Saw new Tacomas at plant tour

Factory delivery would be cool. We did factory delivery on our Corvette a few months ago and we saw our car being built over a 2 day period. Was really cool. I got to start the car for the very first time on the assembly line and saw our odometer with all zeros.

 

Build date is the date it rolls of the assembly line.

 

every dealer in every state across the nation would throw a shitfit.

 

What? And not get their $900 delivery fee?

 

yeah, my wife and I did European deliver of her Volvo convertible. It was cool. Volvo pays for 2 tickets the Sweden, 2 nights in a hotel and the price of the car is a few Gs less than it is here. Plus every item is cataloged so you don't have to buy the Nav to get the upgraded radio things like that. Unfortunately for her it was sitting in the port in Newark when Sandy came through it was destroyed so they had to build her another one. But Volvo gave us a loaner for the 3 months that it took to get the second car. Really cool experience but I don't want a Volvo. Especially now that they are going to start shipping models made in China to the US... YUCK!

 

On a Corvette factory delivery, dealer still sells the car, delivery fee is not waived and you pay an additional $900 for the factory delivery option and you need to get to Bowling Green, KY. on your own nickel to pick up the car.

 

To be honest I can't believe we still use this archaic system. Need to run this buy the sales manager... SUCK IT! Some company is going to come out with factory direct ordering and you will just go to a website and build your car and apply for a loan online and then it will get shipped to a location close to your home and you will go pick it up. That will be a happy day! Or it will be delivered by a drone! Watch they don't drop it on your house.

 

I agree, the dealer as middle-man system has a lot of downsides. On the plus side, it's easy to go somewhere close by and see all the models in a showroom. but basically everything else about it bows. Tesla tried to do a factory direct sales program and that failed, but it does happen in some states. Carmax also attempted to be a one-stop shop for any new car and that didn't work out so well for them.

 

Only true if by "failed" you mean that factory direct is the only way to buy a Tesla and about half the states require you to do business in a different state. There are no Tesla dealerships.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...-sell-cars-directly-to-you-state-by-state-map

 

Texas new car dealer lobbyists and PACs in Texas have "influenced" Texas state legislators to make it illegal for a manufacturer to sell new cars directly to consumers. Lots of campaign contributions and favors keeps this law in place within Texas. Tesla cannot sell new cars in Texas.

 

Da Fuq..... My wife wants to buy a new Volvo. We never heard of this program before. Sounds too good to be true....doing research on this to see if she will go for it.

Too bad Toyota did not offer Japanese delivery. Texas...Mexico....no offense but no thanks.

 

That's badass!

 

On my order form, it says "BC" which I believe means Baja California

 

That would be sweet
Just like GM does with the corvette

 

Not sure that I would say Tesla has failed. They are up against the middleman and their political $$. There is no real reason for the business model anymore other than to protect special interests. If I want to walk into a factory or factory showroom and buy a car I should be allowed to do so if the company want to do it that way and we can agree on a price. I'd love to buy a Taco at MSRP - Holdback - Middleman fees. Seems to me that we see and hear all about issues that are anti-consumer when we talk about the SE Toyota and similar middlemen. I remember my father buying the first Toyota Tercel hatchback in the 80's (like this one http://www.oldparkedcars.com/2010/02/1979-toyota-tercel-sr5-hatchback.html) from a dealer in MD and being pissed off that you HAD to buy the rear windshield wiper - you could not order the car there w/o that option. Years later he got the $75 back from a class action suit. He didn't inititate the suit but when someone called and said he was owed the $75 he laughed and took the check. It was all the SE Toyota (or similar org in the MD/DC/VA area) that caused the issue not the mothership Toyota. let me get what I want!

 

I was just at the Corvette Museum the beginning of last month. I saw 8 cars lined up for museum delivery. When one got picked up, all the employees (and customers too) in the museum stopped what they were doing and moved near the floor and began clapping. It was fun. My next one will be museum pickup.

 

Coolest factory pickup I have ever seen was customers taking deliveries of VW's and Porche's at the factory in Wolfsburg Germany. The automated car elevator in that building is wicked! If you ever near there do the tour and get the ticket to go on the delivery elevator! Sick! They put a sled thing on the track and you go where this car is going. They park you and about 1 car later the thing comes back and gets you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckLD8xJGBg - it is literally out of a MI movie.

 

Then kindly explain how all these Teslas got to Austin, please.

They're everywhere.

 

you buy them in another state.

tesla can have a showroom in the state, they just cant sell/give you pricing. you have to go online and order it and pick it up from another state that allows direct sales.

 

Tunngavik, I was as skeptical as you. I will say the total cost of our vacation was far more than the savings on the car but why else would we go to Sweden? It was great, they treat you VERY well. My wife would do it again in a second. Our dealer has a salesman who specializes in this, not sure whats in it for him but I am sure there is something in there somewhere...

http://www.volvocars.com/us/buy/sales/overseas-delivery