So I took a trip, to the Toyota Dealership

SpiritOne · 02-07-2007, 07:29 AM

What I found did not surprise me. Salesmen who know jack **** about trucks, and are used to selling small fuel efficient cars and 'popular' rides (read Scion). It should be noted that I notoriously like to screw with salesmen, because on average I find them to be judgmental jerks who make assumptions based on your age, dress etc...

So I looked at the new Tundra, and you know I was not impressed. Their big cab version with the reclining rear seats doesn't hit the dealerships until March. So I looked at the largest cab option they had. The back seats were about the size of a King Cab Titan, just with normal opening doors. The drivers seat was comfortable, and the instrument cluster was well laid out. The engine sounded good, and the model I was looking at even had an exhaust tip. But the wheels were very bland and didn't exactly wow you. Toyota now has their own version of utilitrack, but their rails look small and flimsy compared to Nissan. They just don't look like they could hold the weight the Nissan does. Call me spoiled, but I like my factory sprayed bed liner too. The big tow package available has extendable tow mirrors like ours do, but they are smaller mirrors, and they seemed lacking a bit. The hitch receiver is not bolted on rather it is welded to the frame seemingly making it stronger. A 7 ping plug and a 4 pin plug are both standard, not an adapter, there are 2 plugs on the back. A dampened tailgate is also a nice feature, especially considering the torsion bar I installed on my '04 Titan isn't working any more.

The overall look of the truck doesn't wow me that much. It seems like its blandly moving forward. Meaning it doesn't really stand out in the crowd. The salesman in all his glory was trying to tell me how superior the Tundra is to my Titan by reciting Tundra commercials, and trying to convince me that even though I had the recall done and the brakes replaced, my Titan still had too small of rotors. He also wasted his time with every 'nifty' feature of the Titan, not even knowing the answers to my truck questions. For example:

Salesman "Look this one comes with chrome running boards"
Brandon "Thats great, does the truck have an integrated brake controller?"
Salesman "Yes it does"
Brandon "Where"
Salesman "Oh wait, no I guess it doesn't, but look at the weight assisted tailgate!!"
Brandon "Uh, huh, is the truck pre-wired for a brake controller?"
Salesman "I'm not sure, let me go ask someone. You can check out the 20" wheels"
Brandon "If wanted to roll DUBs I would, whats with the styrofoam cubbies under the rear seats?"
Salesman "Its a modular storage system!"
Brandon "Styrofoam?"

Finally, I got around to looking at the price, and asked the question how much for the larger cab model. Lets face it, even when it is time to trade the Titan it sure as hell wont be for a smaller truck. $35-40k Meaning at least $12k more than I paid for my Titan. Comparably equipped, almost $20k more.

Is this really the truck revolution the Tundra is going to start?

CVTITAN · 02-07-2007, 07:33 AM

Yotas are blah... wouldnt even go lok at one..

Gunner22 · 02-07-2007, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritOne

...Finally, I got around to looking at the price, and asked the question how much for the larger cab model. Lets face it, even when it is time to trade the Titan it sure as hell wont be for a smaller truck. $35-40k Meaning at least $12k more than I paid for my Titan. Comparably equipped, almost $20k more.

For that exact reason I will never fully consider buying a Toyota. In some respects it may be a better truck, but not $12k better of a truck.

TitanThunder · 02-07-2007, 10:59 AM

It looks like a foot long cheese coney from Sonic on wheels.

Plus 12k more for Tundra is laughable and anyone who does...either is a moron or a moron who likes to throw money away. Either way, they are moronic.

Elias60 · 02-07-2007, 01:07 PM

Anybody who lays out $45,000 for a king cab deserves to be hosed!

gixxer0.6g · 02-07-2007, 01:18 PM

I went and looked at them too. They didn't have the 5.7 when I went out but a fully loaded smaller one. It was pretty nice inside but to me the looks just don't do it for me. I took some camera pics I'll post up. I was always worried about how much power they had but in that PM issue the titan was only 2 hundreths slower in the 0-60. I'll bet my intake/exhaust would make up that difference.

gixxer0.6g · 02-07-2007, 01:23 PM

More pics.....This one did have sonar up frot and a camera for backing up.

**RobKar** · 02-07-2007, 03:19 PM

Thakns for the Info... I think I will creep into a TOY stealer just for fun

socaldad · 02-07-2007, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritOne

What I found did not surprise me. Salesmen who know jack **** about trucks, and are used to selling small fuel efficient cars and 'popular' rides (read Scion). It should be noted that I notoriously like to screw with salesmen, because on average I find them to be judgmental jerks who make assumptions based on your age, dress etc...

Yep... however, every Nissan dealer I went to had the same problem with the salespeople - tell you what you want to hear, offer no additional information... I had more knowledge of the Titan than they did... alot more.

EP6:11 · 02-07-2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socaldad

Yep... however, every Nissan dealer I went to had the same problem with the salespeople - tell you what you want to hear, offer no additional information... I had more knowledge of the Titan than they did... alot more.

Same here. He asked me if I had been reading up on the internet or something. Then, the guy kept trying to get me to look at the Murano. They are nice, but why try to get me to buy one when I am looking at Titans!?!

peninsulatitan · 02-07-2007, 08:47 PM

is it me or is the shifter too close to your right knee. i sat in one at the auto show and it felt so close to me

AgTitan06 · 02-07-2007, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EP6:11

Same here. He asked me if I had been reading up on the internet or something. Then, the guy kept trying to get me to look at the Murano. They are nice, but why try to get me to buy one when I am looking at Titans!?!

When I was shopping for Titans, I had one salesman try to talk me into a cheaper Frontier because the Titan is too much and overkill..

Dammit, let me decide if it's overkill or not! It's my money!

**blavis** · 02-07-2007, 09:23 PM

Any salesman at any dealership likes to blow sunshine up your a$$. When I bought my Titan, the salesman pushed the Frontier. What it simply boiled down to is they were trying to get rid of the vehicles that they had too many of.

titan814 · 02-07-2007, 10:20 PM

sounds like people around here dont like sales people.....

titan814 · 02-07-2007, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blavis

Any salesman at any dealership likes to blow sunshine up your a$$. When I bought my Titan, the salesman pushed the Frontier. What it simply boiled down to is they were trying to get rid of the vehicles that they had too many of.

i am a sales person and i dont like to "blow sunshine" up anyones a$$.