Port/Dealer installed accessories - What is hard to install DIY?

Just got notice that my allocation for a TRD OR DCSB in army green was accepted, very exciting! My salesperson asked if there were any accessories I wanted to add-on. She was saying the only advantage of ordering ahead of time is free labor, but I'm fine with installing most things myself anyway. Here's what I'm thinking potentially:

Mudguards
Blackout emblems
Bed lighting
Remote locking tailgate

My question is: Are any of these or other common accessories difficult to install to the point that I should take advantage of ordering from the factory/port? (I'm reasonably handy, comfortable turning a wrench, changing oil, etc.)

 

Get a price on each and then compare it to the equivalent aftermarket. Most dealers love playing the markup game. (e.g. why does the window sticker say $400 for floor mats?)

 

Get the mud guards and bed lighting. Edit: and tell them to throw in some t-shirts

 

I don't think there is any markup, I can get everything for the Toyota list price. Door sill protectors and floor mats are $248. I guess my question should be, What is hard to install DIY, not what should I order. I like look and quality of OEM, so I'm fine paying a bit more.

 

In my case, I was told the remote locking tailgate would not be put on at port, so I initially cancelled it, intending to put it in myself and save about $100. Then the thought occurred to me that if it was put in at time of purchase by the dealer, it would be warranteed for 3 years, but if I put it in, it would only have the 1 year Toyota parts warranty. So, I had it installed by the dealer, which was at the option price so included labor. This would apply to your bed lights as well, although mine were installed at Port. For some reason it was only the remote locking tailgate that had to be installed by the dealer.

 

What is the cost of blacked out emblems?

It's very easy to use plastidip to black out the emblems, and a can of plastidip is I believe less than $10. I did mine several years ago and it's still ok (I also did my grill, and have some spots where road debris chipped it off). Obviously there's potential for the plastidip on the emblems to scratch, but it's trivial to fix.

I personally only blacked out the tacoma on the door and removed the remaining ones from the tailgate.

 

OP, you pose an interesting question. Would it be too much trouble to post a list of the item and the dealer price? For me, and this is just my opinion, if the price is reasonable I go ahead and have the dealer install it. But not if they are charging a ridiculous amount, of course. Part of that is my skill set is probably less than yours but really more of a time issue. To me time is the bigger issue than money.

So let's look at the example that you presented. Just for the purposes of illustration:

Toyota OEM Floor Mats ballpark price: $169
Toyota OEM Door Sill Protectors ballpark price: $45

Estimated total: $214 (not including tax and shipping)

So in my opinion, and this is just me, when you add in tax and or shipping for the floor mats and the sill protectors, the gap is not that great. Might not really even save anything if you do it yourself, so in that case I would just have the dealer to it and have it off my list. But that's just me.

It would be interesting to look at your total list and get a sense as to how much could be saved potentially. Might help with your decision and could be done fairly quickly and easily.

 

Just get a bed mat and that's it

 

Yeah not a bad call, I guess my thought is, I'm not sold on any of these things 100% so does it make sense to buy now or to buy if/when a dealer is running a promo on parts down the road and install myself. I'm wondering specifically what is hard or not to install DIY; if you've done this, let me know!

This is all from Toyota's configurator website, I'm guessing that is list price at a dealer's parts desk:
Floor mats and sill protectors, all one package: $248 (list for sill is $79, floor liners $169)
Bed lighting kit: $149
Bed mat: $120
Blackout emblem overlays: $160 (this seems steep haha)
mudguards $129
Remote tailgate lock: $169

For things like bed lighting and tailgate lock, is the wiring already there and it's just plug and play, or is it more involved than that?

 

All of these are port or dealer installed. Generally speaking, you can save money by not having them as part of the initial deal. Shop around and find the best price at one of the online Toyota parts dealers. I had a long list of such accessories and they were easy to install myself. I kept my interaction with the selling dealer very simple -- no accessories, no extended warranties, no rustproofing, no financing. The dealer probably hated me for depriving him of all these "profit centers."

On the other hand, if you are financing the truck, adding the accessories to the initial deal lets you pay for them over the life of the loan. That's the main reason I can think of why you would want to do that.

 

I've never had a problem installing floor mats, or bed mat, or mud guards...........

Possibly have them do the Bed lighting kit. Electrics can get funky leading to many frustrating problems to hunt.

Otherwise, everything you listed is easy DIY install. Plus you could save a few $$$ with aftermarket items.

 

Good conversation. Totally get where you are coming from. Here is my take. Keep in mind, this is one person's opinion. Look forward to hearing from others.

1) Floor mats and sill protectors, all one package: $248 (list for sill is $79, floor liners $169)

I would get these from the dealer. You really don't save much if you DIY it and you are going to want floor mats and the sill protectors are pretty useful.

2) Bed lighting kit: $149

Seems steep. Mine came installed. From what I have seen from the more experienced people here, this is not a hard install at all. So the question is do you think you will find this useful or not? For me, I have found the bed lighting to be pretty valuable. Helps a lot. This one could go either way, really. Call it a tie. For me, I would have the dealer install it.

3) Bed mat: $120

Easy to install. Just unbox and toss in the bed. I would see if I could get a better price and drop this in myself. I did. Unless the dealer wants to give you a discount and make just a little margin. Like many here, I have found this useful.

4) Blackout emblem overlays: $160 (this seems steep haha)

This one is funny. I don't get the whole delete every inch of chrome from the truck. I know lots of people are into it but not something I care about. That said, if I did he blackout overlays I would buy them and not worry about the price and install them myself or have the dealer do them if it wasn't too much money. Probably do myself. What I wouldn't do is paint the ones I have and all of that. Not popular, I know. I get it. $10 can of paint. All that. But I have noticed several trucks that have done that and you can always tell. And that paint never stays perfect so now I have an entire project maintaining paint on a cosmetic thing with no value. Keep in mind, that is just me. But if I wanted these I would buy the real blackout ones and install them myself. That's just my opinion.


5)mudguards $129

Again, just my opinion but I would have the dealer install. The cost is not that much. If I was doing a full on overland vehicle, I would not get them and install something more rugged, etc. But for my off road purposes they are just fine. I would have the dealer do it so I don't have to worry about it.

6) Remote tailgate lock: $169


For that price, I would totally have the dealer do it. It is not hard but does take some time and is a bit finicky. Why not get the dealer to do it and get the warranty -- as someone here previously stated. My vote. Just get it done and have one less thing to worry about.

One other thing to consider -- do you want steps or maybe even sliders? I would do those myself and save the money.

Again, just how I would approach it. Look forward to hearing what others would do ...

 

Anything less than a frame swap is a pretty easy DIY item, and the frame swap is just a hard DIY.

 

OK, for comparison, here's what I paid for mine (from online OEM parts sources):
All-weather floor liners: $136.50
Sill protectors: $39.00
Bed lighting kit: $58.50
Bed mat: $77.14
Blackout emblem overlays: $34.84 (from ebay)
Mudguards: $68.90

I can't tell you anything about the remote tailgate lock, since I didn't get one.

The bed lighting kit is all plug and play, since you're getting a Double Cab. (The Double Cab already has the cargo light switch on the dash.) In my case, having an Access Cab, I had to buy the switch separately. This actually cost more than the bed lighting kit itself, and made my total cost for the bed lighting close to what the dealer would have charged. I didn't know that at the time.

 

I've seen PlastiDip on several trucks in the area, it looks flaked, peeled, and washed out. I considered it but will go with overlays if I go that route.

 

WeatherTech floor liners - for sure.
Bed light you can do.
Bed Step you can do.

 

no way sir. I installed mine in the time it took to sear 2 2" thick ribeye steaks in a cast iron pan at 500degrees.. so like 12 mins.

 

I bought bed lights for $55 and install took 15 minutes (plug and play). I think the dealer wanted $150. Its hard to mess up. Mudguards were a $238 option. $68 bucks online and quick install. Save your money and DIY.

 

If you can install it yourself, don't order it as a port installed option.

A few bucks here or there isn't the major issue, but you might add another week or two to the delivery date while your truck sits in queue for port options

 

All of the accessories have the installation included in their MSRP. Read the fine print. That’s at least an hour of labor tacked on to every item, including things like the bed mat and floor liners. I can’t think of any accessory that takes more than an hour to install.