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

It was and it was only AFTER I made repeated requests for the information and he danced around giving me the number.

 

"Want this truck? GREAT! don't want this truck? GREAT! Theres a guy standing right behind you who wants it and I don't have to put out any effort. "
Yes, I'm with you though. Some decent courtesy would be appreciated.

 

Just to note that this doesn't work as well with Pros as they are allocated so few and nobody will trade them.

 

Just Picked up my 2017 TRD Sport DCSB 4x4 last weekend. Emailed a few dealers and non had what I wanted or was asking msrp for them. Found one fleet manager that replied with an asking price of $180 above INVOICE (Costco invoice). I didn't even have to haggle. Put my deposits down and waited two weeks for their allocation to come in. No hidden fees and didn't even try to push me on extended warranties. I was in and out in less than 1 hour including the test drive.

 

That's because it's a Sport. Those are easy to find

 

Was just around the same price. Just wasnt the color i wanted and I wanted the scoop.

 

You bought a 4x4 sport for the scoop? Would you have bought a 2 wheel drive?

 

It was
1. My First color choice
2. 4x4 mainly for my trips up to tahoe for boarding. Probably won't go off-roading but who knows. It's my first truck.
3. SCOOP
4. No additional add on accessories that I really don't care for and will have to sell off.

But yeah, so far I'm digging the truck.

 

My local dealership has one of these on the lot. I've stopped and looked at it twice, I know its cosmetic but I really like it. Wife is on the fence about getting a 4runner or a highlander for when we start having kids. I'm really trying to get her to get this one before someone else does.

 

Yep.

I walk into my local dealership, see what they have in stock, if nothing I want, have them locate/order it. Agree on a price. Leave with said truck or with ETA on my truck I just bought. Simple really...

 

Dealers absolutely love it when folks do as you describe. Helps pay off their beach house and their kids college tuition.

But it's your money if that's how you prefer to spend it.

Just curious, what'd you pay for your 2016 or 2017?

 

I tried going through the CostCo Automotive buying plan and got some dealer over 100 miles away. When they first contacted me I told them what I wanted, they said they would get back to me. About 2 weeks later I get a text on my phone wanting to know if I was still interested. Only then, three weeks after I had contacted them, did they give me the blah, blah, story and try to sell me something that they already had. They always wanted me to buy the opposite of what wanted, for example, I stated that I wanted a 6 cylinder, they quote me a 4 cylinder!
Anyway I contacted a local dealer whom I had bought from in the past. I told them what I wanted, they called me back that day saying they had found one exactly like I specified. I gave them a $500 deposit and they sent someone out to bring the car here! This a dealer that just has one location, takes good care of his customers and treats them right. It's the big corporate owned dealers that have a hard time delivering that kind of service.

 

Well, that non-responsiveness and push towards something on the lot seem more of a dealer issue than anything to do with Costco.

I don't know what's up with which dealer they assign to your request; they must do some sort of random or round-robin pick instead of something geolocated. When I was shopping I gave it a try and it spit out a dealer on the other side of town, which is a major endeavor in Atlanta on any weekday. Then I decided to try a Tennessee dealer (outside SET) so I submitted a new request using a Chattanooga zip code for the request... and it spit out the dealer four miles from my home.

I did end up pricing the Costco deal with that nearby dealer, and as I described in other posts it was about $1100 higher than what I got using my normal method. Went back to that close-by dealer and they came close enough that I did the deal there.

Do give Costco pricing a try, and if they assign some dealer out in East Podunk, do up another request. Just don't assume Costco will be the best deal.

 

This is so true, when I finally began my search in earnest back in March, the first dealership I visited, I only went there because I knew one of the sales guys there, and he assured me that they had a truck that I wanted. I was looking for a 4x4 tacoma sr5. They had a ton of tacomas on the lot, but only one 4x4. The one they had was in their showroom had all these aftermarket upgrades, and was 15k above what I wanted to pay. Even after telling them how much I was going to pay, they still tried hard to sell me that showroom model that I had no interest in. Quickly realizing that I was wasting my time there where I could be at another dealership that actually had something I wanted, I tried to exit. Man, they were persistent. I kept telling them that I have no reason to be here if they don't have anything that I want to buy.

I went to a second dealership that I had talked to over the phone earlier that day, another big one in san antonio, they also had nothing to show me. But that didn't stop them from sitting me in an office to wait for some unknown reason while the salesman went to "talk" with his manager. I was already annoyed with the first dealership, and now this? To me this is the most annoying tactic that they use. They greet you and sit you down and they disappear. Once they do that, I usually just get up and walk out. Well, as I was waiting for this guy to come back, I get a call from another salesperson at another dealership that I had also been talking to. She tells me they had something on the lot I could look at, and she even gave me the price out the door. She texted a few pics of the truck, and I just got up and left. They guy tries to stop me as I am leaving. I just told him I'm going to another dealership.

I got to the third dealership that evening, and she had already moved the truck out front. The test drive was a formality. I already had financing arranged, so it was all just a matter of writing a check. So all in all, I had 2 dealerships lie to me about their inventory just to get me to visit the lot.

Also, the USAA car buying program is awesome, I saved a nice chunk of change using it.

 

I must have gotten lucky. I talked to the dealer and told him exactly what I wanted and said I am fine waiting for it to be ordered. He tried to locate one and it had everything except the interior wasn't the color I wanted so he just ordered one and called me about 6 weeks later to come pick it up. Before I asked about ordering one I asked if he can sell me the truck at invoice and he said yes, not sure if I could have done better but I was fine with paying invoice if I could get exactly what I wanted. This was for a 2015 but I am pretty sure they do the same for the 2016's - he told me if I waited a few months I could order a 2016 instead. Since I felt that I had a good experience I did the same thing and had him order a 2015 highlander and about 6 weeks later he called and said to come pick it up. I also told him ahead of time that I am showing up to pay for the vehicles and didn't want to hear anything about extended warranties and to my surprise I was in and out in a few minutes.

I did try a few other dealers first and they did the same thing - come in now and test drive even though we don't have what you want, so I just moved on until I found one that was easy to work with, some do exist.

 

Part of my research was to use Consumer Reports to see if there were any specific problems with these trucks so I bought an online subscription. Part of the Consumer Reports deal was "special pricing". So I filled out the information way before I was ready to buy to just see what I would receive for offers. Three offers did come from nearby dealers, but not from the dealer that was 3 miles from my house. And the price was not close to the final discount that I received once I started pitting the dealers against one another. But the Consumer Reports service was useful as I received a quote from several dealers in a pdf form. I used that quote to send to other dealers to start the ball rolling on negotiations when I was ready to buy.

 

For next time and for others considering doing the same, check to see if your local/county library offers online access to Consumer Reports. Many do provide this, often accessible from your own home rather than having to go sit at a library kiosk.

As to the arranged pricing, I too get the sense that while they are often decent deals, particularly for those who don't enjoy the negotiation process, a diligent and skilled buyer can do better.

 

I had a similar situation happen when trying to order a 2016 Honda HR-V last year. I priced it out with everything included (taxes, PDI, fees) and said this is what I will pay. I didn't even want a discount, I was willing to pay MSRP, exactly what was on the website. I found out that Honda Canada's website didn't include a block heater (which all Hondas come with in Alberta - Toyota does this as well, but it is shown on the website as such). No big deal, I can handle that. What I couldn't handle was all of the dealer extras they added to the purchase when we went to actually put the deposit on the vehicle. Glass etching, etc., etc.

I'm offering to pay you MSRP and you STILL won't play ball? (Oh, we could never take that off, we have to charge that, my manager would never let us take that off....) I ended up emailing every other dealer in the area and went with one that wanted to do the deal I offered.

They even knew I worked at another dealership. I know the game, and you're not the only player.

Good luck!

Jeff

 

I think that your title should read "Does Every Person In the World Who Has a Job Have the Identical Approach to Doing That Job?"

Of course Toyota Internet Sales Managers aren't idiots. There may be a few who are difficult to work with, or have a different approach than you would like them to have, but that goes for people in general.

It seems like in this scenario you need to be flexible and let it roll off your shoulders. Buying a car is a big deal; sure, but you've got to treat people the way YOU want to be treated as well. Anything more may come off abrasive, and makes you less likely to find the kind of folks that you want to work with.