Newbie first post (long-ish): Questions about ordering a 4 Runner

[mjfrank]

Hi all, newbie here.

Well, after a disappointing trip to the dealer last night, I still don't have a new 4 Runner. I want to buy an SR5 V8 4x4 with the third seat option. (seems to be rare around here) I have been looking for about a month now, and I found one at a local dealer. They went down to 500 above invoice plus 1000 cash back from Toyota, so the total was 29,496. They wouldn't budge on my trade-in (98 Camry LE w/87000mi), and they were offering me 5000, which is below my loan payoff. So I walked, and they let me. I had the cash to buy it without the trade-in, but I don't want to own four vehicles (also have a Jeep and an Expy), and I was a little pissed too.

I am now thinking that I might like to order a 2005, and use the time from now till Jan to fix a few minor things on the Camry, pay it off, and sell it myself. I have the Jeep to drive if it sells before the 4R comes in.

The dealer last night told me that Toyota doesn't accept orders, and you just have to pick from what the dealers are sent. But, from the posts on this board, that sounds like a line of bull. I am going to talk to a couple other dealers to see what they say, but could anyone with a 4R on order provide me with some details of the process involved, and requirements to do this.

Thanks,
Mike Frank

 

[ZonaT4R]

My guess is that your dealer just really wants to unload the 04's from the lot so they aren't offering up the 05's to you yet... Hard to say. Sounds like a decent deal though (cept the trade).

 

[BB4R]

Just try another dealer. I contacted two about getting an 05 spec-ed out the way I wanted it.

One (Toyota of Plano) just came back and said they had no information on 05s and couldn't tell me when they'd get any. Essentially, he said I was SOL.

The other dealer (Fowler Toyota in Dallas) was great and said come on in and we'll order one just the way you want it. Dealt with their Internet and Fleet guys and they're ordering it for me at 500 over invoice.

Some dealers clearly just want to clear out their 04s and some hate not selling from stock. In my experience, work with the fleet guy if you can--they usually don't mind ordering.

BB

 

[mjfrank]

That was my feeling too.

I wasn't that unhappy with the price on truck, and I probably would have taken the deal if they would have at least met payoff on my loan. (5723) They wouldn't budge the 723 bucks so I walked.

To my advantage, apparently the third-seat, no sunroof models don't sell that well here. This one had been there for almost two months now, and only had one mile on it when I test drove it. I may check back at the end of the month to see if it's still there.

 

[mjfrank]

BB4R:
Did the dealer require a downpayment or a security deposit to place the order?

If so, is that refundable if you decide not to buy when the vehicle arrives?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[BB4R]

At first he mentioned a $200 deposit, then immediately corrected himself and said, "You know what, don't worry about it--we can always use a vehicle like that if you decide you don't want it."

I was very happy with the treatment I received, and assuming all else goes well with the transaction, I'll definitely be referring folks to them and taking all of my service business to them!

BB

 

[mjfrank]

I'm going to go back to the dealer that I bought my Camry from, and see if they will deal with me, since I am a repeat customer.

They treated me well with Camry, so hopefully it will be the same with this one.

Thanks for the info.

Mike