trading cars btw regions / different "standard" options

Hello!

Does anyone know if there is usually a charge associated if a dealer trades cars from one region to another?

I am interested in a 2007 Limited 2WD I4 .. but I am not intersted in the:

- JBL® AM/FM 6-disc in-dash CD changer with satellite radio capability [11], MP3/WMA playback capability, hands-free phone capability via Bluetooth® [12] wireless technology and nine speakers (includes subwoofer and steering wheel audio controls) (EJ)

The following options are just right:

- 50 state emissions, Daytime Running Lights (DRL), Power tilt/slide moonroof with sunshade

This options will show up with Toyota dealers in say Chicago, or Iowa City, but I am in Oberlin, OH, which is about 30 miles West of Cleveland. Is there a map that shows the regions?

Do they usually drive the cars to the dealership, or do they get shipped on a truck? Extra cost for buyer?

What are my chances to get my local dealer get me a car without the fancy CD player w/ 9 speakers(!)/Bluetooth setup and the options I can get in the (midwestern?) IA/IL region?

Will I have to pay extra for this so that it will negate the $600-$650 I would save by not getting them? What should be my negotiation position/strategy for this?

I buy a car every 15 years or so, so I'm not very experienced, this will be my 3rd car. I appreciate any input/suggestions.

Thanks, Esmail

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian
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There is no charge assessed by Toyota or its regional offices. Dealerships will do dealer trades within a reasonable distance. I would not expect them to travel 500 miles to get a vehicle if they are only going to make $200 on the transaction.

Limited Rav4?

Cleveland is handled out of Toyota's Cincinnatti regional office, while Chicago and Indiana are handled out of the Chicago regional office. The owner's guide (not the owner's manual) with the warranty information used to show regional offices, I have not looked in a long time so I don't know if it is still in there or not.

New vehicles are trucked to dealerships. Dealer trades are generally driven between dealerships.

Iowa to Ohio is a pretty long distance, and IMO, trading vehicles that distance is not practical.

You can try an internet search for a vehicle the way you really want and buy it over the internet or negotiate over the phone, then travel to the dealership to pick it up, or you can go to a local dealership and ask them to find one with as few options as possible.

Good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

Ooops .. yes ..

Actually, Chicago has them too, but I know what you are saying. It's still not just around the corner.

Thanks, Esmail

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian

Reply to
fred

I am aware of the options installed by Gulf States Toyota Distributors (GST) and Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET). GST and SET are independent distributors of products from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. (TMS). The other

10 regions in the continental U.S. are served by Toyota Motor Distributors (TMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of TMS. Alaska is served by the Portland Region. Hawaii and U.S. territories in the Pacific are served by Servco Pacific, an independent distributor, and Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are also served by independent distributors.

When Toyota was getting its start in the U.S., it used independent distributors who formed their own dealer networks. This is the same model that most importers at the time used. The independent distributors in Chicago, Boston, & Baltimore have been bought out by TMS, and the 2 remaining are GST and SET. Although Toyota's management frowns on "mandatory" accessories, they continue to have a lot of respect and gratitude for the busisnessmen who were willing to take a gamble and take on a car brand that few people had heard of, and who helped make Toyota a successful automaker.

Reply to
Ray O

My region did not offer the 8-passenger Sienna CE, but my dealer said they could get me one at no extra charge. The only restrictions were that I would probably have to wait about a month and I would have to select my top three color choices and take what color they could find. I could still specify any other options.

I opted to go with the 7-passenger, so didn't go through the process. Thus, I don't really know what I could have gotten an 8-passenger for. But, I was told that would have been negotiated prior to ordering the car.

Not sure how the regions are defined.

Arthur Hass

Esmail B> Hello!

Reply to
Arthur Hass

wow .. that was interesting Ray, thanks for providing this historical perspective, I had no idea.

Esmail

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian

Hello Arthur,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am not sure what I will do, the one time I raised this issue during a test drive with the sales person she said there would be a charge .. and if this would result in a long wait and a charge which would yield minimal savings over the $600 in options I don't want, I may just not even try.

After reading Ray's historical account of the dealerships/regions I know a little bit more about why/how things work, though I still don't like it that consumers are constrained by these artificial barriers.

Esmail

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian

Reply to
Arthur Hass

My second job was production ordering. I used to order around 5,000 cars and trucks a month. Back then, we had a list of every possible model, color, and accessory permutation, and based on our allotment of a series (a series is like Celica, Corolla, pickup, etc) I would try to figure out the model mix that would sell fastest, and then choose colors and accessories within each model that would sell the fastest. Some series were so limited that we just automatically put every available accessory on every one we ordered, like Land Cruiser wagons, where we were allotted 4 a month, or model 2191 Celica Liftback GTS, where we barely had enough for one per dealer per month.

Reply to
Ray O

Why not? Nationally Toyota dealers earn an average of $1,200 on the smoke and mirrors options alone that the F& I guys add to all their sales contracts

mike hunt

Reply to
Mike Hunter

good advice :-) .. I found a dealership in Indiana about 200 miles from here that lets me configure the car the way I like.

Gotta figure out the logistics, but it does open up some options.

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian

I won't buy a new Toyota in the south east, because of the 700 dollar junk SET adds to EVERY Toy sold down here.

You can get a better deal in other areas, fly there and have a nice 'road trip' in your new car for much less than the 700 bucks...

If I personally buy a new Toy, I'd probably buy one in Washington State and go out and have a few coffee's with MDT Tech....LOL

Reply to
Scott in Florida

Just in case anyone's been wondering, here's a map with the Toyota regions. I had been looking for this information for while, finally found it and thought I would share it:

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Esmail

Reply to
Esmail Bonakdarian

Chicago is closer to Florida than Washington state, and my buddy roasts some really awesome coffee!

Reply to
Ray O

Chicago is sorta on the way back from Washington, when one is on a 'road trip'.....

Reply to
Scott in Florida

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