Funny Dealership Experiences for Buying 2016

Nope...had already told him I wanted the TRD Outdoor in Access or Double Cab. That was when he told me the DC isn't available with a long bed.

 

Did a build from Toyota.com and submitted the configuration to five dealers in my area for a price and availability. The MSRP as you can see is $36,144.

So far, all of the dealers have responded in unusual and unexpected ways. It seems the information they receive is non-existent and want to talk immediately on the phone even though the form only has my name and email, with email as my contact preference. For those that did respond via email, they asked what I wanted. Huh?

They didn't receive the freaking information listed in the picture? This is 2015 and the age of the smartphone. You would think at the bare minimum they would receive some text that says, "2016 Tacoma TRD Sport Double Cab, V6, Silver, Premium and Technology Package, Towing, Black Step Tube". Heck, you can almost tweet that.

When can we take the "human" element out of the process? You would think in this day and age you could just order the freaking thing and get accurate information on availability, or a build-to-order. I really didn't want the black tube steps but the search inventory process would not let me exclude them.

Some things never change...

 

I honestly liked the Saturn process so much better. You go down to the dealer, figure out what car you like, what options you want, etc. Then you pay the price for that exact setup and 20-30 days later your car shows up built to order. No arguing over how much over invoice, no being forced to buy packages you don't want, etc. Just tell them what you want, they tell you the price, and you buy your car. I guess that simple kind of thinking is what caused GM to see them as too dangerous to the rest of the business so they killed them off. You start cutting too many parts out of the middle of the process, and suddenly there is no need for middle managers to oversee them all.

 

Yeah but then you end up with a Saturn...which is only like 1 step up from Colon Cancer

 

Well actually my wife ended up with a Saturn, and it was a much better vehicle than the Ford Ranger I bought around the same time. Her 94 Saturn made it well beyond the life of my 93 Ranger, and hers only met its demise due to a collision. The Ford just crapped out and got too expensive to keep running. Either way, the buying process was SO much better than anything any other car maker offers.

 

You can try to use the Costco service, have heard good things.

 

Pretty sure the Costco deal is limited to vehicles in inventory. So you are stuck with whatever vehicles the dealer has ordered. In my case, none of the GST dealerships in the Houston area seem to recognize that anybody could possibly want a DCLB truck or a truck with a manual transmission. GST also just LOVES to load the vehicles up with overpriced packages of crap features that nobody would otherwise want, so you are stuck buying those too.

 

Oh yeah, they want my truck, said how nice and clean, real low miles, etc etc. then they offered 3,000 under what I'd consider taking for it. And they wouldn't budge from that number.

 

Have you tried Carmax?

 

Nope, but will now. I spent hours last night looking at other tacomas for sale similar to mine. Most have more miles, +15,000 or more, and are for sale for 28,500 - 30,000.

 

quit trolling him

 

Best route would be to sell it yourself...but I rather take the $ difference and not have to deal with selling it on my own...

Best of luck.

 

Really, you expect to get the same price on trade as what the dealer sells them for on their lot? Is the dealer or it's employees not allowed to make any profit? I really wonder what some of you do for a living to not realize that as a business the dealer has to make money to stay open and support it's entire staff.

Some background, my wife sells Toyota (internet sales manager) and drives an Avalon, I sell Harley Davidson and drive a Tacoma. She makes a flat rate per new car, $200 if it's on their lot, $100 if they have to go get it from another dealer and a small % of the net on used. I get a miniscule salary and make $125 on a used bike, $175 on new. Do you realize how many bikes and cars we have to sell to make a living? Give the staff at the dealerships a break, bashing the sale staff is pointless because our hands are tied, the owners are the only ones who make money today, holdback, finance rebate, etc.

The internet search engine world has evened the playing field and made all dealers (no matter what the brand) become more competitive with each other. There is a ton of info out there that should give you a decent idea of what to expect for prices, trades, finance options, lease offers etc. Do your homework!

Too bad you feel this way. These are really large purchases, it's not like buying a new TV, but as expected this is the tendency today, especially with the Millenials...we do provide a valuable service to those who want to talk to us...

 

What valuable service is that? I was born in 87. I don't know what the valuable service of a sales person is.

 

I was mostly complaining that the information sent from toyota.com to the dealer, seemed incomplete or non-existent. It certainly appeared that way. It drove a whole series of questions that should have been unnecessary. Emphasis on the word should. I don't want to waste their time anymore than I want them to waste mine. But I don't know if it is a computer problem or person problem.

Wanna buy my 2013 Road King Classic?

 

Hold on! He first needs to help me sell my '14 RK CVO!!!

 

Not really worth responding, but in a nut shell professional sales people can make it easier for you to buy what's RIGHT for you, because quite honestly most people think they know what they want or need, but because they don't deal with auto/bike buying every day they don't always have ALL the information they could to make a more educated decision about their purchase. Things like issues of buying versus leasing a Tacoma, or how the option package you purchase today will be reflected in the trade-in value 4 years from now, or if you have a previous customer soon to trade in a gem of a Tacoma, how you could be the first person it's offered to...there's more but you're probably not listening...

 

Internet.

 

I'd prefer the CVO.

Most brand driven CRM systems have default settings for those individuals who just shoot off info requests, so the info that is received on our end isn't always accurate or trustworthy, that is why many sale staff asks again or just wants to "talk" its faster and easier.

Per my wife Toyota has dropped the ball on educating their staff on the new Tacoma, in the Midwest they haven't even had their product training yet, it's scheduled within the next 3 weeks, that comes from the top down, so again don't dis the sales staff, most have nothing for info to refer to. I've learned more here than she has through the dealership. BTW my '16 is on it's way, I hope...