Traveling to buy a 3rd gen

So looking to purchase in the next couple months but a long bed is a must. That severely restricts available inventory almost guaranteeing ill be traveling 400-500 miles to find the combination of options i want. I doubt I've got much room to negotiate on a custom build and MSRP isn't an option.

Ill probably hit few local dealerships honestly just to practice negotiating but flying out to more than 1-2 would be wasteful.

Any tricks i can use to ease the process? Heck even getting to the dealership without hopping out of an Uber and looking like a mark is an open question

 

Where are you located?

Find a high volume dealer and tell them what you want and see what they can do. I ordered my 2017 and paid under MSRP

 

Cargurus

 

They really don't exist anyway.

But even if they did, there is no skin off the dealers nose. So the deal you work should be the same, just take longer to fulfill. But production on 2020s won't go too much longer (June?) so if you go that route, don't wait too long to decide.

Or you can hope for is that you can find one close to what you want, and any 'missing pieces' can be added by the dealer.

 

I bought my truck from the next state over, about 500 mile drive. No need to go there prior to pickup, just do everything via email/phone. It was actually the easiest vehicle transaction I'd ever done. Everything was taken care of prior to my arrival, walked in and signed the paperwork and off I went. In and out in about an hour. It took longer for them to detail/prep than it did to sign.

I used the inventory finder on Toyota's website, when I couldn't find what I wanted locally I started punching in zip codes around me and then progressively further until I found a dealer with exactly what I wanted.

 

I don't think toyota does custom builds. You just pick out what you want and if that's going to get built then you get it, if not they get you close.

 

Yes, contact several dealers, through a car buying service, like edmunds, or cars.com, and let them find you what you want. Then ask for the best price , before you go in. I got over $4000 dollars off offers on TRD OR with tech package, and other small options.

I bought a 2019 TRD Off Road, premium package, and got a MSRP $43K truck for $36.5.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/so-you-want-to-buy-a-tacoma.475482/

 

There is info in this thread that might help:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/search-for-my-new-truck-on-a-lot-or-work-with-dealer.648397/

 

I told my dealer what I wanted and didn't want. He found me the exact truck I wanted in PA and had it transferred to NY before I even agreed to buy.

 

As others have suggested, there are various car buying "assistance" options out there.

Cargurus
TrueCar
Coscto

I have used a local outfit in the San Diego, CA area (Auto Buyers Consumer Service) that have been around since the late 1990's. They charge a small fee, but they give you a gaurantee that if you can find a lower price on the same vehicle that you tell them to tlook for, they will refund that fee. They have a large network of dealerships )all over California, western Arizona, southern Nevada), and they will also handle financing for you if you wish. I used them for my 2017 Tacoma and my 2001 Dodge Cummins. Fantastic people. Took about 3 weeks to find my Tacoma, it came from Toyota of Santa Cruz (CA), which is about 200 miles from me. I had the dealership deliver it to my work. My Dodge came from a dealership near Los Angeles, and I flew down and drove it home (~400 miles from me). My Dodge was about $7K below the sticker price (that was still on the truck when I picked it up), and my Tacoma was about $4K below sticker.

 

When I bought I was looking for a similarly rare Taco (6 MT OR Tech + Premium). I searched on autotrader, found five or six in the CONUS, closest one was Tuscon. Called em up, told em I wanted it, hopped a plane. Signed the financing and the rest of the paper work and drove it back. I did a little negotiating beforehand but once I was in the showroom we were locked in.

 

You can get anything they define as a valid build configuration. Essentially the dealer requests it using one of their upcoming allocations or trades for another dealer allocation that matches what you want. I’ve done it twice now to get what I want.

 

You can buy under MSRP on a 'special' order. You just need to have options ready and be ready to walk.

 

^ I agree with this. Get everything in writing (email or text) before the visit. Get the negotiated price for the vehicle you want.

When I bought my truck, I bought it locally, but I went through the dealer's internet sales department. Settled on a price, had him give me the lot numbers on three trucks of interest, and had him confirm that the price was valid on all of them (similar builds).

When I got there, he stood by his word and everything was laid out on paper, as agreed upon. Pretty happy! Be sure to look at reviews of the dealers though. Some are poorly managed with shady characters, while others are great.

 

I couldn't really see doing itany other way. No way would I buy a plane ticket if everything wasn't taken care of. They asked for a deposit, which is reasonable, and I asked for the bill of sale which I needed for the bank. It was really a done deal with the exception of me handing them a check and signing a couple documents.

 

Yes, that's basically what I was saying. Or trying to say.

 

I live in Houston, TX and Access Cabs are super rare other than the White SR 4 banger aka The Pool Guy/The Pressure Washer Guy/The Pest Control Guy.

Rarely if they get an SR5 that is not white, it's always 4x4.

I wanted a Silver SR5 V6 4x2 Auto.

I watched inventory in Houston, Austin, DFW, and San Antonio and the configuration I wanted just never popped.

I became impatient and spoke with 2 local dealers about a custom order and they both attempted to steer me towards "What is on the lot." They also said the special order could take 2-3 months.

Come to find out "Gulf States Toyota" doesn't really order Access Cabs, whereas they are plentiful in Toyota's Southeast and Pacific markets.

I found the EXACT configuration I wanted in Atlanta, GA. I bought a $200 plane ticket with Delta and a $100 hotel room at Hyatt place. I went over on a Friday, did the deal, had dinner, stayed the night, and drove home 11 hours on a Saturday. I spent maybe 100-150 on gas. To me spending the additional $400-450 for the adventure to get my PERFECT rig was worth it.

Regarding price, SE Toyota was offering $500 off MSRP and this dealership did not charge any fees, so I ended up at $32k plus tax.

 

While my purchase was used, not new, and a MINI, not a Tacoma, my experience is similar. I flew one way to Miami in the morning and by 1pm I was driving home to Maine in the MINI that I wanted. It was months of work setting everything up and verifying everything since it was a used car but in the long run I found the exact vehicle I wanted, with the right mileage and the right previous owner to buy it from. The 30 hour drive home was just gravy on top. If you save $1K then you have paid for your expenses for the trip.

 

I bought my 17' in Chula Vista, about 135 miles away from where I was in SoCal at the time, but I agreed to MSRP and had everything completed before I went down there. If you're negotiating and also traveling, I personally don't have a good solution for that.