Are Toyota Internet Sales Managers complete idiots or is it just me?

I've recently bought my truck and helped a friend through her process of getting a Highlander. I wanted a manual too, so I stalked the sites until I could find what I wanted. There actually are intelligent sales folk out there, but sometimes they are hidden behind walls of crap to find. I talked with three dealers about ordering, but they wouldn't commit.

Dealers can go and trade or otherwise procure from other dealers the truck you want. If they don't want to, then you don't buy from them. I made that clear, and in the case of the Highlander I had 4 dealers bidding on the same vehicle. They didn't know (or didn't care) I knew where it was, as it was the only color combo that she wanted that I could find locally. The winner was not even the dealer who had the vehicle in stock. Sure enough, shows up with the paperwork showing where I knew it was. Dealers are weird.

 

Some are, some aren't. That's why you need to reach out to a dozen or more of them, in order to find the two or three who have a clue.

One thought though - why do you need it itemized? Out-The-Door is Out-The-Door. You already know what your TTL is going to be (or can easily figure it out). How they allocate the other bits and pieces doesn't really matter. Invoice plus $500 and no dealer fee vs Invoice minus $100 and $600 dealer fee is the same in the end.

 

Itemization makes them have to be a little more honest with where the money/paper trail is headed.

It's easy for a dealer principle to sell a car to a very close friend and it looks like a great deal on paper with no itemization but the dealer didn't pay anything for the taxes, titles and fees, but on the back side they can itemize it their own way for whichever gets them the best tax benefit and such.

Reading some of ten trials you folks have had in trying to purchase a truck makes me more thankful I have a very nice reputable dealer I have dealt with for years. One price out the door on every vehicle, heck they sell the TRD Pro Tacoma and T4Rs for 500 under MSRP.

They ordered me my most wanted truck with no questions asked, 2015 Access Cab 4-cyl MT 4x4. Now yes it took them a little over four months to get it in but that was due to Toyota in Texas saying yes we see the Vin number allocated that is that model but we don't want to put the utility package on it, my dealer told me Toyota said no six or seven times and they told me we'll just keep asking and eventually hopefully they will say yes and build the truck that we want to sell you. In the mean time they prepared my trade in value and said oh BTW it's set so as you make a few more monthly payments your pay off will go down and we will still hold your trucks trade in as what is on the paper. It was a win win situation.

 

I dealt with one like this that was clearly off his meds at the time. Would call late into the evening out of the blue and told me i was full of shit wanting to buy my truck for the target price. Never mind that this dude is calling me. I had another deal about to close and he offered me something like $50 under their price. His dealership is sketchy. Always gets rock bottom reviews (Jerry's Toyota) so the $50 savings just wasn't worth the aggravation. The tard from Jerry's of course had my 1 star yelp review pulled. F them.

 

What are you concerned they will do?

Out the door is out the door. By definition it includes TTL etc.

Any trade you might do is a separate conversation. Financing is a separate conversation; if they can do better than your credit union you'll use them.

I'm not seeing where it matters to the buyer how they structure it internally. The only thing that affects your taxation is your trade, and you factor that in the separate trade-in discussion.

 

This all day long. A lot do not know of the different options and features. They want to sell what's on the lot for the quick buck and look at the sticker to tell you about it. When we got my wife's Rav4, I was talking to the "senior" salesman that was helping the new girl out. While we were waiting on the paperwork to start getting processed he was explaining about the quality of everything with Toyota. He mentioned that most of the toyotas are going to less user based maintenance so we wouldn't have to worry about it. I said cool....continue. He said the trucks still have transmissions dipsticks and aren't sealed like this Prius. I said really, that's interesting. My Tacoma has a sealed transmission. He then said I must have the new one. I told him yes, but my 11 had a sealed one as well. It's interesting the senior salesman doesn't know what he's selling.

Be patient and not an asshole and you'll get further with ordering one. May be better to go into the dealer with the printout and be willing to lay down a deposit right then to get them serious about it. Drive to the lots, not chat with them online. They deal with assholes chatting with them all day and I'm sure only a small percentage of the people chatting with them are serious.

 

This sort of crap is why I use a Google Voice phone number when dealing with car salesmen. http://voice.google.com/

When I'm done with the deal I turn off any notifications and so forth and leave it sit dormant until the next time I need it. Also works well for craigslist transactions.

 

It's definitely not you. I had to find a local high volume dealer - and then the process was much easier. They found a truck that was allocated to them that was close - removed the pieces that I didn't want and then two days later I got a confirmation that the order at the factory was changed.

I tried that at a smaller dealer and their heads exploded. They were offering me trucks that weren't even the color that I wanted.

I probably paid a little more than I should have (I got $1,200 below MSRP) - but I got exactly what I wanted. Plus no sales tax in NH so I was happy with the OTD price.

 

Its just the way they are. I have been trying to get a simple TRD Sport, DCSB, with tow package, nothing else. I even gave them two color choices. They keep coming back with led bed lights, exhaust tip, or some other B.S. When they finally said they have one that matches, it wasn't even one of the two colors I gave them.

 

If I was the internet sales manager, I would have bailed on your ass as soon as you replied with this gem. And I pray to god it was actually in all caps.

 

My internet sales guy was great. I made a request for a 2017 Tacoma through my credit union and my sales guy call me the next day to schedule an appointment with him. We met and I told him everything I wanted and he placed the order as I watched him. He got back with me in two days and said Toyota accepted the order and gave me a build date and estimated delivery date. The whole ordeal went rather smooth for me. Prior to that I spent several months with various dealers to discuss ordering a 2016 and just got a lot of bullshit. I knew exactly want I wanted either you can get it for me or you can't

 

Dealers are crooks. Their employees are crooks. These people work off strait commission. Anyone happy to do that without a solid customer base is an idiot. Just understand, they are all assholes. They created this game, not us.

 

You do have a valid point there. I just think I got lucky and my timing was just right when I purchased

 

Most dealer's sales folks don't care.
We care.
That is the disconnect.
The perception of low inventory (whether real or not)
and
people who walk in & just finance at MSRP or more doesn't help us who care.

 

I emailed 26 dealerships in my area last week, was very succinct in what I wanted ... sent a build .pdf of a base SR w/ convenience package and mats/sil protectors. I was flexible with most available accessories just as long as the OTD price was relatively good.

12 responded, all of them gave me a proper OTD figure with the exception of one who would not enter a bidding process against other dealerships (fair enough). There was nothing in the freight system, so most wanted to do factory order. One wanted to dealer trade, non-refundable deposit ... and would not give me a VIN. I'm guessing they wanted to bait-and-switch me into a factory order, otherwise the trade would have been offered elsewhere.

Days later I found one in Acton Toyota of Littleton, MA's inventory (250 miles away, as the crow flies), responded within minutes $1,951 under MSRP (although their doc fee was about $100 higher than I was averaging elsewhere). It was spoken for, but he had another one arriving on a truck within days. I put a 100% refundable deposit on it. He called me 2 days later notifying me of its arrival, I drove up and grabbed it.

Vann White was his name, and he is very detail oriented. Easiest new car buying experience of my life (#5). No tricks, and they even beat my local bank's finance rate. Most are are either morons, or think we are morons (usually the case I'm guessing) but if you're persistent enough you can find a prideful sales person who takes their job seriously. Just like real life, good people are few and far between. Sales people are no different.

 

Yep, it's a lot more difficult to get a deal when there's a line of people standing behind you ready to pay MSRP (or more) and get raped on their trade.

 

Whatever coaching they get it works. They make people emotional on purpose. I understand and recognize the game. Dealers are in a business to make a profit. The vehicles on the lot are there because those will usually gain the dealers the most profit. When you start special ordering expect to pay more or closer to MSRP (especially on a popular vehicle).

I understand it is your money. If the salespeople are acting disrespectful, just walk out.

Try AutoNation Toyota in Tempe. I purchased and serviced my vehicle there (TSB work).

 

I requested an online quote via the car buying service USAA uses. It showed the 3 dealers they chose and that they did not have what I wanted in stock. My phone immediately started ringing with salesmen asking if I wanted to come down to the lot today. I asked if they had what I wanted, they paused to start typing to see what it actually was I wanted. SMH. I guess they figure I will rush down and then they can push what they have instead of what I asked for. One dealer I called up since they install lifts also and chatted with a guy about what I wanted. He kept pushing what he had on the lot instead of what I wanted to order. I put him on ignore. I don't want to deal with someone who is not listening to his customers.

 

Now a days its about tacking in the "extras" to everything you buy. If you go to Walmart and buy a toaster or tv set, they try to sell you insurance in case it breaks after the warranty. Really wth??

Bottom line is, they don't just want your wallet, they want the blood too! :/

Buyer be aware
Cheers!

 

The individual at the first dealer I visited when I started looking was completely incompetent. I tried a second dealer located a bit further away and the gentleman was awesome; he did not play games and ordered exactly what I wanted. He even sent me the details twice to verify that he had it correct. He even gave me weekly updates without being asked.
Not all of them are sub-par, you just have to look until you find someone you can work with.
For the record it was Toyota of Ames, Iowa.