getting the car you want

Go to Toyota.com and see what they offer in your zip code. Then try nearby codes. Tedious work, though. Anyone know a shorter method?

 

I am a FIRM believer in buying locally. Unless you have some reason not to trust your local dealer. My logic is purely fundamental greed. I live in San Diego, CA and there must be 20 Toyota dealers in this county. However. Their is only one dealer in Lemon Grove. Since I live in Lemon Grove I wanted my sales tax to stay in Lemon Grove not Carson, Carlsbad, or National City.

I am sure that tax laws work differently in other states. But I think that you should check on your situation. There was $2291.21 of my hard earned taxes on this. And I would prefer to more directly benefit from them.

I actually used this to my advantage when I was negotiating with the dealer. I told him that I wanted to buy the car from him instead of his competitors. But that if I had to pay the $3000 over MSRP, I would go to Toyota of Carson. He sold me the next Package 6 Driftwood he got.

 

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I found out just by calling a dealer and asking. My region (SouthEast) gets mostly 5 and 6... the mid-atlantic (virginia north) gets 4 and 6. I know I've seen a 1 down here.. but they aren't all that common. I believe that the dealership in virginia said that they also get 1's.. but again it isn't that common.

 

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Generally, if you buy out of state, the taxes will still be staying in your county because you usually don't pay taxes until you register your car and get your tags, which you do in your home state and county. This is state to state dependent though (I think it mostly depends on the state selling the car). However, if the state that sells you the car charges you sales tax, when you go to register the car in your home state, you won't have to pay the tax twice--your home state will credit you the amount of tax you already paid and then bill the selling state for the amount of sales tax you paid in the state that you bought your car. So ultimately, the tax money will end up in your home state (and county, I'd guess--at least in Texas, everything is county dependent. even if you move within Texas, you have to re-register your car in the new county). Your dealership may have experience with selling out of state and should know if you'll have to pay sales tax in their state. Call your DMV to make sure you have all the info you need to be able to register your car if you buy out of state.

 

Simply put, any dealer can special request a vehicle that is in transit. Transit is pretty much anyplace from the manufacturing plant in Japan to the port in the U.S. It is up to the dealer to be willing to give you that option or fulfill your request through dealer trade or some other means.

I highly recommend looking toward rural dealers. They usually have less demand, shorter or no waiting lists and sometimes even have lot stock. Even though a region chooses to bring in particular packages as part of their standard lot stock, they are still able to request (read: order) any specific package and color combination that you wish.

If a dealer says to you that they only are getting in package 5 and 6; that is the regular lot stock distribution, not orders. Just the cars that show up off from the car carrier on any given day of the week.

What you want to do is order. Insist on an order. If they are unwilling, walk. Most dealers want to sell off their lot stock, not bring in extra stock for special orders, however it doesn't matter if they sell lot stock or special order stock, it is still a sale and they still get commission.

 

When we bought our Prius, we were told that we would pay the sales tax based upon where we live, not where we bought. That is the way it's done in CA.

BTW, I was just at the Fremont Toyota and asked them how long their wait list was and was told that there is no list anymore. In fact, they have 5 on the lot right now. Saw a black one and a blue one.

 

I got my car out of state. The sales tax I paid was based on my zip code and went to the county and the state. As they say "Milage varies" different states different laws and a lot of variabilities.