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Custom Order Tacos Do Exist - NUMMI

5968 Views 27 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  CadCammer
New guy checking in. Just took delivery of my Speedway Blue 4x4 Double Cab TRD Sport with Tow and the JBL 6 CD changer and steering wheel controls. Has the roof rack, carpets and wheel locks. Thought I was unique with the 4x4DC Speedway, but saw yesterday that ddel1 beat me to it.

Ordered it from the dealer on 10/30, arrived to them 1/7, picked up last night. Set up my ideal truck on Edmunds and on the toyota site, which went out to a few dealers. Most sent me back generic quote, apparently the websites don't pass on the color choice. When I emailed back with my ideal truck, several dealers listed what the had, or what they could dealer swap for. 1 guy said he could order it, take 8-12 weeks. I gambled with my time, gave him $500, and waited. Early December I got a 1/2/06 mfg date, with 15 - 20 days for delivery. Got an e-mail and call saturday, the truck was in.

Drove down last night, it was exactly as ordered, paid the man, and drove off in my new toy.


Was pretty thrilled, after reading here that nobody custom orders, it's all allotment. I expected the truck to be close, but not exact. Asked the dealer about it, he hinted that most dealers don't want to waste time ordering, prefer to push for the quicker sale, and most customers don't want to wait. Since this will be my weekend vehicle, I wasn't in a huge rush for it, and am happy I waited.

Researched here before I ordered, will continue to comb the archives for great information, already eyeing the rolling hard top tonneau cover, iPOD interface, fog lights, bed light............. Thanks to TN for providing a great spot for all this info.

Kicker is, I got to tour NUMMI with work on 1/4/06, and watch the trucks going down the line. Pretty cool, seeing a red std cab, a blue DC, and then a silver access cab rolling down the line, back to back to back, every 85 seconds or so. Bed arriving on time, engines dropping in. I originally expected to see a bucket each of Std Cab parts, ACab parts and DC parts, and the assembler had to pick. But no, they get one bucket of parts, with the correct parts in order for each different style of trucks.

Per the tour guide, all US and Canada tacomas are made there, with only the Bed coming in from the Mexico plant. (I've got to check my door sticker to see where mfg'd) They stamp body parts there for shipment to Mexico for them to assemble into Central American Tacos. Also, per the guide, the engines for the Tacos still come from Japan, and the corollas and Vibes get theirs from a US and one other plant.

If you're in the neighborhood, make time and reservations to see the NUMMI plant. The tour is kinda Disneyland, but you are actually on the floor, with Tacos above you, on your left and on your right. The welding robots were 35 feet away at times, the assemblers as close as 15 feet. You wait for parts to go past on forklifts and carts, occasionally you have to stop for an AGV, or at times the assemblers have to move to let an AGV pass. Well worth a couple of hours to see how easy it is to make a Taco, and what QC is in line so that most folks don't have letourneau's issues (I feel for you, since mine was made on the first day after a holiday, hope I don't feel your pain)

Thanks again for listening, and to TN for providing a place to share information
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Nice screen name.
I custom ordered mine the way I wanted it and about a month later they built it and sent it to the dealer just the way I ordered it. Ive seen several others on here that also custom ordered theirs. I think most people just dont want to wait and went ahead and got the closest thing they could find. If you know exactly what you want your best bet is to go to the dealer and dont let them talk you into whats on the lot or what another dealer has thats "almost" what you want. My dealer tried to screw me by telling me that if they had to order it for me that they couldnt negotiate on the price any. I called bull____ and they finally took 1,700 off of the list price. Congrats on your new Taco, it sucks waiting on it to get here but when it gets here and its exactly the way you wanted it it makes it all worth it.
+1

Love the screen name.

I was thinking of changing mine to STFF, myself.
you did not custom order...all you did was order a combination that they make that a dealer then looked to see when it would be built. If you said you ordered a double-cab without a sliding rear window or a PreRunner double-cab with a 6-speed then I would say you got a custom order.
tonys10 said:
you did not custom order...all you did was order a combination that they make that a dealer then looked to see when it would be built. If you said you ordered a double-cab without a sliding rear window or a PreRunner double-cab with a 6-speed then I would say you got a custom order.
I think I believe it. I am in the process of a very similar deal. One dealer said he'd work with me and we could order. He was very up front and said that he's seen it get refused by the factory after a few weeks of waiting. I placed my order 5 weeks ago and he expects to be able to give me a build date anytime now. I'm still a little skeptical, but so far everything he's told me has been right on. If my truck is exactly as ordered it will have VSC - which is essentially unheard of in this region and rare almost anywhere. If it's just like I ordered I gotta believe it was really built to order. I hope to know in 6-8wk.

TL
Okay, I'm stupid...

What's RTFM mean?
OK, maybe not custom

tonys10 said:
you did not custom order...all you did was order a combination that they make that a dealer then looked to see when it would be built.

Since it was not listed as an available combination in the tacoma sales brochure, the dealer called it a custom order. When we looked at the brochure, the 4x4 was not listed as available in the DC TRD Sport, only 2x4. He put it in as a special order, said he's done several either way.

So, maybe it isn't quite custom per tonys10's example, its still what I wanted, and I didn't have to settle for anything I didn't want, so I'm happy either way.
RTFM said:
Since it was not listed as an available combination in the tacoma sales brochure, the dealer called it a custom order. When we looked at the brochure, the 4x4 was not listed as available in the DC TRD Sport, only 2x4. He put it in as a special order, said he's done several either way.

So, maybe it isn't quite custom per tonys10's example, its still what I wanted, and I didn't have to settle for anything I didn't want, so I'm happy either way.
You can fool yourself, but you can't fool the Nation. Welcome.
RTFM: Let's see some Pics of your new ride.....

:cool:
boone88rr said:
"Read The [email protected]#king Manual"

:lol:
LOVE IT!!!! :clap:
Fitz235 said:
You can fool yourself, but you can't fool the Nation. Welcome.
Haha! Im pretty sure that is not a custom order. Your dealer just had to wait until it could allocate one from the factory. But that doesnt matter, as long as you are happy with your truck, who cares what kind of order it was.
in the old days you could go to an american car dealer, and special order a vehicle almost any way you wanted it. you'd wait and the manufacturer would build it to your specs....

today with the tacoma, you can place a special order with a dealer in a region. the manufacturer will not build it for your dealer... if it exists in a region the way you ordered it the dealer can try to deal between other dealers in the region for the vechile. thats all.....

i special ordered my sport pkg 1, waited six weeks and received a sport pkg 2 with toyo guard at no extra charge.....
Welcome, nice screen name, where's the pics? :)
I ordered a truck 9/3/05 and it still hasn't showed up on the inventory yet. I'm pretty sure mine is custom ordered, as they told me it was listed as a 'special order'. It's a Radient Red Longbed Double Cab with the TRD Sport Package, JBL system and Side curtain airbags. It's a special order because this year they aren't making many TRD Sports combined with the longbed package AND side curtain airbags. They originally told me that it would be here before christmas, and two weeks ago they told me it would be here mid january. I think I am getting the run-around. I can't exactly demand my money back, because it's a special ordered truck and I won't find another like it. Nothing I can do about it! heh
decoy562 said:
Welcome, nice screen name, where's the pics? :)
Working on the pics. Its been dark when I leave home, dark when I get back, and running like a wild thing in between. Took some last night, and the flash just can't quite push that far in total darkness. Will try to have a life for a while Saturday morning, take and post then.

Been busy looking at colors of bug deflectors to see what looks best with SBlue, thinking smoke instead of black, chrome or clear. Any body got good photos to show they feel otherwise?
Just got my 06 DC 4x4 TRD Offroad about 2 weeks ago. It was also odered just like I wanted. I wanted a US made Tacoma. Not Mexico! My dealer found a truck in their allocation (?) that had a VIN number with a "5". Summitted some kind of paperwork to add/delete options before it goes through assembley. Just what I wanted! This is the truck I ordered:

06 Tacoma DC 4x4 Automatic (Super White)
TRD Offroad Package
Seat Side Airbags
JBL Sound System
Tacoma Utility Package #3 ( Bedmat, All-Weather floor mats, and Door Sill Protectors)
Day Time Running Lights
Skid Plate

Added the following at dealership: Color-Keyed Grill, Color-Keyed Mirrors, Home Link Mirrors w/ Maplights
I had to wait about 6 weeks for my "custom" Tacoma. Luckily someone order one similar to mine and couldn't find financing. I wanted a silver, double cab, long bed, TRD Sport #2.

However, about a week later the dealer found one 150 miles away. I was to impatient to wait till the first week of Jan. So, I had them do a dealer trade and BAM I had my Tacoma before Turkey Day! I told every dealer in my immediate area I was looking for a specific truck and the first one to give me my exact truck I wanted at the price I wanted was going to have my business. Your better believe those guys were searching like no other. A week later two dealers called me about the same truck 150 miles away. I choose the dealer that was more sincere. They also paid for the guy to transport the car.

Ohhhh Yeah! Don't forget Costco members save money, it helped me. One more thing, if you are financing you should get pre-approved by a bank or credit union. You'll then have the power to control the dealers.:eek:hyeah:
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We have had this discussion here before. Toyota DOES NOT do custom orders. They will locate a car similar to yours in the region.

Toyota has a list of cars they build. Out of that list of cars they build, your dealer will find one that is similar to yours. For those of you who "ordered" a truck and got the exact options, you were LUCKY.

A dealer will fill your head up with bullshit about, "YEAH WE CAN ORDER IT FOR YOU" just so you can get pulled in. Fortunately those who got pulled in, got what you, "ordered". :thumbup:
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