Has anyone figured out how to find one of these? I've talked to four different dealerships and each one seems to have a different story on how to get one or what the timeline looks like including two who said a minimum of a year.

Why can't one just be ordered and made?

Any ideas?

Toyota, (and most of the Japanese OEMs), don't really accept orders with a buyer's name attached as a sold order like the Big 3 do. The dealers get what the factories decide to make. And Toyota at least, decides what they are given based on regions such that AWD is harder to come by in the south, and some colors are even regional at times. You get on a dealer list for the vehicle, tell them which preferences for colors and trims you will accept, and then they call you when you are first on the list and an acceptable combination comes available, or if all the people on the list ahead of you pass on a particular vehicle it may fall to your spot on the list and earn you a call to accept or pass on. I've even been told.by several dealers that there is no way to say no to all the BS port installed crap no one wants to buy at their ridiculous pricing. I think that isn't exactly true, I think the dealer can say no to these add-ons if they do so before it gets to the port, but most want the additional mark-ups so they say they can't exclude them, or there are some they will not exclude.

Someone else may have a better explanation, or correct anything I have misspoken about, as my knowledge is from limited personal experiences that have kept me from ever buying one of their vehicles, because when I'm spending that kind of money, I prefer to get it my way.

I also believe Toyota and Honda seem to either still be experiencing supply chain issues, or they are artificially keeping supply low, which seems ridiculous on the manufacturing side, so I think it really is still a supply chain issue.

Ok. So depending on which dealership I talk to, to get on a list with my specifications I need to give a deposit of anything from $0 to $1,000. Is that just up to the dealer what the deposit is? If so should I just go with the one that had no deposit?

Yeah, so it is important to negotiate your pricing relative to MSRP or Invoice, just like you would if the car was sitting there, and get it in writing, of course you will not know the actual price, so you are negotiating for something like a percentage off MSRP or under / over invoice. Like the sales price will be $500 under invoice.
Most likely the best you are going to get is MSRP or something like $500 off MSRP, because there is obviously not enough supply to meet demand.

Negotiate there will be no add-ons like window tinting, nitrogen in the tites, or ceramic coatings or other non-manufacturer installed accessories, then yes, make a refundable deposit. It should be refundable for any reason, not just if they can't get you the car. Then get copies of the written paperwork.

I think a deposit of $500-1000 is reasonable, but it must be refundable and must be credited against the final purchase price on delivery.

The whole process sucks a little more than the normal buying process, because you have to think about everything up front and get a bunch of things in writing. At the end of the process they will have all the leverage because you have waited 12 months or longer for a car you really want, and they will know you are unlikely to walk because doing so would mean going to the back of the line and waiting for another 12+ months, and if there are those kind of waiting lists, they know they can sell the car in less than 3 phone calls so they have no risk whatsoever if you do walk.

Reach out to aggiepaintrain, hopefully he'll find this thread, he has a connection to a Toyota dealer maybe in Austin? Someone else has one too, but I am at a loss for their username at the moment. They'll at least connect you with a dealer that is honest, and even if the deal they have is slightly worse than what you find on your own, it will take some of the back-end risk out of working with a complete stranger.

Sorry for the above TLDR ramblings, choose the dealer that will put the best deal in writing you can get, and that you believe will actually stay true to the deal you got in writing. Then pay whatever deposit they require, as long as it is refundable for any reason. As long as the dealer is in Texas, I think you are legally protected even if they try to tell you it isn't refundable, but you'll have to fight them to get it, so better to have it in writing that it is refundable.

Repoag is the other guy on here that I think has a connection to a Toyota dealer somewhere in central Texas.

I apologize if my ramblings are negative, and paint the dealers as bad people. There are plenty of honest folks in the business and I know repoag is one everyone loves working with on Ford and Hyundai or Kia, I don't recall which. He and Aggiepaintrain will shoot you straight, or their connections will.

But the process of trying to buy something with higher demand than supply makes this process harder if you are used to never paying anywhere close to sticker price.

I have bought several ordered vehicles from the big 3, and it goes just fine, but the way Toyota, Honda, and others don't process sold orders exactly as you want it just injects way more uncertainty and room for games into the process, which has turned me off enough to not do it.

Find something else you'd like to buy, or play this game to get what you want.

Fwiw they have stopped sale, production and delivery until the air bag issue gets resolved


https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-suspends-deliveries-grand-highlander-lexus-tx-suvs-over-air-bag-issue-2024-06-20/

Thanks for all the info. I pretty much expected to pay MSRP and to also have to have to fight dealer add ons. We went down to the Houston Auto Show in January and sat in and looked at all of the three row SUVs and the wife is dead set on the Grand Highlander. It seems like the non-hybrid 2.4 turbo is more readily attainable, but the reviews I've watched seems to suggest it may be a touch underpowered. To make matters worse, the day we went to the Show we went down to a dealer in Sugarland and they just happened to have a Hybrid Max on the lot because someone had backed out that morning so we got to drive it and man that thing cooked. Tons of power. So after driving that and knowing it's power I'm hesitant to go to something less just to get it quicker. We didn't get that one because it was in this really ugly cream color. We drive and maintain our cars for a minimum of ten years (my truck is 16 years old) so I'm willing to be picky and wait for what I want. I just felt like I was hearing four different stories from four different dealers and didn't know what to make heads or tails of.

I'm in Central Texas by the way and spoke to Toyota of Killeen, Don Ringler Toyota (Temple/Belton), Round Rock Toyota and Cedar Park Toyota.

Did you look at the Lexus version? Not sure it has the same hybrid trim you're looking for but my understanding is they are more readily available.

We've considered it. The closest Lexus dealership is an hour away so we're a little concerned with service/repairs being inconvenient if needed. Plus we're not sure if the $15K - $20K cost difference is worth it. Add in having to run premium gas and the costs just start to really add up over a ten year span. And we have kids so we're not keen on letting them get in a $75K+ car and being kids day in and day out.