Avg wait time for special order T4R?
- Thread starter CNI
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Uneek
Super Moderator
Special ordered in mid-November 2005. Toyota accepted the order in mid-December. Arrived at port Feb 4, 2006, took delievery Feb 19. Not sure when it arrived at the dealer, because I was on vacation that week.
I didn't put a deposit on the 4Runner because he knew I was serious about the 4Runner. He took my credit card number when he ordered my Tacoma in July 2005. The Tacoma is US built and almost right down the street from me. The Tacoma took almost four weeks.
Depending where you're located, it could take longer for trucking from port to the dealer. For Lexus vehicles, I've heard upto six months.
I didn't put a deposit on the 4Runner because he knew I was serious about the 4Runner. He took my credit card number when he ordered my Tacoma in July 2005. The Tacoma is US built and almost right down the street from me. The Tacoma took almost four weeks.
Depending where you're located, it could take longer for trucking from port to the dealer. For Lexus vehicles, I've heard upto six months.
I special ordered my 2007 Sport Edition on December 14, 2006 and it was scheduled to hit port on March 25, 2007, but found out that Toyota had built it in the wrong color. As such, I re-ordered mine on March 13, 2007 and it is currently scheduled to arrive at the dealership by June 7, 2007. I hope this helps!!
CNI
New member
ruthdog23 said:
so about 3 months. that is what I expected. The dealership could NOT give me even a window. They only told me longer than 6 weeks. I'm hoping to take advantage of the 0% financing they have going right now. I only hope they extended it through next month! Seems my Grand Cherokee knows it's day is over soon cause everything is breaking on it right now; water pump, front diff (AGAIN!), etc, etc!
Thanks for everyone's input!!!
I have to say that the special order process is much more painful than it needs to be.
You know darn well that Toyota plans everything well before they build it. They're using just-in-time manufacturing like every other car manufacturer, so they certainly know which parts they need when, which color of paint will be used today, etc. As soon as Toyota Motor Manufacturing gets the order, they must put it in the computer and assign a VIN and a build date.
For some reason, they don't communicate that information back to Toyota Motor Sales USA, so that they could communicate it back to the dealer and then the customer. Both the dealer and Toyota Motor Sales have no clue what's happening until the vehicle hits the port in the U.S., at which point they get a VIN and a pretty close delivery date.
The time from order to customer delivery on an order from Japan is generally 3-4 months, or about 2 months on products made in Canada. I don't know if Toyota is afraid to tell people "3-4 months" becauase the truth might hurt. Personally, I'd much rather know a date 4 months out than know nothing! A huge element of customer service is communication!
I learned all this when I special-ordered a Lexus RX 330 a few years ago. After several weeks of hearing nothing from the dealer, I located my Regional Sales Office for Lexus and called them. I still didn't get any sort of timeline, and I pissed off the dealer by "going over his head". Oh well. As for a deposit, I had to put down a refundable $500. Make sure it's refundable, because the dealer can't commit to any incentives that apply when you order the car - you only get the incentives that are available at the time of delivery. Also, the value of your trade-in will drop while you're waiting, and it will drop a little further when the dealer has you where he wants you with the exact vehicle you want!! Yes, after waiting 3+ months, the dealer tried to screw me on my trade-in.
You know darn well that Toyota plans everything well before they build it. They're using just-in-time manufacturing like every other car manufacturer, so they certainly know which parts they need when, which color of paint will be used today, etc. As soon as Toyota Motor Manufacturing gets the order, they must put it in the computer and assign a VIN and a build date.
For some reason, they don't communicate that information back to Toyota Motor Sales USA, so that they could communicate it back to the dealer and then the customer. Both the dealer and Toyota Motor Sales have no clue what's happening until the vehicle hits the port in the U.S., at which point they get a VIN and a pretty close delivery date.
The time from order to customer delivery on an order from Japan is generally 3-4 months, or about 2 months on products made in Canada. I don't know if Toyota is afraid to tell people "3-4 months" becauase the truth might hurt. Personally, I'd much rather know a date 4 months out than know nothing! A huge element of customer service is communication!
I learned all this when I special-ordered a Lexus RX 330 a few years ago. After several weeks of hearing nothing from the dealer, I located my Regional Sales Office for Lexus and called them. I still didn't get any sort of timeline, and I pissed off the dealer by "going over his head". Oh well. As for a deposit, I had to put down a refundable $500. Make sure it's refundable, because the dealer can't commit to any incentives that apply when you order the car - you only get the incentives that are available at the time of delivery. Also, the value of your trade-in will drop while you're waiting, and it will drop a little further when the dealer has you where he wants you with the exact vehicle you want!! Yes, after waiting 3+ months, the dealer tried to screw me on my trade-in.
I special ordered mine back in early April and the dealer received it in mid May. They told me not to expect it until July or August so I was fine with it. I was very surprised to see that it came in so soon. They took down my credit card number at the time I special ordered the 4R, and then asked me if I wanted to apply anything from the Credit Card at the time of purchase. The whole thing was painless!!!
G.I.G.
New member
I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago and I should get it in a week or two. I was told that because I wasn't asking for anything unique (basically an SE with standard options) it would not take as long. They told me if I asked for special features or options that they normally don't order on 4R's, that it would take significantly longer.
Waiting is the worst part.
Waiting is the worst part.
Starting today I'm working on my 8th month. I'll keep the dealer name out of it for now, but here's my latest reply to them just a few days ago...
------
Xxxxxx, the ball was dropped. I asked you to order this 4R 7 months ago.
You said it was ordered at that time. A month later in December, you
told me I was the first priority and that you would know more in 30 days.
A simple, "Sorry Matt, they can't build it now" would have sufficed at
that time. I did not hear from you after that point. I find it hard to
believe that it takes 7 months to find out if Toyota Japan will build it
when I've seen other special orders (for the SAME vehicle and options)
getting placed, filled, and delivered within the last 7 months for other
people in half the time (3-4 mos). Either yourself or someone else did
drop the ball and didn't follow through. Maybe it was my fault and I
should have asked you every month for a status update.
---------
And yes, I'm still waiting. It's not a need-it-now situation, so I haven't started looking elsewhere yet. I said in the beginning I would wait for the SpecOrder so I'm still waiting. But feeling like I'm getting my chain jerked just pisses me off.
------
Xxxxxx, the ball was dropped. I asked you to order this 4R 7 months ago.
You said it was ordered at that time. A month later in December, you
told me I was the first priority and that you would know more in 30 days.
A simple, "Sorry Matt, they can't build it now" would have sufficed at
that time. I did not hear from you after that point. I find it hard to
believe that it takes 7 months to find out if Toyota Japan will build it
when I've seen other special orders (for the SAME vehicle and options)
getting placed, filled, and delivered within the last 7 months for other
people in half the time (3-4 mos). Either yourself or someone else did
drop the ball and didn't follow through. Maybe it was my fault and I
should have asked you every month for a status update.
---------
And yes, I'm still waiting. It's not a need-it-now situation, so I haven't started looking elsewhere yet. I said in the beginning I would wait for the SpecOrder so I'm still waiting. But feeling like I'm getting my chain jerked just pisses me off.
G.I.G.
New member
malmgren said:
That sucks malmgren, I'm sorry to hear that. What did you order that is taking them so long to fill your order. My dealer (who is actually a new car broker) said that it shouldn't be too hard to get the SE I want (V8, 4x4, sunroof, in Galactic Gray) because quite a few come equipped that way. There aren't a whole lot of option packages on 4R's so I don't know they dragging their feet. Have you tried another dealer or asked around? Hopefully you get a resolution soon!
Oh nothing special - just a semi-fully loaded model 
> 2007 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 V6
>
> NV Navigation System w/JBL Synthesis Audio
> EY Rear Seat Entertainment
> SR Power Sunroof
> GY Side Curtain Airbags
> NH X-REAS Shock Absorbers
> TO Tow Hitch
> RF Rear Spoiler
> CF Carpet Floor/Cargo Mat Set
> RL Daytime Running Lights
> FE 50 State Emissions
The V6 Limited with Xreas is the reason for the Spec order.
> 2007 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 V6
>
> NV Navigation System w/JBL Synthesis Audio
> EY Rear Seat Entertainment
> SR Power Sunroof
> GY Side Curtain Airbags
> NH X-REAS Shock Absorbers
> TO Tow Hitch
> RF Rear Spoiler
> CF Carpet Floor/Cargo Mat Set
> RL Daytime Running Lights
> FE 50 State Emissions
The V6 Limited with Xreas is the reason for the Spec order.
G.I.G.
New member
malmgren said:
Gotcha. I've heard that Xreas on a limited can be hard to come by. I don't know why. I think it is a great option if you don't plan to lift or modify your suspension.
Can your dealer do a search of other dealer's inventory? You would think that the runner you're looking for is somewhere out there.
It sure seems as though they are dragging their feet!! I remember sitting with the sales person and another associate when they placed the order by computer. Then, they printed all the information out and mailed a large envelope out via express mail. I did not think my 4R would come in so quick. I had my doubts because I was supposed to be getting a special deal on the order and didn't think they would be willing to help since I was only going to be paying $35000 for my 4R. It came loaded with everything except 4WD.
G.I.G. said:
Yup, already done by about 5 local dealers and they said that they called around to others. This model isn't available in any West Coast region or market.
But I have a friend who has a friend who knows someone...
and is working with me to get this done through another dealer.
Uneek
Super Moderator
malmgren said:Yup, already done by about 5 local dealers and they said that they called around to others. This model isn't available in any West Coast region or market.
But I have a friend who has a friend who knows someone...
Glad you're able to find someone to get this done. Otherwise, you can contact my rep. I had mine special ordered and it took a tad over three months from the time I specified options to delivery.
Good luck.
alaskaman
Senior Member
I ordered my 4Runner 2007 Sport Edition with Navigation, side air bags, sunroof, tow hitch on April 23. They said it will arrive mid July as the 4 Runners are built in Japan.
After the order was accepted (3 weeks) I was asked for a $500.00 deposit which was not charged (California law) but placed on file. I have not heard anything since to indicate that there is a delay or a problem.....
I am giving my 97 T4R to my daughter in late June as she is in college and then will just rent for a few weeks (hotwire) seems to have the best rental prices.
Fingers are crossed. It is going to be a sweet ride when it arrives.
After the order was accepted (3 weeks) I was asked for a $500.00 deposit which was not charged (California law) but placed on file. I have not heard anything since to indicate that there is a delay or a problem.....
I am giving my 97 T4R to my daughter in late June as she is in college and then will just rent for a few weeks (hotwire) seems to have the best rental prices.
Fingers are crossed. It is going to be a sweet ride when it arrives.
