Factory Order - what's really available?

Hey everyone-
First time; long time!

Can one place a factory order for a build that's not available on Toyota's consumer website? For example, ordering only the LED headlights (Code LG) or, the color Cement on a TRD Sport DCMT without the Technology Package? Have received different answers from different dealers.

Also, who determines what options and accessories are added, such as tube steps and tonneau's, to each stocked vehicle- the manufacturer or the dealer? My local dealer said they have "no control" of how the trucks come in because of "allocations", but that doesn't sound right to me.

 

They cannot be ordered per say- Toyota builds various combos for various regions. There's folks here, that are Grandpa Toyota's grandson, that will tell you theirs was in fact made to order for them,,,, but it was really the dealer telling them what they wanted to hear, and then went out and found the exact build for them.

 

Sounds like you are in the SE or Gulf States Regions. The closest you'll get to an 'order' will be from another one.

 

Yes, the old days of checking off different boxes are over. Toyota knows exactly what combinations they will build for the next period of time and where they are getting sent. Dealers then horsetrade around to get one that comes closest to what you want. In the meantime, sales people are in sales. Say "yes" to keep the customer engaged and talking and then convince them that they will get a better deal on the one that's on the lot. Most people are impatient and do just that. I went through the hoops with several dealers that did this until I got one that would work with me to look around for what I had configured on the website. I waited 6 months for my truck to come in, it was allocated to Oregon and I'm in Maryland. They traded an allocation of a loaded minivan.

 

Toyota basically offers different trim levels you pick from. There's a different technology packages you can pick from to add on. Thats about it till the dealer receives the truck. From that time toyota has a list of dealer options available you can draw off.
In one way you can be stuck buying less than you want, or in my case, more than you originally wanted to get everything you needed.

 

Yes, that's exactly how I ordered my '18 Blazing Blue Sport w/ technology package. It took about 6-8 weeks at the time. It delivered from the factory with 7 miles on it.

 

Nope. Dealers buy through one of twelve distributors in the US. Distributors buy from Toyota factory. Do some research please. Dealers will tell you what you want to hear.

 

I told my local dealer packages that I wanted and didn’t want and gave them a few color options. First thing they told me was they would search other dealerships to find something close. Took about 3 weeks of talking back and forth to see if what they found would work for me. First couple of calls were missing some key things (LED headlights) or they had too much (leather and sunroof). But they kept working for me and finally found me my #1 choices minus the factory tonneau cover 3 hours away. It was built 1/21 and I picked it up mid February. Now that I have installed my own cover, which I like better than factory one, it’s perfect. I feel they did a great job communicating the process though. Never an expectation that it would be ordered. Just legwork to find it. I assume some dealerships won’t do that kind of behind the scenes work.

 

The dealer checks with their regional distributor to see what allocations the distributor is currently requesting from Toyota.
If the particular allocation is not being requested from Toyota (ie: manual transmission in Gulf States), the dealer can request that allocation from the distributor.
The distributor can either approve or deny the request. If they approve it, the configuration will be added to the distributor's allocation.

I went through this trying to get a manual TRD-OR from Gulf States (through an Austin dealer). I put in my deposit and request in October 2019 and waited.
In early January 2020, I was told Gulf States had approved the allocation.
I was told the scheduled build date would be late March 2020.... which turned into July 2020 due to covid, and I ended up cancelling due to moving out of state.

But in terms of options... the options are part of the allocation (configuration).

 

That may be true, but it doesn't discount the fact that my dealer was able to order the exact setup I wanted through their system ( it wasn't configurable on Toyota's website ). They called it a factory order, so I did. For all practical purposes, that's what it was despite being processed through a distributor. Once I picked up my truck, guess what, my configuration was on the website.

 

I ‘ordered’ my ‘21 DCSB TRD OR January 22nd of this year. This is how they did the ‘order’ - I sat down and selected exactly what I wanted, they ‘searched far and wide’ to no avail, so they then said lets sit and see what we have coming that was already on our ‘dealer buy list’ and see if one of those will fit your needs. I chose the 2nd Army Green that was already slated to come their way as it most closely matched my ‘order.’ The only things were it was already ordered with color matched door edge guards and mudguards which I didn’t want to buy from Toyota but I took it. It’ll arrive 3/12 (ish) at the dealer. Paid a $500 deposit to reserve it basically and signed about 40% of the paperwork up front after agreeing to price, etc. I think that’s as close to ‘ordering’ a new Toyota as you can get nowadays but I could be wrong.

 

Good for you that you got exactly what you wanted!
It's a fascinating read on Toyota distributors tho and how much power they actually have.
What it means is there is an extra margin involved when you buy a Toyota versus a competitor, which means Toyota has to be extra thrifty in order to offer vehicles at a competitive price because of that extra margin.

 

When I did my "order" through a San Jose dealer in Dec 2020, they checked local inventories, tried to suggest a red truck in the inventory at a nearby dealer , then said they have a MGM manual allocation coming in February. They said it was coming with the tech package, floor mats and sill protectors. I didn't have the option to decline the tech package (and didn't ask about declining the floor mats, because I wanted them).

 

For the first time ever, I actually had a dealership give my deposit back without me asking when they were unable to make a trade on allocation for the Tacoma I was looking for. I had to go out of state to find my truck.

 

I had a couple local dealers do the same for me trying to locate what i wanted that other dealers within a hundred miles or so might have in stock...they were able to find out in less than 10 minutes telling me i've have to place an order if wanting that color and trim truck. When i told them its my main color choice...they seemed uninterested. One claimed he'd call me back, but never heard a thing to this day...another recommended i go to this regional dealer in boston which i did. My brothers wife had to do the same for buying her new honda. Up in boston the toyota dealer was really on the ball, big difference from these local smucks here.

 

At least the Gulf States buyers aren’t totally brain dead this year.

 

Back in ‘08, I “ordered” my Tundra over the phone from a dealership in Cheboygan, MI while I still lived in Jackman, Maine. It was the closest Toyota dealership to where I was moving to in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.

They turned out to be a good dealership who would work with customers to try to get what they wanted. I described what I wanted as far as color, trim, etc. They called me back a few days after the initial conversation to tell me they had found one pretty much exactly as I wanted except for the interior color. I declined it, and they kept working and eventually through some horse trading with other dealerships, found the one I wanted.

I went on to happily drive that truck for the next twelve years. Also eventually bought two other cars from that dealership.

They can help you find what you want but it takes work. Some dealers just aren’t willing to do that while others are.

 

Same here. I ordered my truck over the phone, Between going back and forth over the fax with all the info needed. I never saw the dealer till he notified my truck was ready to pickup. Really all was painless until arriving at the dealer to where i had to sign a bunch of papers. I swear i had writers cramp driving the new truck back home.

 

Exactly how it went with mine. I drove a moving truck from Jackman, Maine to Sault Ste. Marie, Mi. The dealership is in Cheboygan, right before crossing the Mackinac Bridge on the last leg of the journey. When we arrived it was right at the beginning of a full blown blizzard. They had the truck washed and polished and full of gas waiting for me but because I was driving the moving truck, my wife had to drive my brand new truck following me across the bridge and all the way up to the Soo in that shit weather. It was not fun to say the least...