What Should I Ask of the Dealer Before Leaving the Lot?

I don't know about all them mundane details you guys are talking about ...but if you are talking about walking out of a dealership with a new truck you should put 99% of all your attention on that final sale price. Be a boss and offer way below sticker. Just be a stubborn jerk, if they try to talk about getting your monthly payments down tell them you are going to pay cash and final sales price is the goal here (even if you don't, it doesn't matter). dealer laughs at you? walk out and tell the floor manager you felt insulted and you don't want their dumb made in mexico truck anyways . Toyota dealers are all over town find one. If they say some dumb shit like "well this TRD has floor mats and graphics" just tell them, cool take it off the truck right now ill wait. I'm not paying that price. 35k or bust for your TRD OR truck ..do it. you can fill up your tank and check the ATF fluid will all the $$ u saved later

 

While you are right in what you are saying, it most definitely PAYS to do one's own homework ahead of time, even before going to the dealership. Also, I can highly recommend going to a dealer that has a "deal with one person" setup, meaning that you deal with your salesperson and nobody else. It is a MUCH better experience, and that, combined with doing your homework, will get you the best deal. Here is what I did, and it admittedly took a lot of time; I am in northern CA, and there are a ton of Toyota dealers around. All of them have dealer inventory listed on their website. Just go to the various dealer websites for anywhere in your region, and search their inventory for the exact vehicle you are looking for, including color, etc. After a while of doing this for the various dealers, you will get used to doing it, and it will be a quick process. But DO it for as many dealers in your geographic area. Also look at the discounts the dealers offer on your vehicle. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Here in Northern CA, the Toyota distributor will offer rebates to the dealers, and the dealers will usually tack on their own discounts on top of that. THIS dealer discount will vary by dealer, and some dealers won't even offer it! When you find the vehicle you are looking for, even if it is 150 miles away, you can either go to that dealer, OR, to your local dealer and tell them that you found the vehicle, and where it is. Also, in my own case, I found that a dealer in a small town in northern CA, was actually the largest seller of Tacomas in Northern CA, which surprised me, but was true. They consistently had around 120 Tacomas in stock at any given time, while the local dealers in the Bay area had about half that. That fact alone was helpful and this small dealer offered the absolute best price around. I ended up buying at my local dealer though, because my local dealer was able to get my truck faster than the other dealer, BUT, I only ordered it AFTER the local dealer agreed to MATCH the price of the lowest dealer at that small town! If I hadn't searched dealer inventories in the area, I would never have found that this dealer offered the best prices and best selection, as they were an hour drive away.

 

Before going to the dealership, go online and fully read the owners manual. If you don't understand how something works, then you can ask before leaving the lot.

 

Tell them before you sign you're gonna test drive a Ridgeline. They'll throw in something extra.

 

true. If you are dead set on a particular tuck/trim you should def do your research and locate it. I would also not let the dealer know , that is exactly what you want cuz $$ will be all they will see.
I have been through three Gen3 taco purchases since Dec 2015 and all that hype about tacos being sold over sticker no matter what is mehhh.

1st time: 2016 SR5 4x4 auto DBL cab in the coveted ugly sand dune color, which was so "unique and sought after" that it was listed at 37k LOL...end of day the final price (before taxes/fees) was 34,300.

2ed time: 2017 4x4 TRD (with E-locer), manual trans!(ohhh +5k bucks at least), DBL cab and not much tech upgrades was 32k ish (before taxes/fees). This is the time we told the deal "take the floor mats, mud flaps and tailgate graphics off the truck if they are raising the price".

3rd time: My 2018 SR5 4x4 auto DBL cab. 33,000ish. Told him 32k cash ,now ,and please don't start up with the BS. I think he saw how ugly that magnetic grey looked and felt sorry for me so said F it 33k and u have a deal. put 12k down and financed the rest 1.8%. The first dealer i went to in escondido did not like my negotiation tactics and accused me of lying about the previous taco purchases i had lived through. I told him for 37k i'm going to buy a BMW and not deal with insults so we walked out.


Any time i hear a story of anyone paying over 36k I just hope to god that they are talking about a TRD PRO. "but a 2020 is packed with new tech and features" okayyyy sure lol.

 

Pretty good advice. Although nowadays there are online forums for most vehicles. Some are more active than others but usually there are current owners out there willing to help others.

 

Yes,
The sales guy kept saying all 2018+ 4x4 tacos come with elockers. False.

Hey does anyone wanna trade / sell me their locking rear axle? Bonus points for that 4.33 geared, bigger, manual one too.

 

There's a list of things you can have customized via Techstream...

 

I got:
winter tire/rim package
Tri fold soft top Tonneau cover
Pro Grill
Tub Mats

After that, the salesman said "there was no more meat left on the bone".

 

Phone number to the service department

 

Maybe someone already suggested this, I didn't read the entire thread. I always tell them I want on the sales contract, if this truck comes in for warranty work, I will be provided a vehicle to drive until work is completed. One time I had the service advisor tell me, "We don't have any of the loaner cars available." I said, "Take a look around, you have hundreds of cars on your lot, pick one."