Do Dealers hold up a sale ?

Don't believe in dealer trade for high demand cars. They don't.
This is just a trick dealer keep you hooked to prevent you to go to another dealer.

 

Drive 100 miles... Seriously, it is 2 hours at most.

 

Dealer trades are just that - side agreements between 2 dealers. It sounds like the dealer that you are dealing with has not made a decent trade offer - it is as though he is offering to give them 100 pennies for a crisp dollar bill - yes it is worth the same but do you really want to have to have a ton of pennies rattling around?

Another issue could be that the cars being showed in inventory near you might not really be available - there could be other trades pending or a deposit down on the car from a customer. This summer when my wife was buying a car we found out the hard way that in the case of Acura they showed the car in dealer inventory as soon as it was cleared for transport from the port, not when it actually arrived.

I'd suggest that you call the GM and let him know that you are planning on walking if this can not be resolved quickly.

 

It is true the other dealers dont have to trade. When my dealership was looking for mine none of the nearby dealers would trade. Even though we had the same car to trade just a different color. They actually told me I may have to wait until they cool off a little so to speak or order one. Then a dealer 400 miles away from us wanted a Highlander we had and they happend to have the V I wanted. At first they said no but then we offerd to go get it and bring the car they wanted and they agreed.

 

how do you have a "tentative" sale ? I'm assuming that you have not signed anything or have you already put down a deposit.

in any case, I feel for you. it's hard to tell what to trust with dealers but often their explanations have shades of truth.

ultimately, finding or purchasing from a dealer / sales person with integrity is worth more than a half a day of your time and a 100 mile drive especially if you have a few more vehicles to buy in your future.

[I've yet to find that Ford, Plymouth, Toyota or Honda dealer but I know my father-in-law was/is loyal to his favorite Toyota dealer for 7 vehicles over the last 20 years]

 

Remember that all the Toyotas in the Gulf States Region go to Gulf States Franchise (aka Monopoly) in Houston and are then sold to dealers. I've been watching and I don't see any available in inventory at dealers in Central Texas. I suspect that either every available one of them in the area is pre-sold or they haven't been released for sale in the region. I bet the situation changes in a few weeks. I'm also guessing that the first ones will be loaded with more Gulf States add-on junk than normal. I'd wait a few weeks if you can or possibly buy out of the region and enjoy a nice long drive home.

 

I bought my car from a dealer 100 miles away due to similar circumstances.

I found exactly what I wanted at the out of town dealer. The sales process went fine and I have not had any issues with the local dealer servicing the car and providing warranty services.

 

Congratulations!