It helped in my case a few months ago. Someone hit me on the side and she was at fault. Then it became "I hit you, you hit me". I didn't even bother to argue and just emailed my dashcam video to my insurance adjuster and case closed.
Saw another Sport Premium @South Coast Toyota in SoCal for $64.5k! (After $8k dealer added options of alarm+paint protection)
Dealer addons:
South Coast Toyota Protection Package
$7995
Door Edge Guards
Alarm
Door Cuff Guards
CilaJet Paint Protection
But... did they put that in writing or just said it verbally? A few dealers around SoCal are happy to take my deposit but they wouldn't commit to writing that down.
I doubt deposit or reservation matters. The dealer can come back and say "it's $10k over MSRP, do you want it? If not, we'll go to the next person". I didn't think any dealer promised to sell at MSRP in writing. Putting down a deposit or reservation is solely for the benefit of the dealers...
Ok, just received an email from a Toyota dealer in SoCal saying that there's one 2025 SR5 4WD coming in soon, for $8k over MSRP. I'm looking for at least a hybrid 4WD.