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

If the price is anywhere close to new I'd order a new one. Not every part of the country is hot for Tacomas, might be worth your time to start looking at other dealerships.

 

your insurance payout should factor in market conditions considering your truck was increasing in value. they will never make you whole... thats the tragedy of being not at fault in an accident. If it is your fault thats the penalty you must pay.

 

I would always order. If you are spending the money, you never want to look back and say "I wish I would have...". Get what you want so you have no regrets. Even if there were to be a deal on something that was on the lot, a good deal on the wrong thing is not a good deal.

 

It's the law of supply and demand. Macroeconomics 101. The Tacoma is an example of very inelastic demand. Really has nothing to do with the price the dealer pays to acquire the truck. The dealer is the one setting the price to the market, and if they see inelastic demand they will see an opportunity to raise prices without significantly effecting their sales.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XXhpHJTglg

 

For starters as it has been discussed on this forum way more than it should you cannot factory order a Tacoma. Let that be clear.

Secondly, any vehicle that’s on a lot or incoming may have a mark up/ market adjustment or whatever other BS dealer tactic to rip you off. Best bet is to call around to your local dealers and see what inventory they have coming in. If they do have something coming in that’s not spoken for then you can inquire on what they may be asking for. If it’s above MSRP shoot your offer at MSRP and see what they say. Never hurts to ask.

Best bet is to find a dealer that is willing to sell at MSRP. Even if you have to travel there are plenty of dealerships doing this. That goes back to the research aspect of this.

Now the first response on ordering is going to ruffle some feathers but it is true and they were caught with dealer tactics by telling them they “ordered” one or could “order” one. I was caught with this as well and then did a lot of research and found out how it really worked and then able to secure my truck. It just doesn’t happen that way. Funny that a lot of people that say they “ordered” recently paid a mark up for a truck. How did you pay a mark up on a truck you “ordered” that has the price on the build page. Never ordered anything and paid more than what the price said and was told it was because of market adjustment. But hey you ordered it right.

I would highly suggest doing a lot of research and find you a dealer that isn’t marking anything up. Speak to the inventory director/ manager as they usually have access to what’s coming in and what’s been spoken for. Find what dates they usually get their allocations and call them those days and see what’s available. That would be the best bet on finding one.

Now time for the folks that “ordered” their trucks and say I didn’t pay a mark up or I was able to order one come out with their opinions. Once they do you will see how many of them got caught up in a dealer tactics as well.

 

You're not wrong about explicitly ordering. But you can sit down with a sales guy and outline just exactly what you want and see if they are willing to use one of their allocations to get you what you want. This is exactly what I did. In October of last year I started calling and emailing dealers far and wide, and eventually sat down with a guy who wrote down what I wanted. Trim level, packages, color preferences, and options. He explained how Toyota decides what to build and allocate to each dealer based on what Toyota thinks will sell and then dealers can request a change to a vehicle in allocation, barter/exchange allocations with other dealers, and do limited changes to packages and options. If the dealer persuades Toyota to make the changes to an allocated vehicle for a particular person, that is what most people are referring to as "ordering."

In my case, I sat down in December, the allocation was on January 3rd, they got the requested changes confirmed on the 11th, a build date, and then a series of delays in assembly and then shipping eventually pushed the delivery date back to May 17th. It did come exactly as "ordered" and I paid exactly MSRP for it.

 

If you do want to try to get allocation on a new truck, check out Byer's Toyota in Delaware, OH. They helped me coordinate a fly and drive from out of state and charged me MSRP.

 

6 months ago, everyone on TW was saying "just wait 6 months and prices will return to normal". Now, it's wait a year and prices will return to normal. I don't think prices will ever come down to "normal" again - unless a full blown recession takes effect. I feel bad for anyone in the market as it is a damned if you do (buy) and damned if you don't (wait) situation. If you wait another year and prices are still thru the roof are you going to feel any better paying MSRP or more for a truck that you could have bought a year ago?

 

You aren’t really ordering from the factory. You are just picking your options if allocations allow. The dealer is still free to charge you whatever they choose.

 

My advice: Don't. One con: $5000 plus the added $1000. That seems as though you can save $6000 (plus interest) by deferring your gratification.

 

Fly somewhere you don't have to pay a markup and drive it back. Not every region is getting gouged.

 

How does that work with maintenance?

 

One thing I would be wary of is the dealer adding the $5000 "market adjustment" at the time the truck is delivered and the deal is finalized. This has been a major issue with the new Ford Bronco. People thinking they had a finalized deal in place when all they had was a promise that they would get the first crack at it when it arrived on the lot. Some dealers might honor a build sheet price, but there are plenty that won't knowing if you turn down the $5000 mark up, they will be able to sell it to someone else.

 

If it’s Toyota Care see below:
http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7583/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNjM1Nzg2NzE0L2dlbi8xNjM1Nzg2NzE0L3NpZC9mVWZCbDdPMmtLWGR4bFVzQzM5TFk0UDF3cmZfa1pVS1pCTWRHVTh1bGNGMHpJZXRTVUFOTmd5VzA2R1NndlNzJTdFZ0FKS1VVNkY0MEhwNzdvcW5RMlE1M0p1WXgxQndha2hnR3UybHNxOXlweDBQZ3NrelgxMk43QSUyMSUyMQ%3D%3D

If it’s something dealership specific you’d be outta luck but you’re better off doing that maintenance yourself anyway. Especially the oil changes.

 

Any Toyota dealer in the US can do your maintenance and warranty work. I've purchased a Toyota at a dealership about 100 miles from home. Once I took delivery I never went back to the selling dealership again. My local dealer did all the service.

Must I always return to the Toyota dealership where I purchased my vehicle to take advantage of ToyotaCare?
No. ToyotaCare no cost maintenance is available at any participating Toyota dealership in the continental United States and Alaska. ToyotaCare no cost maintenance must be performed by a participating Toyota dealership.

 

condolences

 

OP, you're at the wrong dealer. Both dealers in my area are selling at MSRP. Larry Miller Toyota without asking, Toyota of Santa Fe with two weeks playing hardball. Larry Miller would be happy to to sell ya a TRD Pro with 10K mark up however. No bargaining was gonna change that.

 

To add to that, I bought mine last week at Precision Toyota with no markup and they dropped a little bit off the price due to costco membership. The sales guy wasn't pushy or anything, OP send me a PM if you want their contact info.

 

Thanks, but I'm in PA.

 

Road Trip!!