Almost got caught in a Bait & Switch at a Wisconsin Dealership

[et2041]

Situation was resolved with dealership. Order completed and TRD Pro built on 3/19/25 with expected delivery late May - early June. Keep a watch on dealerships and call them out. They will budge.

 

[Dead Horse]

Good job naming and shaming.

This is why literally everyone hates car dealers, except for people that work there. Most of them too, probably lol

 

[TurnerXC]

I’ve got notes on Dealerships in NC listing vehicles at sticker and then telling you it would be a $10k adjustment after you are ready to secure it. I’ll add their names later when I can sit down

 

[SandyG]

I’ve got notes on Dealerships in NC listing vehicles at sticker and then telling you it would be a $10k adjustment after you are ready to secure it. I’ll add their names later when I can sit down

Please let me know, I’m in NC and I know a few to stay away from.

 

[et2041]

Good job naming and shaming.

This is why literally everyone hates car dealers, except for people that work there. Most of them too, probably lol

It is pathetic that dealers pull that crap. I’m retired Law Enforcement and I often say that there are 2 people I do not trust. One is Lawyers and the other is Car Salesman. They seem to be cut from the same cloth.

No offense intended to the Juris Doctor types.

 

[Cityzen10]

It's good to call out these shady dealerships. To be fair, they are not ALL like this. I just picked up my ORP 2 days ago and the Toyota Dealership I-5 Toyota in Chehalis WA was a pleasure to work with. My process was to contact them and have them email me an out the door price that included ALL taxes and fees. I then responded to that email accepting the price. That way I had written documentation of their price, and written confirmation of my acceptance.

They didn't even ask me to put any money down. They sent me a link to securely upload a copy of my driver's license and that was it, my allocation was claimed. So, this just goes to show, these dealerships that play these games have no excuse to do business the way they do, and their reputations should be called out and tarnished in every way possible.

 

[LLL1990]

Just have to find a reputable dealer, not all of them do the "market adjustment" BS. I go to dealers on Sunday to window shop; if I see one of those bump stickers on the window that dealer is immediately off the list, FOREVER.

 

[Nodak]

markups.org use to be a good website to see the general populace point out dealers doing ADM and what not, but it seems the website is broken now.

 

[rshally]

I’ve got notes on Dealerships in NC listing vehicles at sticker and then telling you it would be a $10k adjustment after you are ready to secure it. I’ll add their names later when I can sit down

Hollywood (FL) Toyota dis that exact same to me. 12k markup over advertised price when I was ready to purchase TRD Sport Premium. Thankfulky it was done over the ohone, no thanks!

 

[rshally]

It's good to call out these shady dealerships. To be fair, they are not ALL like this. I just picked up my ORP 2 days ago and the Toyota Dealership I-5 Toyota in Chehalis WA was a pleasure to work with. My process was to contact them and have them email me an out the door price that included ALL taxes and fees. I then responded to that email accepting the price. That way I had written documentation of their price, and written confirmation of my acceptance.

They didn't even ask me to put any money down. They sent me a link to securely upload a copy of my driver's license and that was it, my allocation was claimed. So, this just goes to show, these dealerships that play these games have no excuse to do business the way they do, and their reputations should be called out and tarnished in every way possible.

Koons Toyota in VA did the same process for me, all over the phone and email. No markups, or silly add-ons Looking forward to its arrival in a few weeks

 

[Rellims]

Not all are bad. The dealer I got mine from was MSRP, no markups outside of a few PIO items I didn't get removed. But surprise bonus, it's my birthday month so they sent me a 20% off parts coupon so $100 off a TRD skid plate it is!

 

[Salukidawg]

Everyone that had good experiences got 4Runners that are not as sought after. The OP was trying to secure the elusive TRD Pro for a completely new generation. Dealers love to play games with those. They did this when the new Tacomas rolled out especially TRD Pro’s. ”Oh they’re rare, we’re only getting one allocation.” ”We have to mark this thing up to make up for the other lower grades that we’re selling for MSRP.” You get the idea. I went through this with another dealer back in 2017. My TRD Pro was literally in dealer prep when they called me and told me that mine was accidentally allocated to the daughter of some big wig with Gulf States Toyota and after this particular TRD Pro sat for over a month, she decided that she wanted it after all. I’m sorry you had this experience, but with a TRD Pro, it’s not surprising. My best advice is to just keep your original order and have some patience. It’s the best chance you have of not paying ADM’s on an already overpriced Toyota truck.

 

[LLL1990]

When I put in my order the salesman told me that the wait list was mainly for Limiteds, Trailhunters and TRD Pros. It seems like the most popular version is the Off Road trims, all of them show pending sale in my area. SR5s and Sports seem to be pretty easy to get. It also shows that although people say they want cheaper vehicles they buy the more expensive versions.

 

[Nodak]

cause most Americans cant live without the tech/creature comforts of a plain jane trim level.

over the years as my disposable income has risen, i have moved into getting what i want instead of settling for the lower trims.

ive gone from hand me down and used cars since 1980 to now i only buy new and higher trims. but trust me, its taken me 40 years to work up to this level.

and the same goes for my house, went from a 240 sqft apt, to a 1240 sq ft house with 2 kids and a leaking flat roof garage to 2500 sq ft 3 car garage in that same time frame.

 

[LLL1990]

cause most Americans cant live without the tech/creature comforts of a plain jane trim level.

over the years as my disposable income has risen, i have moved into getting what i want instead of settling for the lower trims.

ive gone from hand me down and used cars since 1980 to now i only buy new and higher trims. but trust me, its taken me 40 years to work up to this level.

and the same goes for my house, went from a 240 sqft apt, to a 1240 sq ft house with 2 kids and a leaking flat roof garage to 2500 sq ft 3 car garage in that same time frame.

Same here. I really wanted a 4th gen but just starting a career and having a young family meant it was not in the budget. So, like you I settled for cars that were easy on the budget. First car I bought was a Honda Civic, nothing fancy but it had A/C and a CD player all was good. Fast forward to now and I put down a deposit on a new Limited, no more settling.

However folks seem to only want the fully loaded trims and when they can't afford it they talk about it being overpriced. What's funny to me is the SR5s and Sport trims aren't basic vehicles. They are well equipped with features that were considered luxury options not that long ago.