Toyota Dealers A Little Too Arrogant

So you would be fine when you went to pick up your truck the sales person would of told you to come back in 1 hour because I have a potential customer test driving your truck right now and another coming in to test drive it also.

 

Look but don’t touch please

 

I'm thinking about buying a 2022 and using it as a demo for folks to be able to test drive it. I haven't financed a vehicle in a long time, but I'd guess to finance 100% of the vehicle it would cost what maybe $800-$850/month for a decent trim level. If I booked just 10 test drives a month (up to 100 miles/ea) @ $125/ea the test drives would cover my payments/insurance/fuel. If I booked 20 a month, it starts to get profitable, and I'm only putting 24k miles a year on the vehicle. Trade it in every 2 years to stay current on the models, options, etc...

What do you guys think $125 to test drive a truck for up to 100 miles????

 

Might be the worst idea ever

 

well i have my reserve request in and once its picked up at the factory to be built i have to go put a deposit down. so you think a customer vehicle that they put a deposit down are expecting a dealership to just loan it out to someone to test drive when its already pretty much sold? i wouldnt care for it.

pretty much all the local dealers here have pre sold them before even leaving the port. had one friend lose $500 deposit cause another dealer got the exact same config he had requested in before the dealer he requested from.

he was in a bind since his ram 1500 was giving him all kinds of problems (less than 2 yrs old) and he wanted out fast. willing to take the hit for less headaches long term.

right now tundra's are a rare spot where there is not enough being built to put on lots outside of fulfilling pre sold demand and even those are being held at port for qc holds.

 

It's a bit of a trek from Houston, but try calling Cecil Atkission in Orange. They had 2 on the lot when I got mine in March and were great to deal with.

 

I wasn’t advocating to test drive someone’s special order. It just sucks that inventory is this low and will probably remain like this for the foreseeable future.

 

I went with an F150 over a 22 Tundra. The buying experience was not the main reason although it didn’t help. Nothing around here to test drive. Ford Lots had tight inventory but enough that I was actually able to take some versions of the truck I was going to drop 60k on for a spin. The dealer I bought 2 vehicles from and got 10 years of service at told me the config I wanted (LTD with only a moonroof added) was a unicorn and everybody had to take port installed accessories but before I changed my mind on make 2 of them like I wanted popped up in transit at another dealer. But nobody is trading. Never checked back in on putting my name on one but I’m sure someone did.

In general I think this long term plan dealers have to keep inventory extremely light and do special orders is un-workable without long term supply chain fixes so wait times don’t go through the roof every time something happens in China or Taiwan. If they can’t fix that we’ll eventually go back to seeing lots with cars on them as a cushion so supply problems don’t cause such immediate chaos. Bound to happen when the economic slowdown comes.

 

I think you pretty much nailed it.

I'd say 80% (give or take) of "inventory" going to dealerships are already sold before the truck is even made. I'll be honest- If I had put a deposit down on a truck & they were allowing random people to test drive my truck (before I got to the dealership to pick it up), I would be pretty pissed.

Like someone else mentioned, you're likely going to have better luck at smaller dealerships right now. Even if it's a base model or whatever, a test drive in something like that will give you an idea how the truck drives.

 

This plus the other reason someone else mentioned (shows as ON THE LOT when it's already sold) on top of the attitude that comes with it. Toyota is clearly 4th in this segment. They are probably the worst off in terms of actual inventory and you'd think that they'd be the ones at least trying to woo customers with a demo so they can put in an order. Toyota would be much better off having a 1794 or Platinum as a demo only vehicle so people can at least feel confident putting in an order. Instead I get sass and am told "lol that ones bought already you need to order one and can't test drive one". The effort level just seems kinda low across the board.

 

I think your insurance company is going to have a field day with you.

 

100 miles, gas cost is going to eat into some of your profits.

 

New title of this thread.

"Potential Toyota customer is a little too entitled...."

 

How so? Enlighten me.

 

You are on a public forum crying that you can't drive someone else's pre sold truck. You believe that just because you want to drive a specific truck that the dealership should just hand you the keys even though it belongs to someone else.

 

I say you buy a bunch of new vehicles and put a sign out front saying Test Drive Vehicles Here. You seem to think since inventory is low right now. That dealerships should keep trucks unsold just for test drives is ok. Well step up to the plate buttercup and do as you say.

 

That's not what I said at all.

 

Toyota doesn't run the dealership. Private and separate company. The dealer knows every Tundra they get will sell. There is no incentive for the dealer to do anything but sell everyone they get. Having a tester won't increase the sales.

I agree the attitudes of dealerships suck, but they are not Toyota. Gotta quit blaming Toyota for what people who are not their employees are doing.

 

yeah i get your point, we wanted to test drive a 1794 or anything but have not been able to since last year. lol sucks so bad our friend who picked up a SR5 army green wont even test drive his.

 

I don't think OP was wanting to drive someone's presold truck. Just sounds like he's unhappy with the current environment and inability to test drive a Tundra.

 

My local dealership has a '22 Tundra crew max, 4x4, SR5 TRD Off Road that they've reserved for test drives. It'll be sold eventually as used but they're keeping it as a dealership test drive vehicle for now. It was super handy because it's exactly the trim I wanted, so I was able to test drive what my future truck will be.

I put a deposit down in February as well, I was told end of May or first week of June. Talked to my dealer last week. Apparently Toyota is updating the dealership's allocation computer systems so the dates were all out of whack. The salesman showed me his screen that showed they had 2 or 3 vehicles showing as in transit but they were sitting on the lot outside my salesman's office waiting to be picked up by the owners. My truck is showing as August arrival now. I was told to check back in a few weeks and they might have a better idea of the timeline once the compter system isn't so jacked up.

 

I never said that. I would never expect to drive someone else's truck. As I outlined, the first dealer showed six trucks similar to what I was looking for as being "on the lot", when, instead, all those trucks were a minimum of two weeks out and/or already spoken for. That's nothing but fraud to get folks onto the lot. Then, expecting a non-refundable deposit when they don't even have a similar used one available to test drive? And going even further, telling me that they could only hold it for "maybe" 24 hours even with a non-refundable deposit? They were just putting folks over a barrel. What if I had a schedule conflict and couldn't get there within 24 hours of the vehicle arriving (I live two hours away), or didn't like the truck when it came in? I'd either have to order another vehicle or give up that $2,000 deposit.
The second dealer I worked with had some "factory vehicles" (I know Toyota has another name for that program, almost new, very low mileage vehicles used at the factory or as dealership loaners). I got to test drive a couple and really liked one of them, but the salesman got a call as we were coming back from the second test drive and dumped me in the lot for another customer, telling me I could either text him if I was interested, or "wait till I'm done with this other customer" (the other customer was looking at an older used sedan of some sort, whereas I was ready to make a cash deal on the 21 Factory Vehicle). They wanted above original MSRP on the vehicle I was looking at, plus another $2,000 if you didn't have a trade-in. I texted him just after I left and told him to value my trade in (which he'd looked at) and never heard back.
I learned my lesson and called ahead at the third dealer late the afternoon prior and they said they had three vehicles available to test drive. Another two plus hour drive to that dealer to get there just after they open the following morning. Two of the three trucks sold after I'd talked to them the previous day (bad luck for me), the other they just put back into refurb that morning right before I got there (apparently a lack of communication at the dealership). I wind up driving around the lot with the salesman anyway and we pass what looks like a new Tacoma outfitted just the way I wanted, but just in a different color. I ask about it and find out its the Sales Manager's truck, but I can't drive that one either, as they'd already asked him. Now, if that was in fact the Sales Manager's personal vehicle, fine, but my guess is that was a vehicle that was supplied to him by the dealership, in which case I call BS. I made arrangements to do a test drive and made a two plus hour drive, if that was a dealer supplied vehicle I should've been able to test drive it. On the plus side, that was about the point I was fed up with trying to find a Tacoma and asked to drive a Tundra. The rest as they say, is history, and it probably worked out better in the end anyway.

 

yeah i emailed a dealer in twin cities, maplewood toyota, saying exactly what i wanted and gave them a screenshot of dealer daily pkg/option page of what i wanted. the reply email said and this is a direct quote from the email

and nothing after that, no follow up, no questions about would you be interested in anything else or even the chance to be put on a list for incoming tundra's. pretty much deleted the email and moved on.

 

Was trapped at my local Toyota dealership yesterday with routine maintenance on her 4runner.

Was actually able to sit in a new Limited Tundra, but not test drive it. Salesperson's tone of the conversation drove me crazy- It was like she was doing me a favor by letting me even near this truck. A bad look for them in my opinion and I'll be much less likely to buy there again in the future.

Either way, I am not envious at all about those who NEED to buy a car now. Complete sellers market and now at all how I like to do business. I prefer to have 3-4 dealerships competing for the best price and begging me to come in for a test drive and my trade in. I'll happily continue paying for my 15mpg in my 5.7L until the market completely shifts 180 degree, or my tundra bites the dust.

 

Ask your insurance company what they think about that lol

 

I'd imagine the insurance requirements would be the same as for those who do Turo car rental..

 

It's crazy how they are treating the vehicles like they are Shelby GT500s or something... Dealers need to go back to the demo concept if this is going to continue much longer. Toyota should provide or make any authorized dealer purchase demos to have on hand for test drives...

 

Big difference between renting your vehicle out through a company service and privately. Even if it shouldn’t be.

 

Damn it ....

Stop crushing my dreams people!!!!