At this point, is it dumb NOT to factory order?

I recently totaled my '19 SR5 and I'm talking to my local dealer about a new one.

For my exact same truck, they're quoting me about $5k over MSRP.

I have no experience doing a factory order, but building a TRD Sport to my specs comes out about 1k more than the current SR5 trim they're quoting me. At that point, why not pick exactly what I want?

Besides the wait, are there any cons to factory ordering?

I figure it'd be better to have a desirable TRD than whatever model the dealership happens to have allocated.

Any advice?

 

Pay over MSRP?

Never.

 

Buy a beater from Zippy's Care Emporium. Pay cash.

Wait on the new truck for a year or so. Prices are expected to normalize.

$5K mark up for dealer is borderline usery or gouging. IMHO

 

You don't really order. You give them your specs and then the dealer either trades for an allocation that fits your build or they try to tweak one of their allocated builds to your spec or even you get lucky and they are allocated a truck in your spec. Your still at dealer mercy for what they want to charge you order or already on the lot.

 

Words do mean things and have definitions and whatnot…”usury” and “price gouging” for example. Neither of which have anything to do with market adjustments, however absurdly high, on a brand new truck, in a non-state-of-emergency situation with low interest rates in effect.

 

Yeah, it's 2021, nobody is buying anything for MSRP or less around here. I need a truck though.

 

Despite my coffee deficient spelling......

A $5K dealer mark up is not market adjustment.

The market adjustment would be coming from inside the manufacturing supply chain, not at the distributor.

 

It ends up just being a personal decision of whether or not the vehicle is worth it to you at the price point with the markup.

One consideration is how transitory the markup might be and whether you might take the prior advice to just buy a beater to get you through to better new truck pricing.

It all depends on your wants and needs, how urgent they are, what you need the vehicle for, etc. Everyone’s valuation matrix for any particular consumer item is different.

 

Not sure if this is the case for the truck the OP is looking at but it is very common for markups to appear on the window sticker as quite literally “market adjustment”.

When the Kia Telluride was in its first year and insanely popular it was common. It’s been happening lately on a fair number of Tacomas but most commonly on Pros. Also seeing some insane ones on RAV4 Primes as someone pointed out in a TW thread.

 

Buying a beater wouldn't help either. Used car prices are jacked up even more than new.

And I don't know what you know, but I don't expect the supply chain to magically fix itself within the year. I don't think 'holding out for the market to normalize' is an option right now.

My question was whether or not there was any benefit to taking an allocated truck or building my own to spec.

 

Just me but I would never pay a market adjustment !!! $5000 is just wrong.

 

My point on the beater or a less expensive used truck is just that the impact would be less because the price would be less, but understand your logic. And who knows if the prices will adjust down in 1 or 2 years or if this is semi-permanent.

Have you asked the dealer if there is a market adjustment on a new build like what you’re seeing for vehicles on the lot? Anyway, seems to me if the price is the same, the advantage in getting exactly what you want is there, but there may be a downside in how long it takes to be delivered. If I wasn’t in a rush I would absolutely try to get my hands on the exact configuration I wanted no your situation, if the prices are similar.

 

Yes, I understand the dealers are playing with words and labels to avoid potential legal ramifications.

When I was in a power tool test lab, we had several fires related to LI-ion battery testing. We were instructed not to use the word "fire" in any test reports or forensic reports or any documents. Instead the term "uncontrolled exothermic event" was to be used. All due to legal.

 

It depends on timing, how much you're willing to settle for getting something close, and how long you're willing to wait for "the truck" to arrive. If you need a truck now you will probably have to settle for what is in stock or going to be delivered in the next week or two.

If you are willing to wait and go through the process of trying to get a dealer to have an allocation changed/tweaked to suit you, be prepared to wait up to 5 months. You might get lucky. Some trim/color/package combos are fairly common and you can have the minor options tweaked before they leave port (even after theyre done at the factory, most options can be added at the port before they're loaded on a train/ship), and you can get it sooner. Good luck.

 

I don’t think it’s such a underhanded phrase. If you define a market geographically, for example. There really are very different averages prices depending on the region, and you often see the markups very regionally. There were no Telluride markups in my area for example, but when we went down to FL on vacation there was a standard $5k at every dealership we went to.

 

Idk about con's except ordering vs one on their lot, you will pay more to order. 5k over msrp is crazy imo. When i ordered my 2020 i worked off of 2k under msrp.

 

Spend the extra $1000 and get exactly what you want. As far as "market adjustment" - I paid $3000 over MSRP. The dealership only has 10% of their normal stock levels. This is capitalism at it's finest. Prime example of supply and demand. I saw a similarly equipped 3 year old Tacoma with 7500 miles more than mine listed for $4000 more than what I paid. It is not the time to buy used. If you need it now, you need it now and pay the price. I have no regrets.

 

I don't understand why supply and demand should cause higher markups at dealers. Toyota isn't jacking up prices, only the dealer.

If I lease a truck right now, the dealer will get that truck back in 3 years. If supply and demand is so messed up, wouldn't they rather have the sale now and a truck 3 years from now, rather than nothing?

 

The Telluride situation was exactly a gouge.
The current situation is slightly more forgivable due to the limitation of the computer components, but 5k markup is rough and only contributes to increased inflation.
Also understanding there are 0 Tacomas on my local lot, I know why they do it.

 

Impatience is the issue here. Toyota even announced the production cut in September. Yet every other thread here is “no Toyota’s on lot” as if it is some sort of revelation.

They will make enough cars for the market soon enough. They are TOYOTAs literally the most common car in the world. Nothing special.
Everyone acting as if they cant get their hands on a zonda.

Patience is a virtue