Thanks for that feedback. I feel the same as you do! Here's what happened today:
Test drove the 2013 Ford Explorer. First time ever inside a Ford. It was actually very impressive! I'm still trying to swallow the fact it's a "Ford." Not sure I'll be able to get past that...
Test drove a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Super fun!!! But some air pressure issues when driving made it a little tiring for my wife, even though she thought it would be fun too. A long road trip would be difficult.
Test drove a JGC. Same as before. Silky smooth and luxurious. Just an awesome ride.
Went to the Toyota dealer to test drive a 4R again, but was met with a slimy sales guy who wanted to talk me into something they had on the lot. Come on!!! Here I am, literally ready to buy, and they have nothing close to what I want on the entire lot. He went inside to grab a key to something we had no interest in, and we made our escape to try a larger Toyota dealer.
We arrived at the largest dealer in the area and were met by a pack of vultures. No other dealer did this to us. It was sick. Anyway, we were told the display was our best option, but it was 2WD, no sunroof, no NAV, and ugly "camel" interior fabric. They'll give me a deal where it's $5K below msrp, but if I purchased in CA, the posted Internet price of only $1K more would get me 4x4, sunroof, NAV, and the 3rd row seats. That's everything I'd possibly want, and even though it's not as nice as the Jeep's interior, I'd have bought it today. I wanted to test drive one again but wasn't able to.
I went to Toyota's website to the "Build Your Toyota" option, and depending on the zip code I get completely different options. And prices. I can't find a way to get even close to what I want. They just take me to dealers who don't have it, where the differences outweigh the similarities by 2 to 1. They have it in CA, but not in TX, and if they have anything remotely more similar the pricing is much, much higher.
I tried calling Toyota, but they were no help at all. I tried emailing them but they obviously don't want emails from people with iPhones or iPads.
I'm so frustrated by Toyota it makes me want to buy something else.
I'll try again tomorrow, but at this point I'm ready to buy a JGC and pay the extra $2800 for the lifetime warranty. I even feel like buying a Ford over a Toyota. I've never owned anything other than a Toyota, so this is a big deal to me. It's as though they just don't want me to buy one.
