To deposit, or not to deposit

[hoodouken]

Sup folks been lurking on here for about a week now. Seems like good level headed community.
I've been searching for a 4G Taco a bit over a month now with a lot of boxes I need checked (4x4,TRD Sport, Premium, Solar Octane/Bronze Oxide, 5ft bed) and been a rough battle to find one even in states next to me (Nevada). Truthfully I didn't know the TRDO and TRDS we're going to have the option of the MAX engine so now I'm considering adding that since the upgrade is only a couple thousand.

I test drove a base sport and was impressed with engine and of course the salesman after was "well if you want that trim, color and premium you should put down a 500 deposit". I didn't feel comfortable committing any finances with the current vehicle market a month ago and especially not seeing what the softex interior looked and felt like.

I "feel" like waiting was the right idea and letting the wave of people that were willing to pay the at or above MSRP wash through and allow time for lots to possibly fill up with inventory and incentives/cuts to happen. I've had a few close calls with compromising on the color but they wouldn't go below MSRP. Now I'm wondering if I should just pull the trigger and put a deposit down on a vehicle that hasn't even been allotted but when comes available will hopefully go to me.

Thoughts?

I currently drive a 2012 STi and a 2021 Outback. Likely letting go of the STi and live in Vegas.

Appreciate any and all input!

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[Sner]

Here in Canada, there's no harm in putting a deposit down. They're refundable - so why not put a deposit down. I had a $500 deposit down at 3 different dealers on my OR. First dealer to get one in, I bought the unit from, the other I went back and had my deposit refunded.

If you want what you want in the color you want, it's best to put a deposit on it. Allocations aren't easy to work with as the dealer can't order what you want, they can only request and then hope that they get it or they will present alternative colors and options to you.

 

[2ndGen2TrlHntr]

Sup folks been lurking on here for about a week now. Seems like good level headed community.
I've been searching for a 4G Taco a bit over a month now with a lot of boxes I need checked (4x4,TRD Sport, Premium, Solar Octane/Bronze Oxide, 5ft bed) and been a rough battle to find one even in states next to me (Nevada). Truthfully I didn't know the TRDO and TRDS we're going to have the option of the MAX engine so now I'm considering adding that since the upgrade is only a couple thousand.

I test drove a base sport and was impressed with engine and of course the salesman after was "well if you want that trim, color and premium you should put down a 500 deposit". I didn't feel comfortable committing any finances with the current vehicle market a month ago and especially not seeing what the softex interior looked and felt like.

I "feel" like waiting was the right idea and letting the wave of people that were willing to pay the at or above MSRP wash through and allow time for lots to possibly fill up with inventory and incentives/cuts to happen. I've had a few close calls with compromising on the color but they wouldn't go below MSRP. Now I'm wondering if I should just pull the trigger and put a deposit down on a vehicle that hasn't even been allotted but when comes available will hopefully go to me.

Thoughts?

I currently drive a 2012 STi and a 2021 Outback. Likely letting go of the STi and live in Vegas.

Appreciate any and all input!

First off welcome to the forum. I've had two Legacy GT's & one WRX before getting my second gen Tacoma so I can relate to the transition.

If you are set on what you want then I would personally put the deposit down vs waiting for one to show up on the lot. I don't see any value in waiting at this point. Even if you see a discount in the future you will not see any deep discounts likely ever as popular as Tacoma's are in general. Reach out to @Jrouleau426 and you may even be able to get one below MSRP. I would suggest searching by his user and reading through some of the threads.

Regarding hybrid vs non-hybrid that's a different set of considerations. I am going with the Trailhunter for a variety of reasons and very excited about the power/torque gains of the hybrid. I offroad and camp a lot so the power/torque gains of the hybrid are super appealing. Not sure what your intended use case is so the extra power/torque may not be as beneficial. In my opinion the $3700 or whatever the difference is of hybrid vs non-hybrid is worth it, but again that is totally up to you and your budget/needs.

Edit: Do not pay over MSRP. It's not necessary and there are plenty of options out there with dealers that sell @ MSRP.

 

[crreyes18]

Welcome! I was in the same boat as you about a month ago when we got my wife's 4runner, I mulled it over and put down a deposit on Bronze Oxide OR. I would say if your heart is set on it I would definitely do a deposit keeps you from hoping one will show up to actually having one that is yours on order. If the deposit is refundable then even better that way if can't pull the trigger for any reason when it does show up you're not out anything.

I agree with @2ndGen2TrlHntr though do not pay over MSRP you can easily find one and put a deposit down on one at MRSP just have to do some digging.

Goodluck with your search!

 

[bitrunner]

Unless you have a specific dealer you need to do the transaction with, are in a serious time crunch for the vehicle, or are looking for halo models, I see no reason to put a deposit down. Otherwise, you are just banking on lasting shortages in supply and right now they are going full-bore on a ramp-up in production. 1Q numbers were terrible and Toyotas sell themselves based on market share: they have a lot of incentive to move a lot more of these the rest of this year to make up for the bad start.

As alluded to earlier, brokers are a real thing now. They'll scour the inventory nationally and try to get you what you're looking for at a good price. They don't make money if they can't. Dealers, on the other hand, are incentivized to move what THEY have locally at the HIGHEST possible price. Putting a deposit down takes away most of your negotiating power. Can you get it back? Of course... but what does that accomplish? Artificially keeps prices higher for everyone for a while until you purchase because dealers think they have a queue of easy money lined up before they have to start negotiating.

 

[hoodouken]

Awesome info all! I would prefer to buy sooner than later but can also wait. Like I mentioned I'm only willing to purchase below MRSP and best anyone will do is at MSRP and that's not even out the door price. I need a compelling deal for me to commit. Worse case I drive an STi longer - not a big deal.
And by then they'll be more information out if the halo engine is worth it.

 

[TacoJay]

My experience is that my local dealership (Florida) refused to take any deposits when the 24 Tacoma's were first released. Then in February, the salesman called me and said he could now take a deposit. I put down $1000.00 and ended up waiting for six weeks to find out that the salesman was lying about my "build date" with no idea of a shipping date.
I got frustrated and texted a broker (Jim R. that is a sponsor of this blog). He answered me immediately and was able to put me in touch with an out of state (PA.) dealership.
The next day I went to the local dealer and got my deposit back!
Long story short, my 24 TRD Sport 4X4 is being ground transported in the next couple of days to the PA dealership (from the railyard in Annapolis, MD).
Local dealer had me at $48,383.00 (after removing all of the BS add-ons) for the same Sport model but in 2WD. Jim got me the TRD Sport with 4WD!!, with the sport upgrade AND the (upgrade #2) 14" screen and moon roof for $46,172.00. Sticker is $50,330.00
As I am Florida, I'm paying $1300.00 to ship it down here in an enclosed trailer and $1000.00 broker fee but I'm actually getting a truck I've been waiting for since it's released.
Sorry long post, but the broker route has so far worked for me.

 

[hoodouken]

Good info bud! I think I'll hold off on the deposit then since the hybrid is a couple months out anyway and let the market simmer down some. I have noticed the MSRP has dropped a few hundred and with the market conditions likely to continue to fall a bit more.
Just anxious to move on from the import scene. I was told Vegas has one of the larger Tacoma allotments in the nation so there's a high chance for some trucks to be sitting on lots creating incentives.

 

[Miqie]

My experience is that my local dealership (Florida) refused to take any deposits when the 24 Tacoma's were first released. Then in February, the salesman called me and said he could now take a deposit. I put down $1000.00 and ended up waiting for six weeks to find out that the salesman was lying about my "build date" with no idea of a shipping date.
I got frustrated and texted a broker (Jim R. that is a sponsor of this blog). He answered me immediately and was able to put me in touch with an out of state (PA.) dealership.
The next day I went to the local dealer and got my deposit back!
Long story short, my 24 TRD Sport 4X4 is being ground transported in the next couple of days to the PA dealership (from the railyard in Annapolis, MD).
Local dealer had me at $48,383.00 (after removing all of the BS add-ons) for the same Sport model but in 2WD. Jim got me the TRD Sport with 4WD!!, with the sport upgrade AND the (upgrade #2) 14" screen and moon roof for $46,172.00. Sticker is $50,330.00
As I am Florida, I'm paying $1300.00 to ship it down here in an enclosed trailer and $1000.00 broker fee but I'm actually getting a truck I've been waiting for since it's released.
Sorry long post, but the broker route has so far worked for me.

Glad you got the truck you wanted. Thanks for putting the broker and ship fees on there. Always wondered how much it cost to get a truck from hundreds of miles away. Enjoy!

 

[bitrunner]

Completely anecdotal but have seen videos like this one popping up implying that the market is soft for the 4g out in the real world. Maybe he just rolled up on the day they took delivery.. who knows, but I could see how some of his viewpoints could resonate with a lot of people. If there was any truth to it, maybe we would start to see more discounting off of msrp

 

[hoodouken]

SR and SR5s are sitting but not many TRDs locally

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