New to Toyota "Ordering"

Am I correct in understanding that with Toyota you can get your truck in any configuration you want as long as it is what Toyota wants you to have? I have called several dealerships and absolutely blown away that you cannot "Order" a truck?
From what I am understanding, Toyota builds trucks how they want them to be built and sends them out and thats what you get to choose from with no customization?
If you want a certain build will the dealerships look nationwide or only their own inventory or incoming shipments? I have never experienced this on any previous purchase.

 

Can't custom order in the USA. Can customer order in Canada.

 

Has it always been that way or is this something that came from Covid? This just seems crazy to me, if I want a TRD Pro I need to wait a year (late availability for the iforce max) just to find out that the configuration I want might not be available?

 

Toyota has sort of a cartel thing going. You have Toyota USA which sells to regional distributors who then sell to the dealers in their area. Those distributors dictate how they want vehicles built/equipped for their area. Dealers have some input on what they are shipped but not much. At least this is my understanding on how it all works. The funny thing is that you may have options available in one state but not the next state over due to a different region.

 

Toyota says this is normal

 

Absolutely infuriating, I don't understand this and it has totally thrown a wrench in my plans. Was set on the Canyon AT4X, found out about the new Tacoma and after the reveal decided on the Tacoma. Im on a wait list, most dealerships are charing a fee just to get on a list which I also don't understand, I have never had to pay to be put on a list. Now i'm not sure what the fu¢k to do

 

Get ready for the non-optional market adjustment.

 

Go get you a GMC.

 

Its all about LEAN manufacturing. If you ran Toyota, would you want to make more or less money? Lets face it, these trucks are not sitting on the lots and haven't for many years. So Toyota makes the trucks they want to make, ships them to the regional ports, they install their packages that you can't get away from, and they ship them to the dealers. The dealers sell the trucks as soon as they get the VIN from Toyota and as soon as the transport truck shows up, they slap a sold sticker on the truck and they call the customer. The "salesman" does nothing but tells you what you will get for your trade and tries to sell some BS dealer installed accessories.

 

Don't forget $799 for window tint, $399 for all weather mats, and $995 Resist-all

 

While from a lean operating standpoint it makes sense, from a customer standpoint it does not. I had my house built the way I wanted, I had all my previous cars built the way I wanted, hell I just ordered a cantilever umbrella and had it built the way I wanted. To spend 56-60k on a truck and get it they way Toyota wants you to get it seems absurd. I guess thats the way Toyota operates and I have a decision to make

 

Dealerships and ports that tack on options that they think people will want/pay for are the worst. Let me pick what I want and don't want.

 

What exactly do you want?

 

Well I am not sure yet what the options will be, it's entirely possible that Toyota may build one 100% the way I want. At this point I don't think we know what packages are available, the TRD special color is not announced yet. My issue is that I will need to wait a year till they start shipping to know if one will match what I want. Don't know if I want to wait that long just to possibly be disappointed.

 

There’s no reason to get impatient right now. They aren’t even shipping. When the ebrochure is released, you can start comparing trims, prices, options, etc.

For now, cook some BBQ and have a beer.

 

It is definitely a non-trivial reason to consider the other available options, unfortunately. It's a tough choice between getting mostly exactly what you want with another brand (knowing that some features/aesthetics might not be ideal) or "settling" or lucking out in every conceivable way with Toyota.

If I was doing full size, I'd go straight to F-150. I actually ordered a fully loaded Tremor exactly to my specs but canceled it once they started removing features.

I think the Canyon AT4 and AT4X are bad ass in general. But I'm not sure being able to get one exactly to my specification would outweigh the thought of knowing that their resale value will be incomparable to a Tacoma and that GM's stereotype of not being great quality isn't exactly unfounded...

 

Toyota makes popular options packages based on what they think people in your Toyota geographical area may or may not want. For example, in California and the mountain west, you are much more likely to be able to find the 4x4 than in the south.

Southeast Toyota and Gulf states Toyota go the extra mile and add on imaginary bullshit packages that don’t correlate to actual Toyota models like sex predator and excess pee, which usually involves adding TRD wheels and grills and a $5000 markup.

Hawaii apparently can get Toyota to sell them trucks in custom colors which no one else can pull off.

Then you have your own individual dealers, which can do anything like crooked pinstripes the drug addict bastard son of the dealer applied between bong hits, imaginary window tint, and some type of paint protection films, which they claim are sort of like ceramic but legally they can’t tell you they are like ceramic.

Then the special edition models, like the pro seem to be based on which dealers have the most pull with Toyota to get special allocations because they are almost always cash cows sold with massive mark up.

 

Hopefully you dont have to deal with SET then you'll really be screwed.

 

You are wanting a Pro in order to get the special color, they probably won't be hitting the Dealership's until this time next year.

 

Yeah i learned this when shopping for a Manual equipped Tacoma. I wanted a lunar rock TRD Off Road with leather and a MT. I had to wait a month from my local dealer and they got a white TRD Off Road with a MT but no leather (Toyota didn't spec them that way, if i wanted leather i would have had to get the TRD sport with advance package.) Knowing that MT's are rare and this was close enough i took the white Tacoma instead of the grey one with leather that i wanted. Yeah it had some port installed accessories but there is very little you can do to about that. If the dealer is cool and you don't want some of those accessories they may take them off for you and not charge you for them.
You can't order specifically what you want, just hope that whatever allocation that dealer gets is close to what you want.
1. You can put a deposit down to get on the waitlist. 2 Find out from the dealer if your deposit is refundable. 3. Then find out if they will sell it to you MSRP (or at least no markups.) They way i understand it is once that dealership gets their allocation, they'll look to see what comes closest to what you wanted- if its close they will say "hey we got an orange TRD pro, but not a grey one that you requested. Do you still want it?" - You either take it or wait for the next batch to arrive.
If you are really set on a 2024 Tacoma i'd reach out to multiple dealers and confirm 1-3 above. Put your deposits down at multiple dealers, tell them what you are looking for, and wait till next year to see what comes through. If nothing comes through or you buy a different truck just get your deposits back.