beginning to sound like "special order" is toyota lingo for "hope the one you want pops up, but if not, here's one that's close but not quite..."

maybe we didnt have to pay a deposit since my wife and i just purchased a sienna from them. i guess a 33000 purchase can supercede a deposit as genuine intent to buy...

--B

[miss_piggy]

possibly it does supercede it...who knows...
if you want a specific model (colour, options, etc) of course it'll take longer than one they're got sitting somewhere else in the country...toyota make lots of the model they know they will sell quickly and easily...usually in the common colours that people are buying...
when they looked up stock in australia for a manual, there was only 3 out of 400!!! this shows that they sell more autos than manuals, so they get more autos made coz people want them and they'll sell them on the spot...
it wouldn't matter what combo of options i chose, if it wasnt in the country or on the boat, i would have to wait...there is a world wide queue for yaris'...remember they're only built in japan...they take about 2 days to build...for australia its about 4 weeks on the ship...but before that, it depends how many other orders they have to fulfill before yours...
remember you're paying for the car, so you may as well get exactly what you want...not what the dealer has got - don't compromise if your heart is set on something else...besides the wait will be worth it...
i had a friend who bought a RAV4 in january and only got in may!! there was a 5 month wait! i felt bad coz i was complaining about a 3 month wait...

[Bretsuaz]

I do not think it is possible to order a vehicle from Toyota. I believe that Toyota decides what colors and what options will be on the vehicle. There is a period of time when the dealer gets their allocation that they can swap one of their vehicles for a vehicle that is being built for another dealer. Unfortunately, with a short supply and high demand for the Yaris, this will probably not happen. Having just bought my car, I found that what worked best for me was to find a good dealer, and a good salesperson, then work with them until you can get the vehicle you want. Pick a good dealer, that sells volume and will get allocated more vehicles. The dealership that I was working with said they would even go to other cities, or even other states to get vehicles. Of course, it is easier and better if they dont have to. I also decided what was most important to me. I definitely wanted all the safety features. It had to be auto. And I wanted white. I couldnt get the hatch, so I did settle for the sedan. I didnt want to wait.

For the best results, I would get several dealerships working for your business. Buy it from whomever can get it for you first. Check out Carson Toyota. I have heard good things about them, and they seem to get alot of vehicles. Definitely use internet/fleet.

What exactly are you looking for?

[Bretsuaz]

Actually, go look at the Carson Toyota website. They are showing 2 black HB with power package and auto. I talked to a guy there named Larry that was helpful. But act fast, they had 2 HB that I liked. I thought atleast one of them would still be there the next day. Nope..... They were gone!

[Violin]

From looking at Carson Toyota's website, it looks like the west coast is finally getting a decent inventory of liftbacks.

[drdavidr4u]

I had a similar time with my order. they took a order sheet, wrote down eveything I wanted and insisted on a 500. deposit. Told me 4 month wait. I called them after 2 months and they CLAIMED with orders its total blackout until 1 month before they build and ship it. Then Toyota lets you know.
OK...so i have to belive him.
THEN...3 months are up and I called him . He never got back to me so I followed up with anothr call and after some checking he said I'll have MY car about 3 week in october.
SHALL I BELIEVE HIM?????
My order is for a set up they do not build and ship to NE USA so there will be no way to locate one instead. Either they are really building it for me or the dealer is bullshitting me...what would you believe?

[tds12]

I waited 15 weeks then cancelled my factory order and took a lot model.

[Mario]

Originally Posted by drdavidr4u

My order is for a set up they do not build and ship to NE USA so there will be no way to locate one instead. Either they are really building it for me or the dealer is bullshitting me...what would you believe?

I'm in the same boat. I pretty much told them I wanted everything it could possibly come with. But in my region we're not set for ABS nor the side curtain airbags.

I was led to believe that I'd have my car sometime in October, but now they're saying November. If they don't come up with the car that I "ordered" I'll be very ticked off and just walk out, possibly never buying a Toyota, ever.

This is my first new car purchase... Maybe I shouldn't have set my sights on such a new car.

[Bretsuaz]

Originally Posted by drdavidr4u

I had a similar time with my order. they took a order sheet, wrote down eveything I wanted and insisted on a 500. deposit. Told me 4 month wait. I called them after 2 months and they CLAIMED with orders its total blackout until 1 month before they build and ship it. Then Toyota lets you know.
OK...so i have to belive him.
THEN...3 months are up and I called him . He never got back to me so I followed up with anothr call and after some checking he said I'll have MY car about 3 week in october.
SHALL I BELIEVE HIM?????
My order is for a set up they do not build and ship to NE USA so there will be no way to locate one instead. Either they are really building it for me or the dealer is bullshitting me...what would you believe?

Trust me, they are bullshitting you. Most people on this forum know more about the vehicle, availability and options than any of the dealerships I spoke to.

[static808]

i find it odd that some dealerships are doing the "custom order" for the yaris, telling me that they will actually place an order to toyota itself to build our exact yaris. other dealerships are saying that there is no such thing as a custom order, and that when you place a "pre-order" you are bascially gambling that the yaris you want shows up somewhere on your side of the coast. i think i believe the second set of dealerships. however, i have seen yarii liftbacks with side airbags and other options that are NOT available in our region, being sold at local dealerships. they were designated as "pre-sold" in the online inventories. so it does LOOK like unavailable vehicles can be delivered to any region. its whether we want to play the waiting game or not. oh, and be careful with carson toyota. to pre-order a vehicle, they want you to fax them a copy of a check for $500 to act as a deposit. i told them my fears about having personal AND financial information just hanging out like that (addresses, acoount and routing numbers, etc...). i have been a victim of ID theft before, so i wasnt too excited about this awkward and unofficial procedure. when i asked for official documentation regarding this, such as disclaimers and privacy policies, they said to just look up their website. they then told me to order from another dealership, since we were asking too many questions about their faxed-copy-of-check-policy and they called us too high maintenance to deal with. if protecting your credit and identity is high maintenance, then i definitely fall into the high maintenance category...