search for my new truck on a lot or work with dealer?

So I'm trying to find my new taco and I'm wondering if it would be better to work with my local dealer, who has been pretty good me with in the past, or try to find it on my own and go to that dealer's lot. I want a cement DCOR without chrome bumper (hideous) or leather/sunroof (no need) so that means tech pkg only. Not concerned about misc dealer add ons, you're gonna get them no matter where you go.

So far I've found maybe one that fits the bill, about 2hrs away but that's it and I'm not even sure its still there. I know I'm getting a better deal with something that's on the lot in inventory but wondering if I can get just as good or almost as good of a deal by having my dealer do the searching/legwork. Then they can do a dealer to dealer swap or whatever they do. Any thoughts or anyone with recent experience like this? does that make it tougher to negotiate a price?

 

In my experience it varies by dealer. Some don't mind ordering trucks at the same price as selling something on lot because they move enough volume. Some will not trade because they refuse to play nice with other dealers. The only way to find out is to get some options priced out and see what the dealer can do.

 

Cement DCSB OR Auto 4X4 is a pretty common configuration. You should be able to find one with the tech package pretty easily. When you find one, if the dealer won't make a good deal with you, walk away. Like I said it's a common config, just find another one.
Go Stars!!!

 

I'd say both. A truck is going to be the same no matter where you buy it. Negotiate the best OUT-THE-DOOR price taking into consideration all the added stuff like filing fees, warranty, oil changes, taxes in the various location (they can be a little different), hold-backs, etc.

 

yeah always good advice, walk away if its bad deal...part of the issue is finding exactly that color/trim. These websites like cargurus, cars.com, etc all have color filters that don't account for cement. Its either gray or silver or unknown so then I have to wade through dozens of posts to see if its a match, Anyone using a better site to search? And the official Toyota inventory website sucks btw, so that's no good.

 

The dealership web sites are better than cars.com. Most of them have actual photos. Just google Toyota dealerships with your zip and go to the actual web site. If you see something interesting, call them. You shouldn't have any trouble finding the config you are looking for.

 

Most dealer will trade, maybe be a little less negotiating but factor in having a dealer close by and what they offer. I get free oil change for life, use of their car wash anytime, and all the coffee I want, ( I do stop on occasion and grab a cup. . I got a little bonus this time, they foundtruck I wanted, had a blackout package, no steps. Signed the papers, 10 minutes later they called, that truck sold, we found another but no blackout package but it has predator steps, same deal, just had to redo the paperwork.

 

Use the toyota website. Dont use cars.com or any of those other sites. Dealers hardly use them.

 

Used Cargurus. Dealer couldn't find what I was looking for. They would only go out 200 to 300 miles. I found one exactly like I wanted 700 miles out. Contacted my dealer, told them I found what I wanted. I said would you go get it trailer it back, if you won't I'll go get it and buy from them. Low and behold, they said sure we'll go get it, no extra charge. They had it in three days, no extra charge. Cargurus, you can spec exactly what your looking for.

 

Walk into your local dealer and grab your favorite associate and show them the one you want. Ask them if they can get that vehicle or one just like it for the price you want “as you would prefer to do business with them” and see what happens.

Me personally, my “preferred” dealer wanted to rake me over the coals with an almost $5k difference in price. Needless to say, they’re not my preferred dealer anymore.

 

Write down what you want, what you can be flexible on, what you don't want. Contact 25 dealers by email and get them to give you the out the door price. If they won't work with you here, don't work with them. Get the ones that will and try to work them down on price.

Someone will want to sell you a truck.

 

Did they drive it to the dealer or trailer it?

 

As mentioned before, this will likely vary a lot dealer to dealer. The one I've used to buy our 4Runner and Tacoma has been more than happy to trade or get the configuration we want without changing costs. They went and got a Tacoma for my buddy from over 200 miles away and had no qualms about doing it at all.

 

They trailered it.

 

I would personally put a deposit on the one two hours away and then drive up there to go get it. Last time I did that they took $250 off the price and gave me an extra $250 for my trade than the dealer that wanted to do the transfer would give me. I walked with a brand new truck for $20,500, taxes included.

 

My wife did this when car shopping. Got a great deal just 40 miles from home. No legwork, no idiot salesmen, and no gasoline used until we went for the car

 

This x1000. If you only have a couple dealers around (we have two in Alaska for example) make your offer and leave if they don’t take it. Dealers want to move metal and if they think they’ve got a customer they’ll come find you when they need to sell the truck and are willing to negotiate.

I don’t know why buying a vehicle is so hard for so many people, especially with the internet letting you search damn near every dealer in the country.

 

Go the online route. I bypassed the local dealer and a dealer who was 60 miles away, and got my Tacoma from a dealer who was 90 miles away. Online, then text and e-mail, and didn't meet the salesman until I drove over to sign the papers. And got the best truck and price between the three dealers.

 

Luckily for me within 20 miles there are more than 10 Toyota dealers. I visited and called almost all of them. Went in person to 3 dealers and spent a couple hours at each. It was good practice and I was able to see how good of a price I can get one of these trucks for.

I ended up buying at the biggest dealer in town. They have the largest inventory. It was also end of the month, which is a great time to buy. If they are low on sales that month, they will do anything to move a unit. It's all about timing.

Last thing, be a little more open on the options. I wasn't as concerned with the color, tech package vs non tech package. I simply wanted a trd 4x4 OR. If the dealer has a truck that has sat on their lot for months, they will be more willing to sell it cheap.

 

Toyota divides the country into regions. When you search on their website, it only shows you the inventory in your region (based on the zip code that you enter). As far as I know a dealer will only trade with another dealer that is in the same region.

If you are in South Jersey you are in the New York region. If you are close enough to PA or Delaware (Atlantic region) you can search there as well by entering a zip code in that region. If you find something there, I believe you would have to go to a dealer in that region to see if they would get it for you.

I went to my local dealer with a printout of 3 trucks that I found on the Toyota website. I said if you can get any of these for this price, I'll buy it. We agreed to the price and a few days later, one of the 3 was at the local dealer waiting for me to pick up. It was driven from a dealer in another state.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/determining-your-region-for-toyota-deals