[impetus19]

I called the dealer that we bought our prius from a number of years back and he seemingly took an order for '23 RAV4 Hybrid LE + BSM. No deposit, MSRP pricing, and he said he would send a spec sheet when available. Also that is could take 9-12 months.
Question is, does Toyota take retail orders or is it mostly dealer stock?
From the sound of my "order" it sounds more as if they are putting me inline for dealer stock that matches what I am looking for.

 

[impetus19]

You should follow up with the salesperson asking the direct question: "Do I have a custom order or are you awaiting an allocation".

It doesn't sound like you have a custom order in the queue but I can't guess at that any more than you can.

What makes you think it IS an order? Did you specifically say "Hey buddy this is Mike, it's been a while, I'd like you to place a custom order car for me, great thanks!" Or was the salesman like "Mike who, never mind, I have your number and I'll let you know when something is available"

Thanks,
Yes, i reached out to the manager who I had worked with for our prius and asked to put an order in. From the way it sounded though, from his response, it appeared to just be on a waiting list for a dealer stock model similarly optioned comes in. Which i am fine with generally because i am not overly picky. I was hoping to get something a little more concrete of an order though...

 

[impetus19]

We were at a Subaru dealer in October of 2021. Bad experience, they wanted full MSRP for a Demo Forester with 12,000 miles on the car, and a dent in the side ! I said, "I'm not paying full MSRP for a used car", and walked. With our certified check.
There was a Toyota dealer next door, and on a whim dropped in to talk about cars. The salesperson , said they had a RAV 4 Hybrid LE "allocated" to the dealership, MSRP to be built in Georgetown, Kentucky in 2 weeks. He showed the allocated car to me on his laptop.
Specs were fixed; special paint (Ruby Red) , floor mats, cross traffic/blind spot. That was it for extras. We drew up a contract to buy the car, at MSRP with the VIN number, selling price and any dealer doc fees, etc.
So we left a $500 deposit. Car was delivered Nov 17th 2021, 5 weeks later. I had never even sat in a RAV 4 Hybrid, (no demos available) so I told dealer I wanted a test drive before I handed over check. Drove the car, with 8 miles on the ODO, and bought it.
I think if you can find a car that has already been allocated to a dealer is a better way to go. You know the specs, get the price in writing. Ask the dealer for the monroney, to be sure you are getting a car at MSRP. The monroney is a legal document, the dealer can't fudge it with "Market adjustments".

What is a monroney ?

I have called around to as many local places as I can, but nobody has a Hybrid LE/XLE allocated and available. Also i am not in a huge rush so 6 months is fine, just want to make sure I am on the list.

 

[impetus19]

Not sure what is going on, of course, but you have a lot of 'sounded like' 'appeared' 'hoping to get something more concrete.'

When I placed a deposit, I was told clearly how the process worked. I was in line on the salesman's list. He would get me as close as possible, and if something was close and I was the 'top' person in his line for that model, I would get a chance to buy it. If I said no, I would stay on the top of the list for a better match. We actually had three 'dream' vehicles drawn up, one to be actively persued (what came through) and two that if one became available I would like a chance to buy.

When I first spoke to the dealer, I was offered a Venza coming in a couple of weeks. Obviously an allocated vehicle on its way to the dealer where the supposed buyer backed out or they just took it in when allocated, planning to be able to sell it. Later, another dealer offered me a Prius AWD (I was looking for one at the same time) where a customer backed out (the dealer wanted above MSRP and had some other warning signs for me).

Personally, I would push for more concrete information from the dealer. Salesmen are balancing a lot of people and desires and limited vehicles. They are competing with other salespeople at the dealership for actual vehicles to sell. Buyers are connected to more than one dealer hoping to see who delivers first. The dealer who offered me the Prius had no money from me, they just thought they'd give me a shot, and I never heard from them again.

Agreed... I am going to reach out to get more details, I have an order for a hybrid Ford Maverick as well and that is an awful process, but i did get a confirmation for that Order and it's still 50/50 if it ever gets built.
In comparison this process seems very vague, every other dealer I called wouldn't put an order in for me and just try to sell me on a gas RAV4

 

[impetus19]

Thanks for the replies, I spoke with another dealer today and he was much more knowledgeable regarding the order process. Basically going to sit in queue until they receive dealer stock hybrid LE/XLE and then they will require a deposit to reserve it when the vehicle is scheduled for production. He's going to follow up every month or so just to make sure I still want to be on the list.

 

[impetus19]

Originally, ordered a standard XLE barebones with just weather package (since LE's are hardly in production) on March 10, 2022. After 5.5 months, my place in line was #99, was told I would not see that car until 2023, but could jump forward in the line to #22 if I upgraded to an XLE Premium. I did so, and got the car end of October - 8 month wait. Dealer honored MSRP pricing, no BS add-ons, got weather package, blacked out emblems, and door ding guards, nothing else added - $36,600 MSRP (including destination). Dealers in the area are currently charging $5-$7K markups - SoCal LA/OC region. Got it for $39K and change out the door.

Toyota is preferentially allocating it's production line to XLE Premiums, not sure where SE and XSE is in the line.

Sounds correct to me.
I was offered a higher end XLE at 37k (msrp) a week ago. I turned it down as i have zero interest in any options other than safety and hybrid. I told them i would wait for a base XLE at 33k

 

[impetus19]

Just as a follow up, our rav4 hybrid LE with BSM will be here in two weeks. Pretty impressed with the wait time. I think it helped that we had purchased our prius from them. 3 months overall, the only option we didnt necessarily want was the ruby flare pearl but it grew on me.

 

[impetus19]

Has anyone used the toyota-tracker.com to track their progress? My order still says allocated there but the dealer is telling me it is supposed to arrive next week which seems unlikely since it does not appear to have even shipped from Japan yet.

 

[impetus19]

Most of the normal rav4 hybrids made in the US or Canada

My VIN starts with a “J”.

 

[impetus19]

Looks like it is finally on a boat.