Tacoma Stalking, er...uh, Spotting, with Charlie™ (2nd Gen Edition)!

My dad and I were the first ones to drive my Tacoma! It had less than 20 miles on it when we first saw it...

 

I bought it off the lot - after the dealership located the truck I wanted from another dealership.

 

First tried all (3) local dealers - no Access cabs with 6 speeds. Older salesman told me 8-12 weeks to order (May 2009). Went through a Toyota website, found 2 - 1 in Arizona, 1 in North Carolina. Flew to NC and drove it home.

 

got lucky and walked onto the lot and they just so happened to have the exact optioned truck i wanted. TRD OR v6 Auto 4x4 DCSB with no extra options (like JBL etc). My only thing was that it wasnt white but the silver in the 2013 was lighter than the 2014's so i was perfectly ok with it. Actually prefer the silver now.

 

Off the lot, Simon didn't like my Tundra

 

That is true in most cases with everything custom/special ordered. However, I was able to go through the fleet mgr and I paid $25.9k when sticker was $32.1k, no negotiating, and I was there when it rolled off the trailer with 3 miles on the odo. I would've waited for the color/package combo and bought off the lot if I didn't get that deal.

 

I always order my trucks, but let me qualify that a bit. When I was driving Fords, there were significantly more possible combinations of models, options, colors, etc. and that made finding the exact truck I wanted very difficult. So, I always went to the Ford web site, then to "Build & Price" to build the exact truck I wanted. The chances of the truck I wanted being on any dealer lot was pretty much zero and my theory was / is that for the kind of money I'm spending, I want exactly what I want - not something "close." Believe it or not, the "oddest" thing that I was specifying was always a Limited Slip rear axle. Dealers don't normally order those on "stock" trucks, so they're pretty hard to find - even up here.

With Toyota, there are significantly fewer possible combinations of models, options, colors, etc. available. But I still went to the Toyota web site and built the exact truck I wanted. Then when I went to my local dealer, they were able to locate several trucks that met my exact specifications that they could "dealer trade" for and get me within a few days. If none was available, I was willing to wait 4-6 weeks to get exactly what I wanted built and pay the exact same price. As it was, I picked the truck with the most recent build date and said I'd only take if after I closely inspected it. Fortunately, it was perfect.

BTW, don't let any dealer tell you that they can sell you one "off the lot" for less than they can order one for. There is no difference in cost unless they have a real turd on their hands and the manufacturer offers a special incentive. They're just working the angle that if you don't buy something while you're there, statistically speaking, the chances of you coming back are fairly slim. I have several friends that own dealerships and they have (reluctantly) verified this. Besides, why would I want to buy a truck that's been sinking through the pavement for several months at a dealership as opposed to having one built for me? And from a dealer standpoint, which truck costs them less? One that's been sitting there with them paying "floor plan" on it or one that rolls off the transporter and I hand them the cash?

 

No such thing as a special or custom order Tacoma. Maybe in the past, but certainly since 2013 when I was buying.

 

I actually went to buy a Blue Ribbon TRD Sport 6spd configured exactly as I thought I wanted it. Ended up preferring the Barcelona Red TRD Sport Auto. Had I ordered, I would've ended gone with the former, and wouldn't have been disappointed. There were 6 miles on the odo on the truck I ultimately purchased. Mountain States usually has around 100~ Tacos on the lot at any given time, so for me personally, I would've been hard pressed to find one not configured how I wanted it. Still wish I would've left the lot in the Inferno TRD Pro though...damnit.

 

I think your definition of "special order" or "custom built" may be different than mine. I define "special order" as a truck built within existing ordering guidelines - like from the Build & Price section on the Toyota web site. With Toyota's much more limited number of models, options, colors, etc., the chances of finding the exact truck one wants on a dealer lot is actually pretty good.

I would define a "custom built" truck to be something that - if it were possible - was built outside of existing ordering guidelines. Take for instance a TRD Sport 4x4 regular cab. They just don't offer them. (Damn!)

Many dealers will tell you that you cannot special order a vehicle. (Using my definition from above.) And the reason they do that is just as I noted in my post - they want you to buy something they already have. More correctly, they don't want to special order a vehicle and run the risk of you finding something else at another dealer in the time it takes to build and ship the one you ordered. Probably a reasonable concern.

 

All I wanted was a long bed 4x4 didn’t care about the rest. Went to the dealership and drove off a few hours later .. only had 5 miles when I drove it off the lot

 

Special order as the dealer didn't have a 6spd DCSB in stock. Priced through Consumer Reports pricing service so it didn't matter if it was off the lot or ordered. The dealer agreed to the price regardless.

 

Drove mine off the lot. Only 4x4 they had on the lot, but im glad I went with the double cab long bed. Wanted a white one but I’ve grown to love the magnetic gray metallic. It also was the demo truck so that was the one everyone had been using to test drive. Had 400 miles on it so they bumped it down from about $35,000.00 to almost 30 even. Couldnt ask for a better truck

 

Off the lot with the options I wanted.
I researched for months to decide want options I wanted first. Then chose a color. I searched for the truck and the price I was willing to pay. I did most of this by e-mail.
I live in So Cal and there are many dealers here so I had an advantage. I was lucky and had 3 dealerships fighting with prices. I new the stock number ect. The dealership with the best price won and they didn't even have the truck. They went to another dealership and got it for me. Tustin Toyota won!

 

Off the lot.... Dealer that quoted the best online price just happened to be the closest to me AND had two DC versions of the color I wanted (BRM). They had and short bed (OR) and a long bed (Sport). I wanted the long bed and it was equipped exactly how I wanted it.

 

295/70/17’s?

 

17" Icon Alpha Wheels BFG KO2's 285/70/17's

 

I ordered my B on B Baja, as they didn't have any down here and no one seemed interested. I ordered a stick as well. 10 weeks later still not built, so they got me in the same truck, but with the auto and that is what I still have and plan to keep for a long time. In the end from order to when I drove off in my truck was 13 weeks. Will not order another truck from Toyota eva again. If I got this route again, I will probably just find what I want on a lot somewhere in the US and go buy it and drive it home. There was two up north that I could of bought, however because they were not in the same region for Toyota they couldn't work a deal; or some BS like that. Hope to run the wheels off this one and then put some new ones on and continue!

 

Off the lot after finding it at a dealership (online) a couple hundred miles away. They had it brought in for me and i drove it off!

 

Not entirely relevant to the conversation as I have not bought a new car in nearly 30 years--but the last one I bought was a '91 Cressida in the Fall of 1990, it was a special order because I wanted all options BUT the leather "seating surfaces" (I much prefer cloth as it holds up better over miles and years). It took about 11 weeks for delivery...