Toyota Part Departments….Is there a secret to order?

I call it the grab your ankles rate.

 

Toyota has always been a bit funky about part pricing. I once needed a distributor for a 1988 Celica AllTrac Turbo when I was working for a Toyota dealer and "cost" on it was like $1100 in 1993.

Funny thing is if you have old BMWs dealers will give you steep discounts on OE parts. I even had one BMW dealer just set me up on 'jobber' prices. Never seen anything close to that with Toyota dealers.

 

This is how I do it as well. Although, I occasionally take a risk and order small orders on Amazon because of the fast shipping, and that my local Toyota dealer is super far away and sucks at keeping most things in stock.

Rockauto is also good for Denso and Aisin stuff.

 

I'm just happy to find OEM parts for a 20+ year old truck on the ready. They give me a number, and I pony up. If it's OEM, it's probably a bargain. They always seem to be eager to help me keep my old rig going too. I don't mind paying a premium for that. People underestimate the amount of garbage out there these days.

 

Re;Rockauto is also good for Denso and Aisin stuff.

Can also order thru Napa, and they have 15% and 20% promotions all the time..
they have most of the Denso/Aisin stuff even some reman stuff like an oem booster..

 

I order from local dealership parts dept this way too. The only problem I’ve had is they changed their website a while back making it harder to get part numbers. Could drill down from drawings before. Now I check McGeorge drawings to get the numbers then order from
the local place, pick up in person. Local place price is on par with McGeorge for most stuff.

 

Yep the diagrams on some of the dealer sites are a win.

You have to poke around to find those...
They'll give you the 'RZN' 'VZN' model numbers that that diagram and parts fit, so you dont order the wrong parts.

and then always go down and click on 'what this fits' tab below.....but that one is not 100%..

 

No, no secret code word… Everyone has to report to a boss, thats just how it is. Every dealership I have worked at has a departmental “stand alone” policy meaning that service dept is expected to make X dollars this month regardless of what the sales and parts depts do. If you dont meet this, they replace the manager with someone who will. If they dont know you as a repeat customer they will offer you nothing because they dont have to. Like mentioned above, I am just glad to get the part(s).

I have no problems at the Toyota parts departments that I deal with both here in East County San Diego and the dealer in Cabo, those relationships did not happen over night. I did not go in the first time and expect or demand any sort of discount. I paid full rip retail for 2 or 3 transactions and when they saw I was a repeat customer and I did my own part number lookup, discounts and deals were offered. As an example, Toyota was running a tire sale for new car take offs and I put new 16’s on all of my trucks, 16 tires @ $105 per and $50 per 4 tires/wheel to have the llantera down the street to do the mounting and balancing, being nice has paid off.

 

I had to train my dealer. Parts manager about 20 year old parts
Took about 6months that was 30 years ago

 

build rapport/relationships
Good advice…..for everything

 

I order through the infamous Joe Joe and get OEM parts cheaper than dealer prices.

 

Toyota Part Departments….Is there a secret to order?

Yes, there is. Don't give Toyota dealerships your business unless they give you good pricing. McGeorge/Ourisman Toyota has good online pricing and has gotten a lot of my business over the past few years. But they lost my latest order to toyotapartsdeal because of their high shipping price on that particular order (approx. $100 VS $35). It usually pays to shop not just price, but final delivered cost on OEM Toyota parts. PartSouq has also gotten more and more of my recent business on OEM Toyota parts because of final delivered cost. I have spent the last 2 years and $8K in parts repairing/upgrading my '97 V6 Taco Xcab 4x4: suspension system, rear diff., front diff., R150F tranny, AISIN clutch system, OEM timing belt w AISIN water pump, valve cover gaskets, valve lash, brake system, OEM steering system, stereo/CD player w 4 speakers, etc. And this saga continues. .02

 

Yeah, I’m lucky Steven’s Creek Toyota isn’t too far away, and on my way home from work.

Unfortunately, you have to order online to get the 25%+ discount. So there have been many times I go to the desk, get all the part numbers, and then place my order from the parking lot lol.

I know the guys pretty well as I have 5 various model 1st gens, along with always having a project

 

I’ve had very good experiences with camelback toyota parts department. you can order on line from them. and even though they’re across town from me, shipping is reasonable enough for me to have some things shipped out of convenience. The guys that run that parts department are real enthusiasts, I always enjoy going over there.

 

Wife taught me five magic words: "Is that your best price?" Surprising how many times that "innocent" question works, even at "fixed price" stores like furniture, tires, etc. You have nothing to lose by asking, and it is not confrontational.