I know I"m not the only one and there have been posts about this, but I wanted to add to the growing list of people who are done with Toyota and their dealerships. When dealerships take advantage of customers on a large scale (I’m looking specifically at Toyota who has added dealer markups of $12-15K for a Toyota Rav4 Prime), all the decades of being a customer and advocate goes away. Yes, you can take advantage because of the supply situation, and Toyota can lose lifetime customers in the process because of the dealership and Toyota not doing anything about it when customers complained.
I will consider Lexus without giving them the benefit of the doubt, but not Toyota because of the actions of just about every Toyota dealership I have seen over the past two years. I’m just one person, but I’ve got to think there are more like me who are done with Toyota for their dealerships’ actions.
I paid a 3k markup, but I was also able to pay it and then get my car on-the-spot as opposed to waiting like 2 months (or possibly more)
You can shear a sheep dozens of times. You can only skin them once.
I hate to say it but buying new Toyota just isn’t something I’d even consider. They’re too hyped. I mean they are good cars but not worth the price they’re asking new at the dealerships. New Toyota for 40 grand plus or used Lexus low miles for 20 grand. Just doesn’t make sense.
I dont think Mazda are doing that
The why: dealerships have fixed operating costs. If there’s low supply/demand, they have to mark up to keep their doors open. It’s stupid but it is legitimate. Toyota has been doing this to an unneccesary extreme though. JLR San Diego doesn’t mark up, has a much smaller customer base, and thin sales margins so it’s clearly still possible to operate with out markups, you just need a crazy good service department (they don’t, it’s a scam, avoid at all costs).
The alternative: they could not do markups, do only service profits, and take a loss and attempt to write it off on their taxes, however they would be forced to lay people off.
The sad reality is we are going to all sit through this for the next few years since no one wants to do anything to address shortage issues because “money”. Why spend money to fix the problem when you can use it as your 24/7 scapegoat?
An extreme again will be watching companies Land Rover stop existing by the end of the decade. Their supply chain has ground to a full halt, and they already weren’t very profitable. This Truely may be their last generation (notice how they were supposed to release an EV this year but still haven’t with a month remaining? They have no money, no supply, nothing). Chrysler and Fiat may follow suit, along with Lincoln if they keep pushing out lemons.
This is not going to be a good car decade.
OP, what do you want Toyota to do?