Just checking to see if anyone knows what the "A" status means after I ordered my 07 RS3 tC. I am assuming it means Allocated and that the car has yet to be built. Am I correct?

My salesman says it's on the boat, but the paperwork says "A" status. Obviously my salesman has no clue what he is doing.

Thanks for your time.

 

You might want to dial back your assumptions on who knows what.

If it's on the boat, then it's built and then, after it's on the boat, it is allocated to the dealership. You don't "order" a Toyota like you do a Dell where your car is going down the line with your name on it.

Toyota builds what they are going to build, and then ship to the distributors who allocate the vehicles. Dealers can do a request to build (known as DPMS) to ask Toyota to build a vehicle in a particular color with a particular set of equipment, but they are under no contractoral agreement to build it. IOW, they simply take it under advisement.

With Scion, Toyota builds them all identical with your only choices being tranny and color (I exclude side bags because as of 2008, all Scions will have them). The port of entry will accerize your Scion, and that includes everything thats on the RS.

 

Cool, thanks for the info. Guess I was a bit quick to assume, my bad. It's just that this dealer has a very good reputation for misleading people and I wanted to cover my behind.

Thanks again.

 

Now that you have a better understanding of the system, it should allow you to ask better questions to your dealer, and pinpoint when he is giving you the run around. Don't be afraid to call him on it.

If you feel at any point that he is being dishonest with you, get your deposit and find another dealer.

 

Well, the deposit is an interesting story in itself. He asked for $1000 to place the order, not a problem on my end, I had the money in the bank and wrote him a check, then a few days go buy and found out they cashed the check, I thought they would at least hold it till they got the car on the lot, still not a big deal to me at the time. Then a few more days roll by and a financial concern came up so I called my salesman and asked him a few questions about financing. In the end he ended up ticking my off and I told him I would go elsewhere to purchase the car. He then told me that I would not get my $1000 back if I did that.

Yea, this is my first time buying a NEW vehicle, I am in the dark. Ya think it is against the law or just bad practice that they cashed my check already? Should I be able to get my money back if the deal went sour?

 

if you didn't sign any paper work agreeing that you would buy a car there then you should be able to get your money back. i think the sales person is just toying with you now, so maybe you would want to speak to someone higher up to get your money back.

 

Now a my dealership we have you sign a paper saying that you may not get the deposit back depending on the situation...so did you sign anyhting?

 

Why did you have to order your scion?? I mean I heard a lot of people ordering their scion and wait for about a month to get it. see when I got my scion the dealer had about 8 on stock and the last time I did my oil change there were about 16 tc including 2 rs3 and few ax's and xb's in stock

 

Yes, they made me sign a New Order Request Form.

Had to place and order because they only had 4 tC's in stock and all in AP, a color I dry heave just looking at.

They order was for an 07 RS3. At the time my dealer did not even know there was an RS3 available, I had to tell them.

 

In most states (if not all) it's entirely illegal. Now, they'll try to close you on the fact that they can keep it, but they can't.

But you my try a different approach. Simply inform them of how much fun it's going to be to fill out the survey. Toyota ties all of their dealer money to the survey results.

And of course they cashed the check. One of the first things I did when I took over the Scion seat was to end the practice of simply stapling a check in the deal folder. It makes no sense. Cashing the check gets their attention, and gaurantees they're calling me back when their car is here. Yes, we've had issues with people leaving a check on a Scion with $4k+ worth of options they wanted, and then not picking it up and other such shenanigans.

 

Well thanks a lot, you have been a great help!

Great to know about the illegality of them keeping my money if something should go totally wrong with the purchase. I will do some further investigating regarding my state laws on the subject.

Called my salesman today to inquire about the status of my car again and he now says it's off the boat and in port. Should be only a few more days till she comes this way, I hope.

It will be my last time buying a car from this line of dealerships, but at least I learned a bit about the process and can make better educated purchases in the future.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

Glad to be of help. Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions on anything.