Special order: Am I doing it wrong?

[Phyzman]

Me: I’d like the buy a 2020 4Runner.
Dealer: Okay, we can get you into a 2020. What trim?
M: Off Road Premium
D: We can do that.
M: I need KDSS
D: Excellent.
M: And no moonroof.
D: No moon—? Houston, we have a problem.
M: In Barcelona Red
D: Wait. Is that Spanish for “Magnetic Gray Metallic”?
M: And I’d like to have a sliding cargo tray.
D: I’m going to print you a map of other nearby Toyota dealerships. Fine people, all of them...

It’s not quite like that. But after searching and having no luck for a week that began in mid October, I made an appointment to speak with a dealer about placing an order.

The salesman confirmed that the configuration I was looking for, while technically possible, did not exist in the Western US. He declared it to be a unicorn.

The next week, he informed me that he alerted his fleet manager. His fleet manager would seek approval from Toyota/Japan.

Two weeks after that, I was told that my request was approved. I inquired as to VIN and an ETA.

Don’t call us; we’ll call you has been the response since then. That approval from Japan was apparently just “initial approval”.

The 2020 ORP w/KDSS but no moonroof in any color does seem to be a rig that is not manufactured, according to inventory searches of Edmunds, cars.com, AutoTrader, CarGurus, and buyatoyota.com. Filtering for BR and (especially) the sliding cargo tray instantly zero out any search results.

I had previously thrown myself to the wolves via TrueCar, and so now and then, dealers alert me to near misses still in allocation. (2020 BR ORP w/KDSS and no moonroof. No sliding tray and tarted up with a bunch of things I never really wanted).

I’m patient enough to wait for now. But concerned that I don’t really seem to have “final approval” from Japan, with a VIN and an ETA.

Month One of the search comes to a close feeling unproductive.

Anyone order a similarly “exotic” 4R unicorn from Japan? How’d it go?


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[nb rob]

here's the thing.... it doesn't work that way. You can't place a special order at the tahara plant.

Unfortunately, some where along the way someone told you that you could. It turns out that there's some car salesmen that aren't totally honest (gasp)

If anything, they were buying time and hoping you'd settle while they shopped
around other dealer's allocations. As I'm sure you've learned by now, different areas of the country receive different options as a regular feature. There's some places in the US where KDSS is hard to find. Here in Canada, you can't buy a TRD offroad without KDSS and everything else. There's just one off road trim, and it's KDSS with everything.

There have been folks on here that have had success using an auto broker-- it's their job to get you exactly what you want. Otherwise, it seems like you're willing to fly somewhere and travel home. Hopefully some people will chime in and tell you where the KDSS ORP's live with no moonroofs.

As for the special order.... sorry-- that's not a reality with 4runners. Lying salesmen is a real thing though.

 

[Bumbo]

And that’s how you rain on a parade folks.

 

[1jzgte]

damn youre gullible arent you.. besides barcelona red is quite beautiful..

1. dealers wanna make you feel like youre winning
2. when u feel like a winner youre more likely to refer friends and family

these dealers have absolutely no connection to JAPAN.. they answer to Toyota USA and Toyota USA doesnt work that way.

 

[nb rob]

well, maybe the dealer is actually on top of the ball and able to divert that particular build from another dealer, in transit.

 

[Mutant138]

18 TRD OR KDSS no moon roof here. The only thing from the premium i wish I had was heated/cooled seats.

Or just get a moonroof. Life is full of compromises.

"The problems that you suffer from are problems that you make
The shit we have to climb through is the shit we choose to take"

 

[Phyzman]

damn youre gullible arent you.

You are far more presumptuous than I am gullible. But thanks.

Customers have little power vs. corporations, it’s true. The dealership in question gets high marks from customers and prizes it’s review portfolio.

I have had occasion to review merchants from time to time. Love giving great merchants good reviews.

When a negative review is called for, I craft them with exacting precision so as to wave potential customers off. Said merchants contact me quickly attempting to do whatever they can to get me to recant.

In all honesty, I never take them up on their offers and prefer to let the negative review to continue doing it’s work. By the time I craft the review, the merchant and I have concluded our attempts to work things out. They were satisfied with the outcome. I was not. But the negotiation was over.

My current vehicle is old, long since paid for, and owes me nothing. I can wait. In six moths or so, I might be willing to live without the sliding cargo tray. I’m not entirely averse to a drive home road trip to acquire my 4Runner.

In the meantime, I’ve got a few more days of patience with my dealership. I’m off next week, so I’ll have a chance to engage with them in a clarifying conversation. If it seems like a smoke blow, I will thank them for their time and move on.



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[Phyzman]

Or just get a moonroof. Life is full of compromises.

If I could live with the moonroof, I’d certainly go with it. But I sat it both moonroof and without. I’m tall in the torso, so my noggin needs the space up top.

I’ll chalk up the price of a new vehicle to be compromise enough on this one.




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[batex]

Phyzmzn, I’m in the same boat as you. In fact I’ve been following you on the forum as you’ve mentioned your desire for an off-road premium with KDSS sans moonroof several times. That’s the exact configuration I’m looking for, probably in silver. I keep hoping that you will get word of a shipment of a bunch of ORPs without sunroofs and with KDSS any day now. I’m in NC and will probably start working with local dealers to find one sometime after Christmas....hoping production catches up to demand by then. My Tundra has 190k miles and I’m happy to drive it for many more months until I can find one. Not willing to compromise any time soon.

 

[Phyzman]

Phyzmzn, I’m in the same boat as you. In fact I’ve been following you on the forum as you’ve mentioned your desire for an off-road premium with KDSS sans moonroof several times. That’s the exact configuration I’m looking for, probably in silver. I keep hoping that you will get word of a shipment of a bunch of ORPs without sunroofs and with KDSS any day now. I’m in NC and will probably start working with local dealers to find one sometime after Christmas....hoping production catches up to demand by then. My Tundra has 190k miles and I’m happy to drive it for many more months until I can find one. Not willing to compromise any time soon.

I refresh filtered searches on Edmunds every day. Things don’t seems to be changing much. It’s still early in the model year, but 4Runners *are* starting to collect dust on dealer lots.

Dealers are certainly privy to inventory information long before Edmunds.

It is awkward to wave off near misses while waiting for The One, especially if The One isn’t being built.

The misses that are loaded with unwanted options are less difficult to wave off.


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[Oogs]

ORP w/ cooled seats? Man I wish, all the ones I saw only had heated. I tried for months to find a TRD OR with moonroof, KDSS and cargo tray both new and used through a broker and came up empty. Every dealer I went to said I couldn't special order a T4R including one where a close friends brother is the sales manager. In the end I "settled" on a TRD ORP w KDSS moonroof and sliding cargo tray because I couldn't get all that and cloth seats that I preferred in the non premium. Call me crazy but I didn't want the Softex, although now that it's cold I do appreciate the heated seats. Now, only if they were cooled for the summer.....

 

[ironklad]

In Virginia here with the same issue...I’m looking for an Off Road Premium w/KDSS in MGM color (specifically no moonroof or other options), dealer said he couldn’t order so I called the Central Atlantic Toyota Region office and they confirmed that they do not order that configuration. All Off Road Premiums ordered in this region have a moonroof. I emailed Toyota corporate and they told me the same thing, most regions order specific combinations of options and don’t make exceptions, they basically told me I have to go outside of my region to get what I want. Why Toyota.com lets me build what I want in my region but not allow me to order it is beyond me, I guess they don’t care.

I found a somewhat close match in NJ (New York region)... I’m running out of patience and spending way too much time trying to track down what I want, either going to just settle on adding on the moonroof or head out of state.

This thread has the region phone number contacts:
West Coast vs East Coast Unit Allocation - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

 

[FoCo-4Runner]

There are few responses that I find humorous since they are in fact dead wrong.

I was in a similar situation in 14 as I wanted a Mag Grey SR5 with beige interior. There wasn’t a single one in the US. I contacted several dealers who told me it wasn’t possible to order. I finally convinced a dealer to try and order it and they obliged. The district rep contacted someone at the plant who confirmed that it was possible to order it and they confirmed it was in there system to build. I had the email chain that confirmed it. Then everything went dark and I didn’t hear a damn thing for a couple months. Then the day it was built, I started to get periodic updates on its status.

In the end it took approximately 4-5 months to get. It’s definitely not the path to take for an impatient person though but custom orders can be done.

 

[Phyzman]

There are few responses that I find humorous since they are in fact dead wrong.



I was in a similar situation in 14 as I wanted a Mag Grey SR5 with beige interior. There wasn’t a single one in the US. I contacted several dealers who told me it wasn’t possible to order. I finally convinced a dealer to try and order it and they obliged. The district rep contacted someone at the plant who confirmed that it was possible to order it and they confirmed it was in there system to build. I had the email chain that confirmed it. Then everything went dark and I didn’t hear a damn thing for a couple months. Then the day it was built, I started to get periodic updates on its status.



In the end it took approximately 4-5 months to get. It’s definitely not the path to take for an impatient person though but custom orders can be done.

I don’t mind the wait. But I don’t have an email chain. I have nothing but a verbal promise and reassurance.



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[FoCo-4Runner]

I don’t mind the wait. But I don’t have an email chain. I have nothing but a verbal promise and reassurance.



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If they are telling you the truth then they will have proof via system confirmation that order is in. Demand they provide something to reassure you they aren’t blowing smoke up your butt.

I got confirmation after pushing the issue. They initially provided me with the same thing you got...a verbal promises. All I’m saying is what you are describing is how my custom order experience went at first.

 

[69L46Vert]

While I don't claim to know how the "special order" stuff works, I informed them of what I wanted in early 2018. Very specific option list. Crickets for 3 months before I got a call then there it was. They made it sound like it was special build order from Japan but who really knows? Not me.

 

[SlickTRD]

damn youre gullible arent you.. besides barcelona red is quite beautiful..

1. dealers wanna make you feel like youre winning
2. when u feel like a winner youre more likely to refer friends and family

these dealers have absolutely no connection to JAPAN.. they answer to Toyota USA and Toyota USA doesnt work that way.

Don't bother with people like this guy. He is apparently never wrong. The slightest remark will be perceived as an insult will be met with counterpoints on you.

 

[Grape Ape]

There is no such thing as special order. What they can/will do, is track down the configuration you are looking for and help route it to your region if they can find it. It may be a waiting game, but worth it if aren't in a hurry. Good luck.

 

[drewsro]

Why not just add the tray later? Or build your own tray?

 

[Phyzman]

Why not just add the tray later? Or build your own tray?

The sliding cargo tray isn’t really an aftermarket thing. And building one could be fun. Or not.

I know that among my fellow physics teachers there is an adage that applies to building apparatus for use in the classroom. “Why buy something for $50 when you can build it yourself for $60.”



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