Gulf States Toyota - ripoff?

[gpburdell]

Great idea! We all know how much better and cheaper the brokers have made it when buying tickets for live music shows...

Not all brokers are the same, so don't let your presuppositions cloud your view. Jim Rouleau is a broker with a solid history of great reviews. See Facebook and LeaseHacker. Reviews thread. He brokers purchases as well as leases.

I ran into the same problem with Southeastern Toyota. Ended up getting lucky on work trip to the Northeast and buying my truck Friday and driving back over the weekend.

Yeah, I think people outside of GST and SET just don't comprehend how things are if you don't go to another region. Add-ons are jacked up - $346 AW floor mats vs $199, $1500 cast aluminum running boards vs $1200, $500 bed step vs $385, etc. And let's not forget that virtually every SET vehicle gets the $699 Toyoguard Platinum that gives you 2 additional oil changes, four tire rotations, roadside/rental "assistance", and someone spraying scotchguard inside and some meguires on the exterior. Woohoo!

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[UsedToBeANissanGuy]

Not all brokers are the same, so don't let your presuppositions cloud your view. Jim Rouleau is a broker with a solid history of great reviews. See Facebook and LeaseHacker. Reviews thread. He brokers purchases as well as leases.



Yeah, I think people outside of GST and SET just don't comprehend how things are if you don't go to another region. Add-ons are jacked up - $346 AW floor mats vs $199, $1500 cast aluminum running boards vs $1200, $500 bed step vs $385, etc. And let's not forget that virtually every SET vehicle gets the $699 Toyoguard Platinum that gives you 2 additional oil changes, four tire rotations, roadside/rental "assistance", and someone spraying scotchguard inside and some meguires on the exterior. Woohoo!

You are absolutely correct. I ended up working with a dealership in WV and paid $5900 under MSRP 3 weeks ago and drove back home 900 miles. Two days of music and a few tanks of gas made it worth it for me.

 

[gpburdell]

@UsedToBeANissanGuy Nice! Off-road Premium, yes? Hybrid?

My aim is a hybrid OR Premium with just a couple options. Rest I’ll buy and bolt on myself. I keep vehicles a long time, so it’s important to get exactly the config I want.

 

[SilverSurfer]

I won‘t say it’s not worth it, because I don’t live with the hybrid on a daily basis and don’t experience it in all conditions, but when I drove a hybrid, it didn’t seem like all those tq numbers made a practical difference Driving around town.

Can you say you really notice the power difference? If yes, under what conditions beyond flooring it at every stop sign/stop light?

if you’ve experienced both non and hybrid for a reasonable period of time, can you say the hybrid cost is worth it?

 

[gpburdell]

I’ve only test driven them, back to back hybrid and non-hybrid 4th gen. So take the following with a grain of salt.

Main things I noticed were that the hybrid exhibited no turbo lag, while the non hybrid had a little bit. Hybrid seemed more responsive, with instant power availability. Not a huge deal, but noticeable. I could be misremembering but it seems the hybrid smoothly handled slight hills without any transmission shifts.

So does that make it a must have? Probably not. Just speaking for myself though, an extra $3260 for the hybrid version on a mid-$50k truck doesn’t seem a big deal to me when I expect to own it at least 8+ years. YMMV depending on individual situation.

 

[skitaco420]

I got this deal on an OR Premium in Idaho as well. It is definitely possible to avoid the dealer BS. It wasn't easy, though. Took about a week of searching.

 

[UsedToBeANissanGuy]

@UsedToBeANissanGuy Nice! Off-road Premium, yes? Hybrid?

My aim is a hybrid OR Premium with just a couple options. Rest I’ll buy and bolt on myself. I keep vehicles a long time, so it’s important to get exactly the config I want.

Not a hybrid but still kind of a unicorn. TRD Offroad Premium Long Bed in Terra and I LOVE it.

 

[UsedToBeANissanGuy]

I got this deal on an OR Premium in Idaho as well. It is definitely possible to avoid the dealer BS. It wasn't easy, though. Took about a week of searching.

I completely agree but what OP is saying about Gulf States and Southeastern Toyota is 100% true. All dealers must buy all their vehicles from those distributors vs other regions buy direct from my understanding. They do not have to deal with the middleman being GST or SET. What ends up happening is those distributors add a ton of bullshit and mark up the price which then leads to the dealer marking up the price.

 

[goin2drt]

Why do people still deal with this stuff? It is so easy to just buy somewhere else and ship the car. I haven't stepped foot into a dealer since before Covid. We have purchased 4 cars since. All out of state because local dealers suck. One was 4 states away and they charged $500 to ship and that was after the entire deal was done. Latest Tacoma was 4 hrs away. They met me half way. Other 3 they actually delivered to my driveway.

You negotiate the entire deal on line and in texts. Sign with docusign. You don't even have to deal with the "finance guy" selling you all the stupid sh&t.

 

[maxx075]

Why do people still deal with this stuff? It is so easy to just buy somewhere else and ship the car. I haven't stepped foot into a dealer since before Covid. We have purchased 4 cars since. All out of state because local dealers suck. One was 4 states away and they charged $500 to ship and that was after the entire deal was done. Latest Tacoma was 4 hrs away. They met me half way. Other 3 they actually delivered to my driveway.

You negotiate the entire deal on line and in texts. Sign with docusign. You don't even have to deal with the "finance guy" selling you all the stupid sh&t.

The majority of people are lazy, uneducated, and honestly don't care. They don't want to do the research in order to save the money or have to travel outside their little bubble.

 

[goin2drt]

The majority of people are lazy, uneducated, and honestly don't care. They don't want to do the research in order to save the money or have to travel outside their little bubble.

You are probably correct but it takes more time to drive and deal with a dealer than just hitting keys on the keyboard. It really is easier and way less stressful/frustrating dealing with some 18 yr old sales kid that you know more about the vehicle than he is selling.

I guess for those than you get what you get. Pay the premium and stop complaining about it.

 

[FLAirgunner]

I have the hybrid and yes, it does make a difference driving around town. The electric motor gets the truck moving, most times the gas engine doesn't engage until 5-10 MPH. I can also go a good ways in stop and go traffic without the gas engine ever coming on. Yes, the hybrid does feel more powerful when you step on the gas, but I rarely do so. But, it's nice to know it has that extra responsiveness and get up and go when needed. I do try and hyper mile my truck when driving in areas with low speed limits (35 MPH and below) and am amazed by how far it will go on just the electric motor. I average between 22-24 MPG city driving and 23 MPG on the highway at 75+ MPH. Sure, it will take several years for that hybrid premium to pay for itself, but in the meantime, I enjoy the challenge of squeezing every MPG I can out of a tank of gas!

I purchased from a SET Dealership, and yes, I got hit with the PIO BS, but not too many. In fact, the only one that really ticked me off was the $120 PIO Chrome Exhaust Tip! The Limited comes standard with a Chrome Exhaust Tip, so this was pure BS, and I'm betting the Exhaust Tip on my truck is the same one installed at the factory!

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