Will tariff on imported vehicles impact your purchasing plans? [WARNING: NO POLITICS; JUST POLICIES TALK]

[detamble13]

Toyota already manufactures the RAV 4, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Tundra, Tacoma, Sienna and Sequoia in the U.S. As of now Trump has not excluded any country from the 25% tariff.

Model Assembly Plant
RAV4 Canada
Corolla Canada and Mexico
Tacoma Mexico

The rest are made in the US.
If the price of the 4Runner creeps any higher I'll wait or buy something else.

 

[run4eb]

*No Politics* Looks like April 2nd is the date. We’ll see what happens but would love to hear what people are thinking of doing if prices jump by the thousands.

 

[4RunnerRL]

*No Politics* Looks like April 2nd is the date. We’ll see what happens but would love to hear what people are thinking of doing if prices jump by the thousands.

Also interested to see what happens. In my case, if I can find one before prices do increase, I'll jump on it. Still has to be for the right price though. If I don't, I'll just ride it out and wait and see what things look like by the end of the year.

 

[run4eb]

Also interested to see what happens. In my case, if I can find one before prices do increase, I'll jump on it. Still has to be for the right price though. If I don't, I'll just ride it out and wait and see what things look like by the end of the year.

Same boat here man. I can wait (I guess lol) but I can’t lie I was looking forward to it. Felt like the right allocation was close. Hey, still doable to find one before the price increases. Guess we’ll see what happens.

 

[Hank]

I have a deposit on a Trailhunter. If a tariff is implemented I will not buy a new vehicle and will tweak my 2012 Tacoma to last as long as it takes. I will consider moving to Canada if they would have me. How quickly the wheels come off a country and car.

 

[4RunnerRL]

Same boat here man. I can wait (I guess lol) but I can’t lie I was looking forward to it. Felt like the right allocation was close. Hey, still doable to find one before the price increases. Guess we’ll see what happens.

Likewise my friend. The car I almost jumped on had all the options I did want (plus a few I didnt) but it just wasn't the color I wanted so I passed on it. I'm currently waiting for a few dealers to get back to me with some allocations I reached out about since they're all pretty much the spec I'm looking for. If one offers a good deal I can agree with, I'll hopefully have one by end of the month. Hope you find one soon too!

 

[Nodak]

lol the title talks about tariffs and trump but you say no politics. un the whole point of the tariffs is politics.

and its a mute point anyway since the 4R is made in japan and is not part of the tariff restricted areas/countries

 

[ModernDay4Runner]

lol the title talks about tariffs and trump but you say no politics. un the whole point of the tariffs is politics.

and its a mute point anyway since the 4R is made in japan and is not part of the tariff restricted areas/countries

I think the NO POLITICS note is about this forum NOT becoming a discussion about the pros and cons of how the current President goes about doing what he does. That is what I think is meant by that. So, in other words, no debating or discussing here if he is the right man for the job, instead, how whatever he does impacts us and our 4runners (and nothing else. LOL).

 

[run4eb]

lol the title talks about tariffs and trump but you say no politics. un the whole point of the tariffs is politics.

and its a mute point anyway since the 4R is made in japan and is not part of the tariff restricted areas/countries

I believe reciprocal tariffs to all countries begins April 2nd. But like I said we will see what happens. The no politics thing was really just saying share your decision-making pre and post tariffs, without spewing whether you agree or not.

 

[ronrp]

I've been waiting for the new 4runner, but I would not buy one that has a tariff on it. They are already priced to high.

 

[JenningsESQ]

Breaking!

Auto industry may be excluded from tariffs on Canada and Mexico, says Lutnick (Commerce Secretary)

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/tru...ht-any-type-of-war-us-wants-till-the-end.html

 

[Hacksaw]

I would also be unlikely to buy with a multi-thousand-dollar tariff.
Also keep in mind your sales tax increases proportional to the increase due to tariff, and to a lesser extent, your license/registration fee. So the impact is more than any tariff alone.

 

[dirtwheeler]

If the US imposes additional tariffs on Japanese auto imports, it will be fascinating to see what they're increased at. My understanding is that Japan does not impose tariffs on auto imports, but the US imposes a small tariff on Japanese auto imports (2.5% for 4Runner, classified as a passenger vehicle, not a truck). Given this, you might assume that Japan would not only be excluded from the proposed tariffs, but the US would reduce or remove any tariffs that it already has in place for vehicles imported from Japan. But here's where it gets tricky (at least for policy makers).

The argument is going to be that Japan makes it harder on US auto manufacturers due to Japan's safety testing standards, emissions/fuel economy standards, and various government policies that give preferential treatment to their domestic manufacturers (including Toyota). What's the monetary value of all this? That's anyone's guess, but I suppose we might find out on April 2nd (I'll bet there's some last minute change). It's a subjective thing that can be used for negotiations.

Here's my guess based on my limited knowledge of the situation... If there's a tariff (I'm guessing there will be some other drama that short-circuits this), the tariff will be "relatively low" (let's say 2.5% added to the current 2.5% tariff for Japanese passenger vehicles). This would account for an additional $1,250K on a $50K 4Runner. My guess is that Toyota will eat these costs in their profit to maintain model-year 2025 price competition with US auto manufacturers. Any increase in costs will then be reflected model-year 2026 pricing (which is likely to go up anyway, of course).

In the meantime, I'll bet speculation is benefitting foreign auto manufacturers (especially with numbers like "25% tariffs" being thrown around in the news). Anyone that was on the fence to buy an imported vehicle might pull the trigger now, lest they pay some additional expense later (just imagine what salespeople are saying on lots today). It doesn't help 2025 4Runner sales right now, because there's very few (none?) sitting on lots right now waiting to be sold, but if the looming tariff date keeps getting pushed back, 4Runner sales might eventually benefit from this phenomenon as well (essentially, just keeping 4Runner sales strong and making it difficult for people to find a 4Runner).

 

[Nodak]

WH has delayed auto tariffs on mexico and canada for 1 month

 

[qtb007]

Despite what the window sticker says and what the tariffs say, supply and demand still sets the market price. We saw this during COVID when the demand was still high and the supply was low... prices went through the roof. People paid sticker or above while the overall volume went down.

We'd see the same effect here. Automakers would eat some of the cost because they still need to move a certain amount of volume at a certain price to make ends meet even if their profitability tanks; they'll want to weather the storm versus leaving the market entirely. But we'd see automakers basically dropping their supply to match the new, lower demand at the new higher prices and adjusting the specs to try to minimize the impact. Models that aren't impacted by the tariffs (which won't be many) will raise their prices because they can't all of a sudden find 50-100% more capacity. That stuff takes years.

Personally, I'll do whatever makes the most sense financially when the time comes. I saw an opportunity and sold my '23 4Runner Pro at end of lease in a high market (thus getting back a ton of cash) and jumped into a heavily subsidized BEV about a month ago. It is a 2 year lease with a super cheap EOL buyout. So I have 2 years to wait and see how this all plays out. I want a 4Runner or Land Cruiser as my next vehicle, but there's a limit of what I'm willing to pay for that capability.