Decided to check up on the waiting list status and see where things are. Called Dealer "N". "S" answered the phone. When I asked for "W", he informed me that "W" was no longer with them, but that he could help me. I gave him my name, and he put me on hold while he went to look up my status. After several minutes on hold, he told me he was still looking for my deposit check. After several more minutes, he told me that he couldn't find my folder, and that he would bring my name up at the Monday sales meeting and call me with information on Monday afternoon. I told him that was OK, and that I had just called for status, not because I was worried about anything.

Called "G" at Dealer "C". Before I could get a word in, "G" started telling me about an Arena Red Boxster arriving this month with similar but not exactly the options I want. The way he immediately launched into his schpiel, at first I thought he was saying that my order (which I hadn't made yet) was arriving. I got him to slow down and back up, at which point it became clear that this was a car ordered by someone else, who decided not to take delivery. He said I could think about whether I wanted this one and let him know in a couple of days. Thinking about it more, I'd rather wait and get the options I want. This one had some extras I'd rather not pay for (like a $2500 hard top) and was missing a number of things I want.

Not 2 minutes after getting off the phone with "G", I got a call. It was "J" from Dealer "S". Now this is odd. I thought "J" was a sales manager at Dealer "N". Dealer "S" is the place that, from what I've gleaned from the online postings and my one inquiry there months ago, has the less-than-reputable practice of jacking the price up over MSRP and not doing the by-the-book waiting list style of Boxster ordering, instead operating on a "don't call us, we'll call you" method where you pay several thousand dollars over MSRP for immediate delivery of a non-custom ordered car that they already ordered with options they thought would be popular.

It turns out that around the time I wrote my $3000 deposit check to Dealer "N", big changes at Dealers "N" and "S" were afoot. (This is all according to "J".) "J" and "W" now work for Dealer "S", "J" as sales manager. Essentially, Dealers "N" and "S" ended up hiring people away from each other and swapping management. Dealer "S" is now operating on the by-the-book ordering process, and who knows what Dealer "N" is doing now that they have the ex-Dealer "S" management running things.

Leaving out all the potentially sleazy implications, the upshot is that my deposit is in the hands of my existing salespeople but now at Dealer "S".

"J" said that "W" was on vacation and would be back soon and that in the meantime we could get things worked out. He said that he would give me my check back, and that if I wanted I could write a new check to Dealer "S" and get set up with them. He said that because of Dealer "S"'s change of Boxster ordering modus operandi, I could probably get one ordered very quickly and delivered this Spring. Assuming Dealer "S" truly is changing its management and Boxster ordering policy to the proper one, it actually makes sense: they have no existing waiting list of people who want to order, and they just have a few non-custom orders allocated in the pipeline, which are already being built and may or may not have someone's name attached; after that, it's open allocations.

Now what do I do? Is Dealer "S" truly going to be a good dealer now? Can they really get me a custom ordered car at MSRP on a fast track schedule? Well, I told "J" that if things are as he says, I will come in and get on his short list.