Playing the Dealership Game

I need some advice. I'm unfortunately a "people pleaser" type personality, so going back and forth between dealerships trying to secure the best deal is killing me.

But I need to get over that, I know.

I originally visited a dealership in September on the east side of town (we'll call them E) when looking to order my Tundra. They gave me a price with all my specifications, indicating it would probably be December/January to get it in. I said fine, go ahead and order.

I then visited a dealership on the west side of town (we'll call them W) for comparison, and they were willing to undercut E by $2500, PLUS indicated they had a truck in allocation that they could change to my specifications. Sure, I said, I'll go with you instead. So when E called to verify, I told them I was going with W for less money and getting the truck sooner. They then said THEY (E) had a truck in allocation as well that they could change, and they would take another $1000 off and personally call W to cancel. They're actually closer to me and I'll do maintenance there, so sure, go ahead. I then find out a week later they hadn't called W like they had offered. I've called E several times to find out the status, and they have been a bit short with me, saying I'll know when they know.

JUST TODAY I received an email from W saying that the truck order could not be canceled and they will now have it arriving next week or the week after. They also said it's the only truck with those exact specifications to have been ordered from Toyota, meaning E hasn't actually ordered my truck yet (???). W said they will take a look at the offer from E and try to match or beat it.

1.) Does W actually have info about what other dealerships have ordered? Or are they bluffing?
2.) How much back and forth is too much? I know some will say "until you get the best deal," but I really do feel badly going back and forth so much. Again, this may be my own issue and I need to get over it.

Thoughts?? Advice??

 

Wait it out

 

I would go with W. They’ve already got the truck coming. E may just be full of crap.

 

The only person you need to please is yourself. If W has your truck coming and you are ok with the price then go for it. Some people get crazy deals and others don't. If you think you have a solid price and it's your truck then absolutely buy it. Dealer E seems like people you don't want to be in business with

 

Ive got a similar personality. I have gone back and forth before when buying a Tahoe. If you pit two competing dealerships against each other you’ll find out who’s hungrier. When both of them tell you there’s no way they can go lower, you either pick one or tell them you’re going to think on it and see who calls you back first.

However, I also put a lot of weight in the service and responsiveness. There’s a value on being easy to do business with. So if one dealership offers to beat by $1,000 and then goes silent and unresponsive, I’d call the sales manager and just tell them you’ve gotten better service and from W and they’re going to match their offer anyway. See if they counter or continue to give you what you’re getting now.

In the end, it’s all a game. Those willing to play longer will get the better deal. For me anymore, when it gets down to pennies it’s not worth my time...

 

I tried 3 dealerships....ended up with the one right down the road. They kept matching each other. One told me they wouldn't deal anymore because I was playing games...lol They were all about the same minus about 300 bucks if I remember.

 

Just remember the dealerships are not out to make a friend of you, they are out to turn a profit. When I was shopping for my 21 I came into a situation similar to this with what I was told was the last remaining army green pro in Texas. Only to find out another dealership had one on the lot across the town they were located in, apparently this was being used as a bait vehicle to get you into the deal then they tell you the car is gone but they could get an allocation. Shady stuff for sure, but what was weird is that the original dealership called there bluff right away and said the unit I was looking at was already sold. So maybe they are able to see statewide allocations.

Are there any Toyota sales managers on here???

I say get your money back from e and buy from w

 

Have you given any money to either dealership yet?

 

I think the fact that E lied about cancelling the order, and has since gotten short with you is very telling. As other have said, dealerships will lie, cheat, and swindle you until your head is spinning to get you to buy from them. If a dealership says they have a vehicle on allocation, ask for the spec sheet including the VIN. I wouldn't be surprised if they both are saying the same vehicle is theirs.

 

Ask to see the allocation from there end. They should be able to supply you with a screen shot similar to this that will tell you all you need to know

 

Thankfully no. Signed at W to allow a credit check (going to finance about $5k for the truck for rebates, but pay it off immediately) and signed an "order" with E, but haven't given any hard cash to either one.

 

In that case, I would just ignore E and go with W since it sounds like they have the truck you want now at a better price (if I understood your original post correctly).

 

Thanks all. The more I contemplate it, the easier it is to decide to go with W. I feel like E has been jerking me around now for 2 months, especially if it's true that they haven't even ordered the truck yet.

 

I agree, I am a salesman for a Toyota dealership in East Tennessee. It's a family owned dealership and will go out if their way to make there customers happy.They(the dealership) works for you not the other way around.I tell my customers that you are paying for the vehicle not me so,buy what you want.If dealerships would treat people like they should be treated then they would have no problem selling their vehicles.just my 2 cents.If you can find a dealership that will take care of you after the sale then I would stay with them.

 

Thanks for the insight!

So since I have not given any $ to anyone yet, even though I signed "papers" with the other dealership to proceed with ordering a truck with my specifications (color, tow mirrors, deck & rail, etc.), there's no issue with me going with the other one, correct? I mean, it's not an actual contract obligating me to deal with them if I understand correctly.

 

Correct. It is not a legally binding document.

 

Depends on what you signed reads but it most likely is a non binding agreement.

As others have said, go with the one who gives you the best mix of price and service. I’d gladly pay a little more and not get jerked around.

Remember: it’s your money, so you decide what is best and don’t let the dealer bully you.

 

When I bought my truck, I had three possible dealers lined up when the purchase date came. One offered me the best deal, the second, and third said they would match the first dealer. The way I saw it, I would go with the dealer that offered me the best deal to begin with, and if that fell through for some reason, I'd move on. One of my big stipulations was that I did not want any dealer add ons whatsoever, all of the dealerships knew that, all of them promised me they wouldn't put any on, but the third dealership said as a matter of policy they never do any dealer add ons unless specified by the customer.

Day of, I called dealer one and was told the vehicle was there and ready, but they had added on door edge guards, and were just finishing some add on leather treatment. I said they just lost the sale. Called up dealer two and was told the vehicle was on the lot, no add ons, and was ready for me to pick up - I was happy about this because they were actually my local dealership, and I knew I'd be taking it there for service anyway. When I pulled up they couldn't find the truck, even though it showed they had two, white, 2020 TRD Pros on the lot. After twenty minutes of confusion they came back and said they both had just been sent out for ceramic treatment. Told them they lost the sale, they said "What if we give you 50% off the ceramic treatment"?, I said I wouldn't be paying one cent more than the originally agreed price, so I left. Drove to dealer three where everything was as said, but they had failed to mention that there was a $10K markup on the truck, they assumed the other dealerships had that too. Told them that it was okay, we were 50/50 on if we would be buying my truck, or my wife a new car that day - so I can wait. Stood up to walk out and was immediately told "We'll completely match the other dealership, no markup.". I sat back down, signed the paperwork, drove away in my brand new truck.

The point of all of this is to say, stay fluid all the way up until you drive off the lot - be okay with walking away if they try to change things up on you.

 

Rule #1: always be prepared to walk away.

Rule 2: leave your emotion at home. Dealers know this and use it to their advantage.

 

Tell W to meet you between their offer and E's and call it a day.

 

I have driven my trade for 8 hours one way only to turn around and walk away.
I will not be jerked around after making a deal.

 

Every dealer in Gulf States can see all stock at each dealership including allocation. Gulf States is made up of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Okalahoma, and Arkansas. They all pay the same price for Toyota's. My dealership never had "dealer adds" applied to vehicles. That's where you really have to be careful. If we dealer traded, that was the first question we had to ask the dealership we were trying to trade with, so we could tell our customer about the extra expense.

 

Sometimes a dealer will mark a vehicle as "sold" or "not tradeable" in the system to keep other dealers from even asking for the trade.

 

Thanks all!

So after the email from Dealer W, they followed up with a phone call. They had followed through with changing their allocation back in September to the truck with my specifications and kept that order even after I said I was going to go with Dealer E. They said in the data base, they could see that no such truck order had yet been accepted by Toyota for Dealer E (and he knows because he said mine is the only order in the country with my exact specifications right now). He said that E may have put in an order for it, but wasn't even accepted yet by Toyota, so it would still need to be built then upwards of a month for shipping! The guy at W talked to management and they are willing to beat the price that E had given me (a miniscule amount, but beat it nonetheless). Plus $1750 incentive right now. He said the truck is actually on a train in MO right now and will be trucked in sometime next week, ready for pickup.

Needless to say I'm a bit peaved at E since they originally said they would have the same delivery as W, and haven't even mentioned at EACH WEEKLY CALL I'VE PUT IN that the truck order hasn't even gone through but I'm thankful that W followed through. They're a larger dealership, so maybe they just have customer service more down pat - who knows. I agree that nothing's a done deal until I drive off the lot, but sure looks like W is going to win this one.

 

a W for W and for U 2

 

AGREED!

 

At larger dealerships you can usually get a better deal because of the amount of turnover they have, you can also usually get access to cars quicker through larger dealerships because auto makers want to keep their biggest customers(dealerships) happy. Congrats on the new Tundra!

 

I have done this twice getting the wife a car. I made her very angry both times.

 

Don't worry about which dealer you are doing service with. Dealers make more money off service versus sales. When I bought the Tundra I walked out on dealer where I had bought 2 Tacoma. I bought from a different dealer but had service done at the one I walked out on. Service guys do not give a rat's behind where you bought the truck. I know at one time Ford had a policy where warranty work had to be done at selling dealer unless they were more then 50 miles away. I don't think Toyota has the same.