This article is from the Toyota RAV4 FAQ, by Ralph Becker with numerous contributions by others.
In the US, some regions allow factory orders and some do not. In
regions that do allow factory orders, not all dealers allow them.
If your dealer does take factory orders, you can expect to wait at
least several months for the car to be shipped. If you have
information about which regions do or do not allow factory orders,
let me know so I can add that here.
Some dealers say they will take a factory order, when in fact
they don't. These dealers simply wait for a car that matches
or nearly matches your order to arrive by chance. They may be
able to access information about all vehicles shipped to your
region and/or swap cars with another dealer.
 
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