I’m looking for some insight on how accurate dealership waitlists for the Toyota Sienna are. I placed an order for a Toyota Sienna LE AWD, and I told them I’m okay with any color. They said the wait would be around 4 to 6 months. The dealership is 45 minutes away, while my local dealer said it would take 12-18 months. So, I decided to go with the one with the shorter wait time.
They also evaluated my trade-in and said it would be worth what they quoted in 6 months, as long as the car doesn’t get damaged or racked up with too many kilometres.
One thing I don’t like is that they added a $999 dealer admin fee and an $800 mandatory warranty, which they say can’t be removed. I didn’t argue about it since they included all-weather mats and a cargo liner, and the trade-in value they offered me was better than some other dealers. However, I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth waiting longer, or if I should have gone with my local dealer since they don’t have any additional fees. My local dealer won’t even look at my trade-in until the car comes in.
Has anyone here found that the quoted wait times are accurate?
I’m in the same situation. Two dealerships here in Ottawa. One said a 6-month wait and another said 2-3 years. It’s hard to understand where they get these numbers from.
Kale said:
I’m in the same situation. Two dealerships here in Ottawa. One said a 6-month wait and another said 2-3 years. It’s hard to understand where they get these numbers from.
Just a heads-up, the wait times are based on how many reservations they have versus how many vehicles Toyota allocates to them each year.
A while ago, I called several dealers and found that the ratio of reservations to vehicles varies greatly. Some dealers had a 1 to 1 ratio, while others were over 3 to 1.
Kale said:
I’m in the same situation. Two dealerships here in Ottawa. One said a 6-month wait and another said 2-3 years. It’s hard to understand where they get these numbers from.
I heard Cornwall Toyota has a quick turnaround time.
Kale said:
I’m in the same situation. Two dealerships here in Ottawa. One said a 6-month wait and another said 2-3 years. It’s hard to understand where they get these numbers from.
Did you decide to place a deposit? I’m thinking about putting a deposit at both dealerships, just in case the one with the shorter wait is wrong.
@Ollie
Yes, I placed a deposit with the 6-month wait dealership. They told us not to put our name on another list, as Toyota apparently checks those lists and can blacklist anyone who tries that. I thought about putting it under my spouse’s name, but I’m not sure if that’s just a sales tactic.
@Kale
I was thinking of putting an order under my wife’s name at my local dealer too. I’ve heard the same thing about Toyota flagging your name if it appears twice. Out of curiosity, did your dealer charge any admin fees or add anything extra? That’s my biggest concern, as I could get the car locally without those fees, but I don’t want to wait any longer than necessary.
@Kale
I’ve had my name on waitlists at four different dealerships before I got mine. A coworker put a deposit at five different dealerships and got a Grand Highlander that way. The whole cross-referencing thing doesn’t make sense.
Once you put down a deposit, Toyota doesn’t know who you are, and they are way too busy to care about checking. This is all between you and the dealership.
But, yeah, you could get banned if you’ve been buying and selling cars quickly, especially if they think you’re an exporter.
I’m from Ohio. I got lucky that one dealer had two 2025 LE AWD models coming in. We put down a $500 deposit, and the car arrived just two weeks later. The other car sold a week after. Another dealer didn’t have any in stock, but we could put down $1,000 for an allocation. They seemed to think it would be quick, but they were asking $1,000 over the SRP, so we didn’t follow up to see how long the actual wait would be.
Larger dealers with longer wait times probably don’t have a solid grasp of the actual wait. They have tons of reservations from long ago, and many people might have moved on or put reservations at multiple places.
From my own experience, one of these big dealers didn’t even respect the order of the reservation list. I ended up buying mine earlier this year from a small-town dealership, which quoted a 1-year wait. I got my exact model and color delivered in just 6 months, as supplies started to improve. These days, they are estimating a 3-6 month wait.
@Cortland
That makes sense. Where are you located? I’ve heard the supply in the US is improving, so maybe it’s getting better in Canada too. It’d be great if I could get one in 3-6 months. But I’ve noticed some dealerships between my place and Toronto won’t even take reservations yet. I wonder if it’s like you said, where some people have multiple reservations or others have already found a car, so the wait time might not be as long as they say.
@Ollie
I’m in Quebec, and I’m pretty sure supplies have improved this year. A lot of dealerships have gone from having no models to having some in their showrooms. Wait times have dropped quite a bit at the dealership where I purchased.
If you don’t mind being flexible with model and color, I’d suggest calling around to dealers and asking them to contact you if something becomes available. In the 6 months I waited, I got offers for other models twice. If supplies are really improving, you might see more options like this.
I’m from Washington State. I put down a deposit on a Platinum model back in February, and we finally got our allocation last month. It’s expected to arrive at the end of January. I called around to a lot of dealerships, and it seems like Toyota just doesn’t make enough cars. No one can give a real timeline – they’re all just guessing.
I’ve learned that dealerships get a list of what’s being made and its specs, and they can set preferences on what they want, but it’s not guaranteed. Toyota decides which dealership gets what based on those preferences. Dealers with more sales volume or recent investments into their showrooms get priority.
New allocations happen every 2 weeks, and the info is posted on the Toyota website.
Also, different areas are supplied by different Toyota factories, so availability varies. In the US, the Pacific Northwest has low availability, but the Gulf Coast region has more cars coming in, so you could try buying from out of state. I found some options there that would have gotten us a car faster, but I wasn’t sure about paying for shipping or dealing with out-of-state purchases.
If you can afford refundable deposits, I’d recommend placing reservations at several dealerships and being clear about your must-haves versus your preferences. The more flexible you are, the better chance they have of finding a car for you that matches your requirements.
I was able to get mine at MSRP with no add-ons in Ontario within 2 months of placing my deposit. I did a lot of research and made a list of all the dealerships in Ontario and Quebec. Then, I eliminated those near big cities like Toronto and Kingston.