"Swapping" Car from Another Dealership.. Experienc

[Katherine]

Hi,

I know this was discussed a little bit in another post (about the arbitration), but I was wondering exactly how many of you all have done this and how well it went. I scheduled a meet with a dealership for tomorrow night, about ordering (I think it's too late to order one from the factory...) or performing a "swap" for this vehicle. I then was searching on the web a little and found two complaints about this dealership so now I am getting a tad nervous. The dealership told me they want $1000 deposit and that we'd agree on the price beforehand. He said it's a very "expensive" process to do. He said they search the entire east coast for the car. I told him I am concerned about not seeing the car first. I said, well what if it arrives damaged? He said 'we would not sell you a damaged car. ' He said they do this all the time and that it doesnt cost me anything extra. Anyway I just wanted to know if this sounded normal to everyone else and how their experience went overall with the swapping. Thanks : )

[cklinh]

For me:

Price agreed upon first (no haggling)...
Didn't even test drive (had the option of not taking the car)
No deposit required...

But, the dealership was only able to swap within the northern part of the state (in California)... of course, the dealership that had it (I already knew... and told them about it) was about 25 miles away, and they drove it right over (took about one day from when I made a call to when the car got there)

[Shoe]

all 3 of my cars have been swaped

no problems with the 2 toyotas or the honda

shoe

[Dawgz]

wats swapping?

[Katherine]

I'm sorry...i didn't clarify... meaning like, if you cannot find the car you want from nearby dealers, then you have a dealership "swap" one of the cars they have in stock with the car you want from another more distant dealership.

[Dawgz]

o dam, i didnt know u can do that

[jsie]

Hi,

He said 'we would not sell you a damaged car.

It should be a brand new car, so there should not be any damage; but during transportation, the car could get scratchs / dents. So you may want to inspect every inch of the car exterior as well as interior. If you find anything wrong, you can either decline to accept the car or get a written agrement to have the issue fix. A friend of mine bought a 4Runner with a bit torn door cover and the issue was written up; he come back to dealer when the replacement part is arrived; and the dealer put the brand new replacement free of charge.

Minor issues happen quite ofthen when the cars are being transported betweeen dealers.

Another friend bought a Camry and found the spare tire was flat and has nail on it. Also dealer replaced (not repair, even the tire is repairable) with a brand new tire/wheel.

If you found something not satisfying to you and the dealer promise to have it fix; have them written up the issue so you have a proof of their promise. If the do not follow up with their promise, contact toyota headquater /& BBB.

[cam2Xrunner]

You shouldn't be worried about it. Just make sure you tell them exactly what you want. They might get the car for you but it might have the interior color you didn't want and then everybody is frustrated.

[Turbosolara]

I thought the term is "relocate" for this situation

[DavPak]

swapping is such a common occurance, many of you probably drive swapped cars without even knowing it. heck, mine was swapped from another dealer. another dealer wanted the one we had and gave us the one i'm now driving (stick was unpopular), lucky for me i guess.
Katherine, i don't know if you've already agreed on the car deal, but if you're not far and wanna come to my dealership, drop me a line and we'll work it all out. i'm at Crestmont Toyota just outside of Wayne, NJ.

[Katherine]

Hi DavPak,

Crestmont is not far from me. The car I had a deposit on was at Prestige, but they tried some funny business and we had a falling out.. I have actually spoken to you guys a few times (I think I spoke with someone named Andy a few times.. he never got back to me, though...). Who should I ask for when I call? And you guys routinely do swaps? Thanks

[DavPak]

Hi DavPak,

Crestmont is not far from me. The car I had a deposit on was at Prestige, but they tried some funny business and we had a falling out.. I have actually spoken to you guys a few times (I think I spoke with someone named Andy a few times.. he never got back to me, though...). Who should I ask for when I call? And you guys routinely do swaps? Thanks

yes we routinely do swaps.
PM me your phone #, i'll have one of the salesmen i trust call you.

[online]

Hey kathryn

I don't know how many of you have seen drivers who are delivering cars between dealerships but I would be a little concerned. I've seen drivers abusing cars. Granted this may not be the norm but personally I wouldn't do it. When you say its to late to order a car is that for an 04? I recently ordered a convertible and it arrived in 6 weeks - convertible. It ended up being a 05 instead of a 04. Dealer wanted to charge me a additional $750 but bargined down to $400. fyi I got the 05 convertible for $1500 under msrp.

[Shoe]

there are some real negative posts in here. Poor Catherine, you all do relise your scaring her off by doing this, poor girl will never get this car she wants if you keeep doing this.

Hey Davpak take care of this lady and get her into a solara already shes gonna have a hard time sleeping soon.

Hey Catherine like i said i had al 3 of my cars swaped. I did have a problem with my fist car in 93 they had this horrible vinyl reflective grey sticker running around the car ( about knee high) and an upside down shark fin on the door, they called me up and said they didnt know it was on when they ordered it told me it was worth $500 and they would not charge me for it had me come look at it. I didnt like it and they took it off at no cost when they pulled it off they pulled up a finger nails worth of paint on the front end.

When we did the vehicle inspection on delivery ( my dad who was there with me at the time noticed the paint chip and the sales man emidiatly booked it to service to have the painetr come in ( for my 1st oil change) he also then made that oil change free, when he came back from service he broght out 2 bottles of washer fluid as well. He was there to accomodate and make everything brand new your buying a brand new car not a used car not a demo car if there is a descrepancy they will fix it on them.

oh and i really dont think a car jockeys gonna do that much harm in 1 trip from dealer A to B even if he/ she does go around corners too fast/ slams on the brakes/takes off from stop signs ect ect, its 1 trip any car in any dealership is subject to this sort of abuse these cars dont just sit there they get moved around all the time some get test driven, some have seen ice, rain, wind storms, snow and all sortsa yucky stuff, these are toyotas not 500 000 euro dream cars.

shoe


in short catherine all im trying to say is buy your car already !!!

[Katherine]

Thanks Shoe Sorry to everyone, I am kind of the paranoid type, hehe.. Ive been doing my research on this car for a looong time. I just like to make sure everything is OK, I really like this car, it's sooo pretty. Everyone really liked the color (when we saw it in person at the OTHER evilship (sorry I meant dealership ).

I will keep you guys updated! I gave my number to DavPak and I will go to his dealership tonight if they give me the green light...

PS- I'm already past the point where I'm losing sleep, that was the OTHER night, right after I signed the paperwork at the dealership..

Thanks!!!