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Are Dealerships playing customers?

Discussion in '3rd Gen Tundras (2022+)' started by AustinTexas, Dec 31, 2021.

  1. Dec 31, 2021 at 6:54 AM
    #1
    AustinTexas

    AustinTexas [OP] New Member

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    Are Dealerships playing (aka: screwing) customers?

    1. many dealerships charging many thousands over MSRP or
    2. some are having mandatory add on's, charging top dollar for tint, wheel locks or a bag of useless power cords.
    3. most are collecting countless deposits to reserve a truck that they do not even have allocated to the dealership yet. Is this just a way to lock in the customer to that dealership? I have to admit I put down a $1000 to get my name on a list for Tundra but something kind of rubs me wrong with this when they take a deposit and can't tell me if or when a truck might come in.
    The dealership can not even tell me how many deposits they have collected.

    Should Toyota have a say on how the Toyota dealerships operate? Is Toyota OK with these practices?
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2021
  2. Dec 31, 2021 at 7:07 AM
    #2
    ezdog

    ezdog New Member

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    Really?
     
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  3. Dec 31, 2021 at 7:08 AM
    #3
    1UP

    1UP Truck Gang

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    It's common across the board. Look at how the Bronco, GT350, GT500, Hellcat pkgs, Demon pkgs, Raptor, TRX, are handled.

    I agree that it is crappy. I haven't looked into COSTCO or Military direct buying programs, but if your stuck paying MSRP then maybe something like that is the better option?

    And it's not just cars - I've been trying to buy an Xbox series x at retail price for over a year now. Companies have now started requiring you to be a member (annual cost) to access ordering them. So for some of them (Best Buy) that's that's an annual 200 member fee.

    It sucks.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2021
  4. Dec 31, 2021 at 7:12 AM
    #4
    AustinTexas

    AustinTexas [OP] New Member

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    No, I was just kidding around. I like paying $10K over MSRP. I think it is helping the dealership owners enjoy life a little more.
     
  5. Dec 31, 2021 at 8:05 AM
    #5
    Cpl_Punishment

    Cpl_Punishment Young men never die.

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    Supply and demand
     
  6. Dec 31, 2021 at 8:24 AM
    #6
    sask3m

    sask3m New Member

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    They'll keep screwing the pooch as long as the sheep keep lining up. People should be used to it, been going on world wide for the past 2 years.
     
  7. Dec 31, 2021 at 8:25 AM
    #7
    Toyotafanboy

    Toyotafanboy New Member

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    Thats it only $10k above msrp. Your so lucky, my local dealer is marking up $20k… for an sr5!!!!
     
  8. Dec 31, 2021 at 8:27 AM
    #8
    nuclear

    nuclear New Member

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    I had a first day reservation on the Ford Lightning. I should have been able to get an allocation for 2022. However, my dealer told me that if I wanted to be on their priority list, which Ford allows them to do for their first 25, I would have to pony up an extra 10k. Some are adding as much as 30k if you want to get an early allocation and not wait until 2023 or beyond. I promptly told them to f off. What's the point in reserving early, and showing interest, if someone can reserve 9 months later and get a truck ahead of you because they are stupid with money.

    Say what you will about Tesla, cutting out these slimy tactics is one thing they got right.
     
  9. Dec 31, 2021 at 12:02 PM
    #9
    slowpokepete

    slowpokepete New No More

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    There's a reason they are called "dealer."

    SPP
     
  10. Dec 31, 2021 at 12:42 PM
    #10
    dr_oldschool

    dr_oldschool New Member

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    I’ve got a dealer in Houston that sells for msrp, pick from weekly allocation then truck arrives in a month or so.
    DM if interested
     
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  11. Dec 31, 2021 at 1:07 PM
    #11
    pursuit2550

    pursuit2550 New Member

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    Yup, and the only way they will stop is if people stop wanting the next shiny new thing. I remember when people use to brag about paying XX below MSRP, now people rave about paying MSRP plus over priced add-ons. The mind is so easily manipulated its not even funny. I saw an experiment the other day, guy stands in a line in a mall. People then just start to line up behind him thinking they are going to get something. Line gets long as shit. Then it starts to move. They start following this guy through a maze like line. They get to a red line on the floor and the first guy jumps over it, everyone else followed and jump. They did a series of other things and everyone followed no questions asked. Just goes to show you that people are gullible.
     
  12. Dec 31, 2021 at 4:23 PM
    #12
    randomquickness

    randomquickness New Member

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    One annoying thing I’ve noticed is dealers are saying they have a specific trim in stock but the moment you inquire about it, it’s something else. Like i filtered for 4x4 and several popped up that claimed to be 4x4 but then dealer says “oh, you wanted 4x4? We only have 4x2”
     
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  13. Dec 31, 2021 at 4:30 PM
    #13
    glowblue

    glowblue From time to time

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  14. Jan 1, 2022 at 11:09 AM
    #14
    Larly5000

    Larly5000 Local Scumbag

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    Dealership games aside(nitrogen in tires, cheap shit alarm systems etc), people are playing themselves and the dealerships love it. Most adults are still impulsive children.

    There is the “well if you can afford it” crowd, and there are always exceptions, but people smart with money ain't buyin’ new trucks at $20k over cause they gotta be first.
     
  15. Jan 1, 2022 at 11:55 AM
    #15
    ninjajay

    ninjajay Posting from the toilet

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    this is the answer-I think it’s heavily driven by FOMO
     
  16. Jan 1, 2022 at 12:54 PM
    #16
    Geoff

    Geoff New Member

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    Limited supply means higher prices at some dealers. Best to shop around, and be willing to travel.

    I’d avoid Dolan Toyota in Reno. My daughter was in the market for a new Tacoma. She knew how much she wanted to spend and wanted to do discuss finance terms before selecting a truck from inventory. A sales rep snubbed her. She called me in tears. I told her to visit Carson City Toyota, and this is where she made a purchase.
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2022
  17. Jan 1, 2022 at 5:37 PM
    #17
    bigjuice

    bigjuice Researching and collecting parts…

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    In my case I am buying my second truck from the dealer in 5 years (did all my maintenance there also)…

    I wasn’t in the market originally but they have been asking me all year to sell back my 2015 so on the 4th ask I bit on what I am taking as a ‘decent deal’ given market conditions.

    So I am buying an MSRP build SR5 with all I want (nothing I don’t) and though I could have waited a while for deals to be had my current truck would also lose some steam so I think it’s a wash.

    Either way I am getting more options than I currently have (mileage/tech/wants) so I will take it and run…hopefully next week I can get a good warranty deals and add that to the difference of $15K total (New truck price subtract old truck trade) which I have determined is stomach-able
     
  18. Jan 1, 2022 at 5:47 PM
    #18
    Coal Dragger

    Coal Dragger New Member

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    I wanted a faster vehicle so I also bought a Chevy SS... because 4 door sedans with big V8’s are hilarious.
    Funny, these days when I see a line for anything my first reaction is: fuck that, I’ll go somewhere else.
     
  19. Jan 1, 2022 at 5:57 PM
    #19
    ezdog

    ezdog New Member

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    Same here exactly!
     
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  20. Jan 1, 2022 at 7:04 PM
    #20
    TaquitoBandito

    TaquitoBandito SSEM #91, KitKat Aficionado, A Dancer for Money Exotic Dancer

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    I was able to get the Series X off of Best Buys website. You have to do the 0% financing but you can pay it off right away without penalty.
     
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  21. Jan 1, 2022 at 7:23 PM
    #21
    DEboater

    DEboater New Member

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    It is a different world right now. At the dealer on the 31st I waited 2 hrs for the finance guy to get to me. The salesman showed me their inventory and we talked about it. They normally have 250-300 or so cars on the lot, right now it’s about 50-70. He showed me the cars coming in, over a third of them were spoken for. Even with that I bought an SR5 double cab 4x4 for a fair price of $1700 below msrp. That was after their first offer was msrp+5500 markup. I just made them an OTD offer on Dec 31st and they took it. Other dealers wouldn’t even consider dealing when I asked them if they could match it or get close.
     
  22. Jan 1, 2022 at 7:27 PM
    #22
    Toyota1234

    Toyota1234 New Member

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    Some dealers are certainly screwing people and making them think that this is just what it is these days. The only two dealers I talked to while looking for a truck weren’t doing any of that. It seems some areas of the country are doing it a lot more then others.
     
  23. Jan 1, 2022 at 9:02 PM
    #23
    handyman

    handyman New Member

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    Yes, it's called price gouging. In many venues (disasters & similar), it's illegal as heck, but nobody is doing anything about this situation. Toyota is producing the same number of vehicles, at the same prices. With so much federal regulation, it's hard for them to do otherwise. It's the independent distributors and dealerships jacking up prices, lining their pockets at our expense. Their effort to hold onto vehicles for higher prices has created the artificial shortage of normally priced vehicles.

    Of course, politics is playing a role in all this as well. A certain segment of government doesn't want us to drive vehicles, so has little incentive to do anything about this. They'd be perfectly happy if vehicles were priced through the roof, a dead industry except for the very wealthy. We (the lowly peons) can walk, ride a bicycle, or take public transport. May sound absurd, but it's not much of a stretch if you listen to them.

    Finally, there's little Toyota can do about it. Without dealerships (the retailers/stores), Toyota doesn't exist. If Toyota ended their dealership arrangement in your town, for example, sales in your town would drop to virtually zero. At the same time, those dealerships are independent businesses, bound by little more than their business contract with Toyota. So, in the end, Toyota has little more say in those retailers/dealerships than Frito-Lay, Coke-Cola, or similar has in Walmart. Toyota can't just walk in and tell them what to do.

    So where does all this leave us? Well, we can either pay the price or not. Since the dealerships will sell every vehicle they have at those outrageous prices, your choice not to buy isn't going to hurt them one little bit. Customers are the only ones getting screwed.

    In my case, I have a Tundra in perfect condition (low mileage, etc). The dealer wants it, but the higher trade-in for a new vehicle he offers is offset by the outrageous price of that new vehicle. He's darn sure making money, but I gain nothing. So, instead, I just spent $10k in accessories for what I have. I will keep it.
     
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  24. Jan 1, 2022 at 9:11 PM
    #24
    glowblue

    glowblue From time to time

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    ^This is spot on.
     
  25. Jan 1, 2022 at 9:20 PM
    #25
    Hbjeff

    Hbjeff New Member

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    There was an episode of King of the Hill when Hank was embarrassingly found out to been suckered into paying exactly MSRP “not a penny more”. Boy was he ahead of his day
     
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  26. Jan 2, 2022 at 8:22 PM
    #26
    EastTX

    EastTX New Member

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    Where is this unicorn dealership ?
     
  27. Jan 2, 2022 at 8:30 PM
    #27
    Coal Dragger

    Coal Dragger New Member

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    I wanted a faster vehicle so I also bought a Chevy SS... because 4 door sedans with big V8’s are hilarious.
    Toyota could do something about it though.

    They can revoke a franchise based on a variety of things like consistently poor customer satisfaction surveys for example. Put out a policy of not selling above MSRP and shove it down dealers throats.

    Toyota could, and probably should make an example out of some dealers. End their franchise agreements, and then build and open Toyota corporate run retail and service centers in the same market.

    Sure the dealerships would sue, but Toyota could keep them tied up in court indefinitely and might just win because juries are made up of people and most people hate price gouging car dealerships.

    Put the fear of god into these scumbag dealers and watch their tunes change real damn fast.
     
  28. Jan 2, 2022 at 8:48 PM
    #28
    Hbjeff

    Hbjeff New Member

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    So we ask mommy corporate to chastise dealers for inflationary monetary policy from the fed reserve? If someone will pay it, a sale will be made
     
  29. Jan 2, 2022 at 8:59 PM
    #29
    Coal Dragger

    Coal Dragger New Member

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    I wanted a faster vehicle so I also bought a Chevy SS... because 4 door sedans with big V8’s are hilarious.
    No.

    Realistically Toyota has a corporate interest, like any auto manufacturer, in keeping their customer base happy.

    Allowing retailers to abuse customers, give shitty service etc reflects poorly on the brand. Dealers can and have been punished for things like that in the past. Last economic downturn for example saw a lot of franchises closed, low volume or shitty CSI scores were an almost guaranteed way to lose a franchise when manufacturers needed to decide who to cut off.

    There are some Toyota dealers out there cruising for it right now. Just wait until this economy really takes a dive.
     
  30. Jan 2, 2022 at 9:11 PM
    #30
    Cthulhu

    Cthulhu The White and Black Goat of the Woods

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    Price gouging…in my opinion, no. Many don’t know what happened in the steel industry this year. The cost of flat rolled steel (the steel that goes into most vehicular body panels except for some that have adopted aluminum) went up over 400%. Be glad we haven’t seen that same percentage of price increases in steel-intensive goods, but we have felt smaller percentage increases lately in vehicles, appliances, utility trailers, rock sliders, etc. But nowhere near 400%. The steel mills and their distributors were not regulated during these historic pricing increases because of…wait for it…the supply and demand macroeconomics of capitalism.

    Capitalism will correct the higher-than-normal pricing. It’s happening in the steel industry right now…prices are dropping as much as 10% WoW. The same will happen with vehicles…watch at it. I question the wisdom anyways of buying a vehicle in a new generation’s first production year, but that’s a whole other can of worms…:rofl:

    Thus endeth my anti-communism / entitlement rant, soap box dismounted. :thumbsup:
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2022

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