The Toyota website has inventory search capability, use it to find the vehicle with the colors/options you want. Pick your dealer, and make your deal. Toyota changed its website so you can no longer see future vehicle availability, the bank of vehicles waiting to be assigned to a dealer. Now you can only see the dealer availability. Toyota is helping to screw the consumer by eliminating the ability to choose a vehicle, and then choose the dealer. I am sure the dealers whined, so Toyota changed it.
The "waiting list" crap and the MSRP, or worse, the MSPR plus "market adjustment" pricing models made me abandon Toyota entirely. I had purchased and driven many different Toyota Corollas. But when I replaced my work car (long daily commute, 138 miles round trip) it wasn't another Corolla. I will not pay MSRP, and will certainly not pay MSRP plus additional markup. But folks keep doing it, so the dealers aren't changing. The dealers are LOVING it. This new way of doing business means a huge profits for the dealers. They want to keep up the facade of low supply.
I'm right there with you on paying above MSRP plus taxes. I wouldn't be in the market for a new vehicle but we have twin grandbabies now. And my wife wants a vehicle with more room than her Honda Accord for when we have the twins with us. Also its been 11 years since she had a new vehicle. Her Accord has right around 100k on it and I plan on using it to drive back and forth to work and selling my little work car.
