So you want to buy a Tacoma?

He could of, I'm not gonna lie it probably wasn't the most ethical move and wouldn't surprise me if the father had lined up something up prior to my cousin. At the same time, my cousin is a "taker" when it comes to things like this. I wouldn't of done the move personally, as I believe in first come first serve, but the salesman could of handled things a little better communication wise.

Coot

 

I also negotiated my wife's car purchase last year entirely via email but luckily didn't have to go more than a 25 mile radius. It's was almost comical how some of the other dealers couldn't believe other dealers' prices. I had one dealer said, FINE if they want to give them away. We also kept the transaction simple by paying cash and no trade-in as they can and will roll you on a trade-in. We actually made $2500 more on our old car by selling it on Craig's List which was fun given the number of scammers on that site. We did try Car Max but it was no better than regular car dealers which is why we opted to sell it out right. That said, the first dealer that responded was not our best offer. However, the first dealer eventually came back weeks later with the lowest offer so we placed the order with them and bought the car 8 weeks later. We may have spent about an hour at the dealership when we picked up the car and most of that time was their tech guy going through how the vehicle worked with my wife. Don't get me wrong, they tried to also sells us an extended warranty, paint protection and other things which we declined. Bottom line, in this day and age of the Internet you should be able to show up with a pre-negotiated price and simply sign the paper work before walking out the door. It still boggles the mind that people go to dealerships and play negotiation tactics with sales who have nothing better to do but play games with you all day. Granted, not all dealers are like that but why take the chance. I just hope people are not paying the almost $40K asking price for the Tacoma these days.

 

I did this same exact process for my truck and had lots of competition in a 50 mi radius. Kept going until the other dealers accused me of making the price up and only the low bidder was left.

It's also useful to use the same process for your trade. Treat them as two entirely separate transactions. Once you get the price you want for your new truck, go back through the process and get bids on your trade. You'll have to limit the quotes to dealers you're willing to drive to, and you won't want to tell them that you're the same guy soliciting the quotes for a new Tacoma... but in the end I brought the trade in quote from the dealer for the highest trade value to the dealer with the lowest price for the new truck, resulting in the lowest possible price for the truck and the highest possible value for my trade.

You really have to love making deals and negotiating, but the legwork will surely payoff!

 

This is great, and I plan on giving this method a shot. But I have one question: A top priority is getting Inferno... and there are none within 200 miles of me right now. So getting the stock number/VIN for dealers to bid on is going to be a bit difficult.

Will this be a problem using this method? Or should I just pick out another color and say "This, but inferno"? It's likely the dealers in my search radius will not have this one in stock.

 

One of the keys to this method is having some flexibility with color choice especially.

 

Thanks, I had a feeling that would likely be the case. It really seems like a good method to hammer dealers on best price for what they have in stock.

 

I doubt It, the inferno sells. when you lock down a hard to find color.. they wont budge.

Unless you are willing to do this across a few states, and willing to drive or fly out. Do it.

 

what you can do is follow this method anyway and tell the dealers you don't care about color. When you come across the inferno you want, use all of the valuable data to get them down on price, without letting them onto the fact that you're heart is sold on inferno.

 

What a well written article! Too bad I'll probably never buy new. Finding an appropriately priced used Tacoma is no easy feat either though, people want an arm and a leg for these trucks.

 

I did something similar when I bought my Tacoma in 2013 and then basically did this exact thing when I bought my wife a 2017 4Runner last month! I felt like I got a good deal in both cases and in both cases we got the vehicle we wanted in my mind without any sacrifice.

 

Well done OP. I do the same thing. Maybe not to the scale of 150 dealers, but strategy is identical and it does work.

Works even better/faster if you get them at the end of the month when sales quotas need to be met. "Gotta move those units or we miss out on our rewards/bonus/incentive for screwing over the public for another month in a row!"

 

Ramon, do I really need a vin? I got a model number and some specifics.

TRD Off-Road
Double Cab
Auto Trans
4x4

No sand color. Told them I just need those basics. No heated seats, navigation, tvs, aftermarket wheels etc.

Hope you're right! Trying this now!

 

This is really good info. My fiancé wants the Range Rover evoque and I told her she can have one when the Altima is paid off. Only 5k to go. My mother is a united airlines employee so I can fly for free anywhere in the world so I will be expanding my search nationwide instead of just Texas. I'll just hop on a plane with a backpack and drive it back if the right deal is too far of a drive

 

This was the best part

 

I just picked up my 2017 DCSB using a similar method. Wasn't quite as many dealers here in VA...I emailed around (also a couple Maryland dealers). Guy in VA ended up beating the Maryland dealer. Also had my local dealer back out after he said he would match my best offer.

 

I did most of this process to find my truck when the third gens came out. I started in August 2015 and didn't find the vehicle I wanted until November. 2016 DCLB OR 4X4, nothing else. I emailed my closest 150 dealers and only about 10 of them replied. I spoke with them via email ONLY and no one would go below msrp. I had offers for 3k to 5k more and one at msrp. I shopped that around and no one wanted to play.

Then after 4 months of this, my wife started randomly calling dealerships outside of the search area near where she grew up. This was around 100 to 150 miles away. One of them got one 7568 in super white into allocation that day. We drove 3 hours that afternoon and left a deposit at 500 under msrp, which was a good deal then for West Coast, and a fair/ehh deal now for this rare vehicle today. Waited a month while it was built and then bought it the day it arrived.

This process works. But it takes time and work on your end. We tried going into dealerships who gave other people good deals and they laughed in our faces about 'ordering' Tacomas after the third gen got so popular after the first month. "This isn't the 90s, you don't order these trucks. You don't pay below msrp. These trucks require an addendum to the msrp... The lady who gave so and so that deal is on vacation, sorry."
Us: Take your hipster glasses and cardigan somewhere else, bitch.

The internet sales team is the only people I deal with these days at dealerships. They are the only ones who care about future sales. Regular sales teams only care about selling you what they have on the lot, TODAY

 

LARRY FLINT

 

I used similar tactics (used to drive 45k miles a year for work) for several pickups and suv's. I was flexible on color for the Tacoma, but wanted the MT. I included dealers for a four-state area and it came down to just a few who were willing to put up with me. In the end, I flew to Denver (350 miles) and the internet sales guy picked me up from Centennial. Paid cash, no trade, drove home the same day. Price appeared to be invoice or slightly below for a 2016 DCSB Sport. This was LESS than any used Tacoma listed in the same 4 states from 2014-2015. Well worth the effort. Ramon's explanation of how to deal with a larger number of dealers was excellent info...I'll try and follow it if I ever need another new vehicle.

 

great advice! I did a very similar process when purchasing mine, but then brought it back to my local dealer to give them one last chance. I was prepared to pay $500 more than my lowest price as a way to keep the money in my community and be able to walk in the dealer, whether for service or otherwise, and not be known as "there's that dick that busted our balls and drove across the state...

I was in sales at one point, and I can tell you this, not always is the lowest price, the best price! I like being greeted with a smile, a friendly wave, and feeling welcomed. I plan on keeping this truck for a looooong time, so in the long run. I can remind them that I took care of them, when it's time for them to take care of me.

 

Awesome post! If I could add one more item that has helped me in the past it would be to make sure you get quotes from other territories. All of your quotes were in GST (Gulf States). Like you, I'm in GST (i.e TSS territory) and found getting quotes from Kansas makes a huge difference when they are pulling from separate allocation lists. Granted, this might not be geographically feasible for some, but if you are within a couple hundred miles of another territory, it's worth looking into.

My $.02