Kinda bs or no?

[Benzilla81]

I found out that one of the 3 dealerships that I have refundable deposits at is getting my exact spec that I asked for allocated! I originally asked for an A91-MT back in April as the 2024 45th Anniversary had not been announced yet. The day that the info dropped about the 45th I called them up and updated my color option for a special edition. So I called the dealership up last Friday asking if the allocation listed on the inventory search was mine and they said unfortunately no, this one is reserved for the dealership owner. I get it, they probably get first dibs on allocated cars, but the other part of me feels like this is complete bullshit that the dealer owner is taking this for himself when I was told I am first on the list for this spec. Either way, the search / wait continues I guess. Definitely not getting a 45th from that dealership as I seriously doubt they will get 2.

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[PikkaGTR]

The customer is the priority , as it is refered to as CUSTOMER SERVICE
As they feel like you come second to the owner, I would.kindly take my business elsewhere

 

[Benzilla81]

The customer is the priority , as it is refered to as CUSTOMER SERVICE
As they feel like you come second to the owner, I would.kindly take my business elsewhere

Seriously thought about just asking for my deposit back now, but I also requested a 3.0 Premium MT in Blue or Black. IDK, faith in this dealership was definitely lost that day. Also, I have to reach out to them every month for any kind of update on my place in line for the premium and any updates at all for that matter. BS or no?

 

[PASupra85]

Same thing happened to me. Annoyed the heck out of me. I did get lucky though, the dealership closest to me had someone back out of their car, and I ended up getting a ren. Red mt .

if money allows, keep the deposit with them until you actually get allocation at another dealership.

 

[NicKnack]

I found out that one of the 3 dealerships that I have refundable deposits at is getting my exact spec that I asked for allocated! I originally asked for an A91-MT back in April as the 2024 45th Anniversary had not been announced yet. The day that the info dropped about the 45th I called them up and updated my color option for a special edition. So I called the dealership up last Friday asking if the allocation listed on the inventory search was mine and they said unfortunately no, this one is reserved for the dealership owner. I get it, they probably get first dibs on allocated cars, but the other part of me feels like this is complete bullshit that the dealer owner is taking this for himself when I was told I am first on the list for this spec. Either way, the search / wait continues I guess. Definitely not getting a 45th from that dealership as I seriously doubt they will get 2.

The situation is very likely a bit greasier than what you might think it is as well.

As someone who used to work at a dealer (I was a detailer at the time), he's likely reserving it to use as his demonstrator vehicle and not actually buying it outright, so it will still be owned by the dealer/under the dealers insurance. It just won't be available for purchase until the owner is done with it, at which point it'll officially go up for sale as a demonstrator vehicle with some amount of mileage on it.

Using a vehicle as a demonstrator also counts towards the vehicles factory warranty, so from the point of purchase you don't get the full warranty, just what's remaining, and the car is very likely going to get beat on while being a demo, since the owner really has no skin in the game. Warranty will cover anything that breaks, and if it doesn't, the dealership will just eat the cost since it's a drop in the bucket compared to their overall profits.

Is it shitty? Yes

From a consumer experience, does it suck/feel like they don't care? Absolutely

Unfortunately that's just how a lot of dealerships work (in the case of franchises, corporate stores operate a bit differently). The person that signs the cheques gets what they want.

Personally if I were in line and an allocation came in for the car I wanted, and the owner decided to take it as a demo leaving me waiting longer, I'd probably pull my deposit just out of spite to not give them the sale. However if they're a high volume dealer you may get a car sooner by keeping your deposit in so, weigh your options before coming to a decision.

Whenever buying a car, I always say to look at the situation through a similar lens as the dealer. If you're a first time customer, or not otherwise dropping big money at the store, to them you're just a number. If they don't sell it to you, the next person in line will buy it.

So on the flip side, to you they should be just a store, and there's plenty of other stores out there that will sell you the exact same product who won't pull an allocation from underneath you.

 

[Benzilla81]

Well said... and also, bummer.

 

[BrodoFratgins]

Could try leaving a negative review stating that you were told you were first in line for that spec, but it was handed to the dealer owner instead of you.

Might get the car in your hands, might not. I wouldn't want to do business with them after that either way unless they were willing to fork it over.

 

[XtremeMaC]

The situation is very likely a bit greasier than what you might think it is as well.

As someone who used to work at a dealer (I was a detailer at the time), he's likely reserving it to use as his demonstrator vehicle and not actually buying it outright, so it will still be owned by the dealer/under the dealers insurance. It just won't be available for purchase until the owner is done with it, at which point it'll officially go up for sale as a demonstrator vehicle with some amount of mileage on it.

Using a vehicle as a demonstrator also counts towards the vehicles factory warranty, so from the point of purchase you don't get the full warranty, just what's remaining, and the car is very likely going to get beat on while being a demo, since the owner really has no skin in the game. Warranty will cover anything that breaks, and if it doesn't, the dealership will just eat the cost since it's a drop in the bucket compared to their overall profits.

Is it shitty? Yes

From a consumer experience, does it suck/feel like they don't care? Absolutely

Unfortunately that's just how a lot of dealerships work (in the case of franchises, corporate stores operate a bit differently). The person that signs the cheques gets what they want.

Personally if I were in line and an allocation came in for the car I wanted, and the owner decided to take it as a demo leaving me waiting longer, I'd probably pull my deposit just out of spite to not give them the sale. However if they're a high volume dealer you may get a car sooner by keeping your deposit in so, weigh your options before coming to a decision.

Whenever buying a car, I always say to look at the situation through a similar lens as the dealer. If you're a first time customer, or not otherwise dropping big money at the store, to them you're just a number. If they don't sell it to you, the next person in line will buy it.

So on the flip side, to you they should be just a store, and there's plenty of other stores out there that will sell you the exact same product who won't pull an allocation from underneath you.

If that's really the case, you know that it's BS and not a clever business practice as these things get pre-sold all the time, as in demand>supply.

It's great that there would be a vehicle to look at, but besides the people who realize they can't actually afford the vehicle soon after they bought it, there's really not many people who bought it without seeing or driving that wants to sell it right away.

 

[NicKnack]

If that's really the case, you know that it's BS and not a clever business practice as these things get pre-sold all the time, as in demand>supply.

It's great that there would be a vehicle to look at, but besides the people who realize they can't actually afford the vehicle soon after they bought it, there's really not many people who bought it without seeing or driving that wants to sell it right away.

Any medium to high volume franchise dealer honestly just probably doesn't care. They profit they lose by keeping one halo car off the road as a demonstrator for the owner is pennies to them and they'll more than make it up by selling their bread & butter cars + the profit from used. Basically, unless your store is constantly in the red, in which case you have bigger problems because corporate is going to be breathing down your neck, the dealership is basically your toy chest.

As the owner you can basically take anything in inventory or incoming allocations that isn't already sold, and put it on the road as your demo, or hell, even put in an allocation request for something you want to be your demo down the line (It doesn't 100% work this way for Toyota cause of their allocation system but you can still make the request). Everything gets insured through the dealers policy, gas goes on the company/store gas card, maintenance is handled by the shop, and detail cleans your car whenever you're at the store. In a way it's pretty OP tbh.

It's not even a vehicle for people to look at most of the time either, the owner usually isn't at the dealer as often as you'd think, they GM is the person that oversees the day to day operations at the store, so the owner doesn't need to be around as much and can focus on other things. So the chances of customers even getting to see the car when they come in are pretty low

And while it's true that Supra's get pre-sold all the time. A dealership will probably sell 20 or 30 Rav4's or Corolla's for every 1 Supra that moves so they make more than enough profit there for the owner to justify demoing the Supra.

Plus once the owner is done with it, it just gets sold as a demo anyways which in this market means they'll probably be selling it for near MSRP, if not MSRP itself, and because of how in demand the cars are currently, someone will likely buy it eventually. So as far as the owner/dealer is concerned, they get to have their cake and eat it too since it'll sell once they're done with it anyways.

Now, I'm not advocating for doing this, nor is every dealer franchise owner going to do or be exactly like this (Although I'm sure a fair number are. This is more just an insight in to what's probably going on behind the scenes in this scenario.

 

[jchadwell]

You all really think a business owner shouldn’t be able to use a product he/she sells for personal use? They own the business. It’s one of the perks.

 

[MisterSkiz]

I found out that one of the 3 dealerships that I have refundable deposits at is getting my exact spec that I asked for allocated! I originally asked for an A91-MT back in April as the 2024 45th Anniversary had not been announced yet. The day that the info dropped about the 45th I called them up and updated my color option for a special edition. So I called the dealership up last Friday asking if the allocation listed on the inventory search was mine and they said unfortunately no, this one is reserved for the dealership owner. I get it, they probably get first dibs on allocated cars, but the other part of me feels like this is complete bullshit that the dealer owner is taking this for himself when I was told I am first on the list for this spec. Either way, the search / wait continues I guess. Definitely not getting a 45th from that dealership as I seriously doubt they will get 2.

Here is one for you.

https://www.victorytoyotamidtown.co...rear-wheel-drive-3-0-se-mt-wz1db0g00rw062236/

 

[NicKnack]

You all really think a business owner shouldn’t be able to use a product he/she sells for personal use? They own the business. It’s one of the perks.

Guess it depends what lens you look at it though. As a customer, yeah it'd be nice if an allocation didn't get taken from under you so the owner had a demo.

But at the same time, I feel like if most people owned the dealership they'd also be driving around in the nicest shit the manufacturer had to offer, on the stores dime, even if it did cost them 1 or 2 sales a year.

Ultimately when your store is moving 2000+ units a year (For most non luxury brands in big cities, this is probably on the lower end), 1 or 2 sales a year doesn't really change anything.

 

[Sharocks]

I'm gonna level with you.

Unless you get incredibly lucky aka right place, right time, placing an "order" at as many dealers as you want won't do a damn thing.

These dealers have no idea what they are going to get.

It's mostly a best guess/maybe.

If you really want the car, I would recommend looking outside of your immediate area and get ready to travel at least if not pay an ADM and travel.

 

[XtremeMaC]

Any medium to high volume franchise dealer honestly just probably doesn't care. They profit they lose by keeping one halo car off the road as a demonstrator for the owner is pennies to them and they'll more than make it up by selling their bread & butter cars + the profit from used. Basically, unless your store is constantly in the red, in which case you have bigger problems because corporate is going to be breathing down your neck, the dealership is basically your toy chest.

As the owner you can basically take anything in inventory or incoming allocations that isn't already sold, and put it on the road as your demo, or hell, even put in an allocation request for something you want to be your demo down the line (It doesn't 100% work this way for Toyota cause of their allocation system but you can still make the request). Everything gets insured through the dealers policy, gas goes on the company/store gas card, maintenance is handled by the shop, and detail cleans your car whenever you're at the store. In a way it's pretty OP tbh.

It's not even a vehicle for people to look at most of the time either, the owner usually isn't at the dealer as often as you'd think, they GM is the person that oversees the day to day operations at the store, so the owner doesn't need to be around as much and can focus on other things. So the chances of customers even getting to see the car when they come in are pretty low

And while it's true that Supra's get pre-sold all the time. A dealership will probably sell 20 or 30 Rav4's or Corolla's for every 1 Supra that moves so they make more than enough profit there for the owner to justify demoing the Supra.

Plus once the owner is done with it, it just gets sold as a demo anyways which in this market means they'll probably be selling it for near MSRP, if not MSRP itself, and because of how in demand the cars are currently, someone will likely buy it eventually. So as far as the owner/dealer is concerned, they get to have their cake and eat it too since it'll sell once they're done with it anyways.

Now, I'm not advocating for doing this, nor is every dealer franchise owner going to do or be exactly like this (Although I'm sure a fair number are. This is more just an insight in to what's probably going on behind the scenes in this scenario.

From a dealer pov, sure and I couldn't care less about the dealer. Perhaps I didn't word it properly but it was in the interest of the consumer, as in, it's a shitty thing to do as there's high demand.

 

[kaj]

There are some really long posts in this thread. If it hasn't been said yet: customer service is a thing of the past. Customers, these days, have to fight for the honor of doing business with salespeople. Thanks covid.

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