Experiences with "ordering" a new Tacoma?

So a few months ago I began shopping for a 2020 Tacoma. I have owned 10 new Tacoma's in the past 20 years and many of them have been allocations and/or ordered so to speak to my desired specs. I am fully aware that many say there is no way to actually "order" a new Tacoma but that's another story. I visited a few dealers back in November and was about to pull the trigger. Every dealer I visited assured me that they would have no issue ordering the rig for me.

At the last minute, I made one last visit to a different dealer who promptly offered me what was almost too good of a deal to believe but nonetheless after much negotiation and questions they were willing to order and I placed a deposit. Fast forward 7 weeks later now they are telling me that Toyota will not accept the build and is not allocating the build to anyone. My build is not a unicorn. Something seems fishy? Now I'm being told that they may "have to locate" me a truck.

I am trading my 2016 with 8600 miles. I do not want a 2020 with a few hundred miles on it at delivery. Do I take my deposit back and shop elsewhere or keep working with them?

2020 Tacoma TRD Sport 4X4 Double Cab V6 Auto. Premium Sport Package, Advanced Technology Package, LED headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and black bezel LED fog lights.

Port installed accessories. Door Sill Protectors, Exhaust Tip (Chrome), Mudguards.

 

Not knowing the options available on any given package -- I am thinking you could/should just hand the dealer(s) a copy of what you stated here and they should be able to find one for you. Heck, you left out the important things -- COLOR and PRICE.
Don't you have any wishes with regards to these 2 items? Just add that you want nowhere over (X) number of miles (insert number for the X) they will get one for you. Mine was a special "ordered" build as they could not find one exactly like I desired.
PS they will love you for not adding a PRICE!!!!!
Also your dealer is LAZY -- speak to the sales or the dealership general manager -- if you get nothing correct from them -- HEAD FOR THE DOOR!

 

When I "ordered" my truck I got a vin for non-existent truck BEFORE I actually payed. Then the VIN was built to spec. I believe by custom order I (my broker) selected a VIN already on the list to be built that matched what I wanted.

 

Sorry to hear about these issues, but it's not uncommon. I did the same thing with mine: 2016 V6 TRD Sport Auto with most of the same stuff +JBL as you could not get that in the manual (shame). I "ordered" it, but as it was new at the time there was one in the build list so it got shipped with almost no mileage. I would inquire further into it, but many times they do have to locate specific trucks

 

If they are locating one from another dealer hundreds of miles away. Tell them the only way you will accept it, is if they trailer it, and it has to pass your inspection on arrival.
That what I did on mine. They went 1400 miles around trip to get it at no charge to me.

P.s. FYI - -I located the truck myself, from Cargurus. They couldn't find exactly what I wanted.

 

Seems like a pretty straightforward build. Have you tried looking on Cars.com or Autotrader to see if one is in stock locally? I'd much rather drive a few hours and have it the same day than wait a few months for it to show up.

 

You can't order one from the factory. You can order one from a distributor. If your dealer's distributor (there are 12 in the US) does not have it coming in then you are SOL as dealers don't/can't go to a different distributor.
The good news is the distributor usually orders about every combination available for every vehicle. There are unicorns however.

 

That’s weird. I stopped at my local dealer this morning specifically to ask if I could order from the factory. He told me I could and the current build time is around 3 months. I even asked if they could order a Sport with TRD wheels. After some checking he told me it’s not possible to build the truck with those wheels but they would be happy to order them and swap them out at the dealership for me.

 

Dealers order through their distributor. Distributors order from factory. Its been that way since Toyotas were first sold in the US. The logic is, for example, that very few 4WD's will be sold in FL, just like very few 2WD's will be sold in Maine. So the distributors make sure they have the proper stock for their unique regions.
But, there are definitely combinations of options that are not available in some regions that are available in other regions.

 

Interesting.

And so will be my NEXT conversation with this salesman!

LOL

 

To a typical Toyota salesman, for all intents and purposes, their distributor is the "factory." They don't like to talk about their distributor because some are limited in different packages and some offer their own. SET (South East Toyota) is a distributor that offers the XP packages, which is their own and include leather in lower SR and SR5 trim levels. Plus different wheels and flares and such. Mid Atlantic Toyota does not offer nor has the ability to offer.

 

Ahh, ok.

Gets kinda fussy doesn’t it?

 

I'm looking to order one as well, an MT with essentially no options/accessories. A dealership took a deposit on what I wanted. Fortunately after a few weeks I insisted on a VIN, which showed $3000+ worth of options I have no interest in. They never told me it was not what I wanted, kind of like bait & switch. Got my deposit refunded and am currently evaluating what I’m going to do. Five weeks wasted.

 

Sounds almost identical to an experience I had in the mid 2000s with a large Toyota Dealer in SE Pa. I ended up walking away as I believed the sales person made me a deal too good to be true and once management found out, they nixed it. They then ran me around the horn to get my deposit back. It wasn’t until I told the guy that I’d be down on Saturday, willing to sit and talk to every customer on their way in. Surprise surprise, they had a check sitting at reception first thing that morning for me.

 

Those are both scary stories.

For gods sake. Why does life need to be so darn complicated?!?!
Just let me tell you what I want and BUILD IT!
Hahaha......

 

You gotta kinda know the history before it makes sense. Remember every vehicle used to be built in Japan long before the internet or computers or even common global trade. They set up these distributors (12) instead of having hundreds of dealers to order product. This way, there could always be vehicles on the water or at the distribution port, ready to ship when needed. It makes sense.

 

Each configuration has a stock number, you need to find that list which is floating around here so you can walk in to the dealer and say "I want configuration 1234 in Superwhite, when can I get one delivered here and how much?"

 

I built mine, but not without work and some luck. First, I had to go to a few dealers to even get one who would bite. Second, I think being the beginning of the model year helped (no sense in Toyota as a whole building trucks with inventory out there). Third, the salesman was great about setting the timeline and managing my expectations. He explained that certain markets just cannot get certain options for whatever reasons. Not that a lot of things can't be done at the port. For example, the multi-terrain monitors weren't offered in my areas with another option that I "needed." Not that I miss the MTM or remember what the option was. Finally, I had to play the game a bit. Give the deposit (and trust the salesman, but he wants to sell a car), wait for an allocation (he explained the schedule for that at the relatively small dealership), wait for the approval to build after allocated. Wait for the order to be built and shipped. All together very possible, but I can see what a lot of places don't bother. Look for a tiny dealership that doesn't have a Tacoma on the lot or only has one SR. Good luck.

 

Thanks for refreshing my memory on the explanation I received with my build. That distributor network is the reason why certain options aren't available in certain markets. I'm pretty sure pickups were always built in the US (and/or Canada/Mexico?) because of the Chicken Tax.

 

Yepper. That all makes sense now. Thanks for taking the time to explain that to us.