How to negotiate buying a 3rd gen Tacoma at the stealership.

This is the most intelligent post in this thread. If you're worried about cost, OP, what do you think would happen if we bought direct from the manufacturer? The manufacturers do not have sales people, so they'll have to hire people on to deal with selling their vehicles to the public. When that happens your cost is going to go up.

In line with that, dealerships compete with other dealerships over consumers. They all want to beat each others best price to sell you the vehicle. If we did away with dealers, there would be no negotiation. If you want a Toyota, you'll have to buy it direct from Toyota for whatever they're deciding to sell it for. That could mean you're paying $50k for a Tacoma because the manufacturer also controls sales to the consumer. It would be like having a monopoly on the market for all of the automakers. Less competition generally means a price hike not a price decrease.

 

perfect

 

They already do that, the dealer price is relative to what the manufacturer charges them for it. Toyota charges dealer $20k for a truck and they sell it for $30k, Toyota charges dealer $40k for a truck and the dealer sells it for $50k. See where this is going? The dealer profit floats on the manufacturer invoice price.....

 

OP, I just realized you're from Texas... You're in the Gulf States region correct? If so, I really do feel for you. I think you're anger is a little misguided though. From what I understand, isn't there one family or something that controls all of the sales in that entire region?

Gulf States Toyota offers packages and parts that aren't available in other regions entirely. They have a stranglehold on that entire market and that's where all this terrible markup is coming from. The best thing you can do would be to buy in another region. Toyotas here in PA are so much cheaper than they are in Texas it's not even funny

 

while watching this..

 

This is exactly correct. If you think the dealer is an evil middle man, you need to take a look at Gulf States Toyota. They are the reason you can hardly buy a Toyota without extra items added. They are the ultimate middle man that provides no value other than operating the trucks that deliver the vehicles to the dealer. Even the dealers don't like GST.

 

who tf sells anything at cost? In what world does that company stay in business? Go read an economics 101 book....or simply don't buy

 

For those who feel the dealerships make to much money I have a very simple solution, quit giving it to them. Nobody is holding a gun to your head, end of story.

Thank you to the OP for some useful information, the shit show that followed.....what a waste of keystrokes.

 

Yup so I was right...

OP, please direct your anger at Gulf States Toyota

 

Cannot recommend this option enough. This method worked well for me without leaving the same state or going to a dealership under different ownership.

We bought a 2011 CR-V, and the Honda dealers in the state (all under the same ownership) each had vastly different prices. We bought two plane tickets to the other side of the state (~$150) and drove the brand new car home for $3000! less than what they wanted locally. All it cost us was 7 hour drive back home, which was perfect to break in the engine.

You guys in the "Lower 48" have even more options: take a day off, fly to your local redneck "Truck Country" region/town or wherever trucks are more common than priuses, save some money, and enjoy your drive back. The good news is, when you get home you'll have enough miles on your engine to go in and get the tranny TSB installed.

 

Im ok with paying a fair price on a fair product-- after all, I gotta eat too and we do the same in our business. I made my dollars count the second I picked XYZ company vs ABC. What I dont like is the cheezy sales tactics some salespeople use to try to guilt trip me into spending more. If a truck costs 20k, profit margins are 10% across the board, sure, ok, no problem with that. But when its $20k, we're going to sneak some stuff on the backend by saying your 800 credit score is only A++, not A+++ financing, tack on blinker fluid fee and whatnot, yeah, not worth my time and really gets me going. Give me an honest dealer (rare, right?) with a honest margin and Ill give them business for life.

 

Haha! So true. Southwestern PA is exactly like you described. It's like everyone owns a truck here. And they're super cheap because there are a ton of different dealers all competing for business.

 

I'm in the SF Bay Area. And most dealers here won't deal on the trucks. They sell every truck they get. When i was shopping for mine some would go MSRP some had MSRP +5k on every truck. I ended il getting a special order truck waited a few weeks and got MSRP -1,000. I picked it up a few hours after the car transport delivered it. They didn't have do anything but help me order it. That was by far the best deal I could obtain after jimmy jacking around with several dealers. At some point my time is worth more than the hassle

 

Yes, Gulf States Toyota has higher invoice pricing than any other region. I was surprised looking at some of the invoice prices people on TW were posting. I thought my dealer was lying to me until he showed me the invoice from GST.
Also, from what I understand, Gulf States Toyota is just another middleman between Toyota and the dealerships. It is a private company that has a contract with Toyota to sell to the 5 states they cover. So they need to make a profit, as well as the dealers.
I almost drove to Colorado just to get my taco...

 

I actually think this information is helpful in identifying the honest dealer/salesperson from the frauds. This gives someone a little ammo to go in and bargain with. There is a reason these companies are in businesses but taking advantage of the average Joe should not be the business model imo. In one way it's about supply and demand, and yeah I don't mind letting a company make a profit but shit is getting ridiculous these days. If I go in and look at a truck, I don't want a guy right up my ass asking to run my credit before I even say hello. You can tell when you get a good salesman who is actually trying to look out for you as well as do his job. They are rare though. Dude named Reggie Collins hooked me up on a Ford some years back in Texas, but works for Toyota in Jersey now I think. That guy was straight up decent and willing to help me out. Even hooked me up with his personal Credit Union to get me a better rate on financing. Also made sure I got the best price on my trade. Told me a few things about how stuff worked and where the money could be saved. Then he made it happen! Did he get paid? Yeah but he didn't screw me over. He was fair, and honest about his business dealings. So I was good with it. Now the dude in Valdosta who sold me this Tacoma... whole nother breed. That place is horrible! I had to get a truck and I needed it that same day no matter what. No other place was open at the time I went in. I am not stupid by any means and I have the job to pay for my urgent deal but I would never go back to that place under any circumstances! I damn sure would not recommend it to anyone! I honestly should have called Reggie and waited a bit and I could have caught an Eagles home game and drove my truck back to Alabama from Philly a hell of a lot more happy! I know Jersey is not in Pennsylvania before someone points that out. It's right next to Philly and I am a die hard Eagles fan...

 

Yes but that's exactly the problem for that whole region. Other regions suppliers don't take a cut like Gulf States does

 

Except for Southeast Toyota. They're also in the same business of making money by adding bs charges to their vehicles.

 

I just feel bad for everyone that buys one in those regions my OTD price including everything was less then their invoice price

 

Yup that is what I said in post #31 in this thread. GST and SET are thieves.

 

Another recommendation worth noting: use the Toyota corporate site to build your truck. Create exactly what you want and then reach out to a few local dealers (like 5 or so is good, but really anything you're willing to drive to is good. The more options, the better your chances at getting the deal you want). Tell each of the different dealers that they are competing with each other for your buy (it can help to, at your discretion, forward emails from the other locations) and get most of the haggling done early. Once you're past this point, bring in the original build you made on Toyota's site, sit down with the sales rep you've been emailing with. Re-show the build to them and state upfront that you don't want any other BS that can be offered - just what's on the paper. Don't deal with the random add ons, unless it's something you really want. Be patient. They may pull you along a bit and state that they won't deal with you. If that winds up being the case, just walk away - at the end of the day, they're the one losing business. Often, when you note that you're just going to leave cause they won't work with you, they'll have a change of heart quickly (they want their commission). After a bit longer, you'll be in luck!

I've worked this exact process a couple times now with fantastic success. For my current truck, I paid just over $36k and for the TRD OR with tonneau, chrome kit, side steps, and the bed step - proof it works

Best of luck to you guys!