Im fed up with the dealer in Las Vegas. I ordered a white XB last month and every time I call him he says its only going to be one more week. So i called all the other dealers in town (one dealer doesnt have any XB's in stock and the other dealer the guy couldnt even speak english). Im sorry if im a little short but how hard can it really be to order a white XB. Now my dealer is saying that it wont be until the end of July that I get the car. Almost two months later. How long did it take you guys to order your scion?

I am not now, nor will I ever try to speak for another dealer. It has been normal for a order to take about 6 weeks to arrive, unless it is an unsold car already on the way. As far as the color goes, white seems to not be very common. We have had a total of 3 since we started selling these in February.

just to let u know, they don't very much in white, thats why its hard to get one. aiight, they don't make very much in camo green, white and black.

oh sure camo and white are the two colors i want. and those are the two colors that are limited more then the others. I wouldnt have minded if it took 6 weeks. the only thing i dont like is the dealer telling me every week its going to be one more week. if he would have said about 6 weeks or whatever i would have been fine with it.

i got the black cherry pearl pretty fast . my dealer told me it'd be prolly 1 or 2 months b4 i got my car but they got it for me in 3 weeks. he said that factories made alot of whites, blacks, silvers, and blue but they made less of camo and bcp. i'm sure urs'll come soon if not call scion headquarters and check out watz goin on

hey tber52 i sent u a email listing some reasos y it could be takinig so long.

I don't buy any salesman's story about what color is hard to get. It seems that the rare one that you'll be unlikely to find is the one that he doesn't have in stock or in the pipe.

The first dealer I visited told me that white was a very difficult color to get and that I "should be flexible about the color".

The next two dealers I visited had at least two white xBs in stock each, one auto, one stick!

If you're buying a new car, you shouldn't need to be flexible about _anything_. After all, the dealers keep talking about how hard they want to work to get you the car you want. If one dealer doesn't satisfy, find one that does.

I don't buy any salesman's story about what color is hard to get. It seems that the rare one that you'll be unlikely to find is the one that he doesn't have in stock or in the pipe.

The first dealer I visited told me that white was a very difficult color to get and that I "should be flexible about the color".

The next two dealers I visited had at least two white xBs in stock each, one auto, one stick!

If you're buying a new car, you shouldn't need to be flexible about _anything_. After all, the dealers keep talking about how hard they want to work to get you the car you want. If one dealer doesn't satisfy, find one that does.

George,

I agree with you!!!! Every order that I get I fill with the exact vehicle ASAP. The only exception right now is tC's. But that is on a first come first service in order of when the person ordered the car. Not every dealer has enough sharp tools in the shed that can get just about any car they need. Not to toot my own horn. I have been an inventory manager for a Toyota dealership in the past. So I have alot of relationships with other dealerships. So it makes it easy to get what I need.

I don't buy any salesman's story about what color is hard to get.

You never cease to crack me up George. You somehow think all colors are available in infinite supply just becuase that's the way it would be in your world. Would you like some real numbers here? Not that you'll "buy" it from me, but let's hope others here have a bit more common sense.

Of the 233 manual transmission xBs being sent to the Central Atlantic region in August, 30 of them will be white. Plenty you say? Consider that there are 130 dealerships in the region and that white is a cyclical preference. We can go for months without a person looking at a white one and suddenly it seems its the only color people want. So you have 30 cars to devide between 130 dealers in a time that might see an increased demand for white.

If a person orders a white one, they have a choice. They can be patient or flexible. In my humble experience, I've seen very little patience from customers past the 2 week mark so asking for flexibility is the only other alternative. That should not be an offensive thing to ask.

I asked my buddy at the Scion store in town to check dealer daily for stock for Nevada. You know what there are 0. None. Nyet.
I asked him to check LA Region I figure it is on of the largest population centers on the planet and not outrageous to get to from Vegas. Do you know how many white xB autos came up.... 2. 2 for all of frickin' Southern Cali.
Be patient with your dealer and stop your cr@ppin' . :roll:

FYI There were 4 manual in LA region and none in Vegas too.

Question for dealers:

Let's assume

(1) you get allocated a Black Xb automatic bare bones
(2) Your customer has placed a deposit for a White Xb automatic bare bones.

BEFORE the Black Xb GETS ASSEMBLED can't your inventory manager request Scion to do a color change from Black to White?


I don't buy any salesman's story about what color is hard to get.

You never cease to crack me up George. You somehow think all colors are available in infinite supply just becuase that's the way it would be in your world. Would you like some real numbers here? Not that you'll "buy" it from me, but let's hope others here have a bit more common sense.

Of the 233 manual transmission xBs being sent to the Central Atlantic region in August, 30 of them will be white. Plenty you say? Consider that there are 130 dealerships in the region and that white is a cyclical preference. We can go for months without a person looking at a white one and suddenly it seems its the only color people want. So you have 30 cars to devide between 130 dealers in a time that might see an increased demand for white.

If a person orders a white one, they have a choice. They can be patient or flexible. In my humble experience, I've seen very little patience from customers past the 2 week mark so asking for flexibility is the only other alternative. That should not be an offensive thing to ask.

back in sept 03 when i first got mine...i had a $500 deposit on a BCP at tracy toyota in cali. they strung me along for 2 weeks saying, "...it will be here tomorrow...".

went on vacation for 3 days, and still no car. when i got back, called then went over to piercy toyota in san jose (1 hour from where i live) and they had several colors in stock. bought it in about 2 1/2-3 hours. drove it back to tracy toyota and picked up my deposit. the look on their faces was priceless... :twisted:

be patient and keep plugging...good luck :!:

Question for dealers:

Let's assume

(1) you get allocated a Black Xb automatic bare bones
(2) Your customer has placed a deposit for a White Xb automatic bare bones.

BEFORE the Black Xb GETS ASSEMBLED can't your inventory manager request Scion to do a color change from Black to White?

Yes and no. We can ask for another color, but that doesn't mean it will happen. When we preference a vehicle for a customer, the computer asks for a priority # (1,2,3, etc.). Whit may be priority 1 for me, but there may be too many white cars on order for Scion to fill that allocation, so priority 2 may get filled first. I can try to trade that car with another dealer, but the dealer has to be willing to trade. Out of my control as far as what the other guy says. All I can do is ask anybody that has it.

Question for dealers:

Let's assume

(1) you get allocated a Black Xb automatic bare bones
(2) Your customer has placed a deposit for a White Xb automatic bare bones.

BEFORE the Black Xb GETS ASSEMBLED can't your inventory manager request Scion to do a color change from Black to White?

Yes and no. We can ask for another color, but that doesn't mean it will happen. When we preference a vehicle for a customer, the computer asks for a priority # (1,2,3, etc.). Whit may be priority 1 for me, but there may be too many white cars on order for Scion to fill that allocation, so priority 2 may get filled first. I can try to trade that car with another dealer, but the dealer has to be willing to trade. Out of my control as far as what the other guy says. All I can do is ask anybody that has it.

Recognizing that I do not understand Scion production/assembly processes, it would seem to me that changing a color would not be that big of a deal. In my mind just change the paint spray color. Clearly, to change assembly line from manual trans to manual is a big deal but paint color?

When I talked to Steve(?) from Findlay Scion last Thursday night he said that they get about 5 Scions in a week. If you preference one, the dealership will request the xB you want and when it comes into port it will go to that dealer. There's no guarantee in time, but it's a lot better than just "hoping" that your dealer happens to get the one you want. There's what, 3 Scion dealers here? I'd put in a preference with all three...

[quote="jrussell"]Question for dealers:

Let's assume

(1) you get allocated a Black Xb automatic bare bones
(2) Your customer has placed a deposit for a White Xb automatic bare bones.

BEFORE the Black Xb GETS ASSEMBLED can't your inventory manager request Scion to do a color change from Black to White?



Ever heard the line "It's on a slow boat from China" In this case it is Japan. We can make change requests like this on domestic built Toyota models, but I don'tthink we can make these requests on japan built vehicles.

Theres always KRYLON

I asked my buddy at the Scion store in town to check dealer daily for stock for Nevada. You know what there are 0. None. Nyet.
I asked him to check LA Region I figure it is on of the largest population centers on the planet and not outrageous to get to from Vegas. Do you know how many white xB autos came up.... 2. 2 for all of frickin' Southern Cali.
Be patient with your dealer and stop your cr@ppin' . :roll:

FYI There were 4 manual in LA region and none in Vegas too.

Hmmm, there are two white xBs sitting on the lot at Valencia Scion this morning. I haven't checked, but considering the preponderance of automatics I'll bet that at least one of them is an automatic! You might want to check it out.

[quote=jrussell]Question for dealers:

Let's assume

(1) you get allocated a Black Xb automatic bare bones
(2) Your customer has placed a deposit for a White Xb automatic bare bones.

BEFORE the Black Xb GETS ASSEMBLED can't your inventory manager request Scion to do a color change from Black to White?



Ever heard the line "It's on a slow boat from China" In this case it is Japan. We can make change requests like this on domestic built Toyota models, but I don'tthink we can make these requests on japan built vehicles.

Theres always KRYLON

Krylon

Since you don't know for sure I suggest you ask your inventory manager. My guess is that the domestic preferencing process is the same as the one for Japan-assembled vehicles.

On domestic built cars, we can change color and equipment to our heart's content with one exception. There are certain items that are limited by the EPA to no more than 33% of total build and if we request that piece of equipment and it puts Toyota over the edge, we'll get turned down. We get allocated the cars two to three weeks before it makes its trip down the assembly line.

On Japaneese built cars, we have no such luxury. The distributor orders the cars as a batch and they tell us each month what is in that batch. We draw from that pool of cars. When they are allocated, they can be anywhere between the Panama canal and Japan.

Now... here's one more problem. Once the car is in my system, I have to "Customer Indicate" (CI for short) the car before it will be released from port. Again, there is an exception that if the car sits at the port for more than 30 days, they just send it anyway. When I CI a car, it drops from view of other dealerships. It goes into "reserve" status which means other dealers can't see what I have incoming or on the ground. That makes dealer trades a real PITA. A dealer may attempt to make a dealer trade and tell you there are none available. A more correct way would be to tell you there are none that he can see.

So George... do you "buy" that?

Thanks Cliffy1 for the reply. New learnings for me that's for sure.....

Thanks Cliffy1 for the reply. New learnings for me that's for sure.....

I've been doing this a while. Can you tell? 8) I've been with Toyota since 1994 and have done everything from selling, to managing to f&I and I was even a GSM at a small store where I did the prefrencing and dealer trades. In some ways, I miss the old TDN system.

On Japaneese built cars, we have no such luxury. The distributor orders the cars as a batch and they tell us each month what is in that batch. We draw from that pool of cars. When they are allocated, they can be anywhere between the Panama canal and Japan.


Cliffy1

A quick follow-up to further my understanding of this process.....

Let's say the distributor orders a batch of 100 Tc's in a variety of colors and transmissions.

Am I correct in saying that dealers in the U.S. gets allocated some of these 100 Tc's based upon a formula set by Scion (for example, Dealer 'A' gets more of the 100 because they sell more Tc's than dealer 'B')?

Also, once dealer 'A' gets their allocation from the big distributor batch am I correct in saying the dealer 'A' has full control of these allocated cars (i.e., keep them at port for up to 30 days, release them from port, or simply dealer trade 'em for a color/transmission that dealer 'A' has a customer for but no allocation to support the customer need)?

Thanks again....

You're right on. The formula for the Scions though is a bit different than with the Toyotas. with Toyota, its almost strictly "turn and earn" meaning the quicker you've moved your previous 3 month's worth of inventory, the faster you get new ones. With Scion, (at least in theory) they are allocated on the size of your PMA. That likely will change, but if you have a very large market area, you'll get more cars.

On Japaneese built cars, we have no such luxury. The distributor orders the cars as a batch and they tell us each month what is in that batch. We draw from that pool of cars. When they are allocated, they can be anywhere between the Panama canal and Japan.

Now... here's one more problem. Once the car is in my system, I have to "Customer Indicate" (CI for short) the car before it will be released from port. Again, there is an exception that if the car sits at the port for more than 30 days, they just send it anyway. When I CI a car, it drops from view of other dealerships. It goes into "reserve" status which means other dealers can't see what I have incoming or on the ground. That makes dealer trades a real PITA. A dealer may attempt to make a dealer trade and tell you there are none available. A more correct way would be to tell you there are none that he can see.

So George... do you "buy" that?

Yes, I can believe that. It's a shame that more information isn't available to the salesmen who are trying to meet the needs of their customers.

I can envision a scenario where one customer who wants a white car settles for a silver one, while in the next county a customer who wants a silver car settles for a white one, both because the salesmen involved told the customer that the car they actually wanted wasn't available. The result is two less-than-satisfied customers where there could have been two happy customers if communications were better.

As in any situation, the customer's best path is to do their own searching and not depend upon the word of a salesmen who says that a particular combination isn't available. As Cliffy1 stated, the desired car could be allocated to a dealer across town and the salesman wouldn' t know about it.

It falls back to hitting the phone or email and contacting dealers until you find one that has the car you want.

I've never seen a white at my dealer and it seems we couldn't get our hands on a silver auto for a little while so I went with my second choice (camo) and they had it on the lot..I've never seen Onyx Pearl (blue) on our lot as well.