Southeast Toyota (SET) Racket

[TRD Pro or Die Trying]

I live in Florida and recently have begun seriously searching for a TRD Pro. I know my username involves the Platinum, but I've changed my mind and am seeking a Pro. Many of the OG's on the forum already know this and have posted about it, but man it seems almost impossible to get any kind of deal at all with the monopoly that SET (Southeast Toyota) has down here with their mostly unwanted PIO add ons to drive the price up several thousand dollars.

And their prices are much higher for any PIO that you might actually want. I have gone to the 'Toyota Configurator' and searched for TRD Pro's within 500 miles of me (Central Florida).... prices are high. I know about SET, so I just randomly changed the zip code to some cities in the Northeast, just to compare. Here's what I found:

1. Predator steps in SET are $999. In the Northeast they are $699.
2. Cross bars in SET are $529. In the Northeast they are $420.
3. LED Cargo light in SET is $529. In the Northeast it is $325.
4. All weather cargo mat in SET is $299. In the Northeast it is $130.

It's true for just about all of the PIO's but I'm tired of typing them all. Not to mention the 'Toyoguard Platinum' that is put on every car for $699 which essentially amounts to 2 oil changes and 4 tire rotations.

I gotta go out of the Southeast region unless I'm willing to pay thousands extra. It's gonna be cheaper to buy in the Northeast or somewhere else and fly to pick it up or have it shipped to Florida. Pretty depressing. End of rant.

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[wes482]

I’m en route to get a Limited as I type. I’m in Atlanta but there were dealer markdowns for a few in south FL (Ft Myers and Ft Lauderdale specifically) that offset the cost of those things you mentioned thankfully. In Atlanta they weren’t budging on anything it seemed.

 

[fur_runner]

Surely you've seen "the spreadsheet", and it doesn't look good for the Pro or Trailhunter anywhere. When I was looking at it I was seeing $8k in lead over the MSRP across the country for the top trims

 

[Gator 22]

SET, don't even get me started on those guys. Its not only the gouging its their tactics they use in service too. Just yesterday my sister called me from a SET after an oil change on her RAV. Only 40k on it. The service ryder said it would be dangerous for her to drive home as her sway bar was so worn out its almost falling off, needs front and rear brakes, CVC boots and joints... almost 2k of work. They could "put her car in imediately for the work". I told her to drive home and not say another word. Took it to my mechanic, not 1 thing wrong, good to go for tens of thousands of miles.
End of my rant too. lol

 

[markusSR5]

I live in the southeast and all of this is exactly why I am going to Tennessee to get my SR5, with no port installed overpriced stuff, and well below MSRP, and 399 for the dealer/doc fees instead of much more in the southeast. Tennessee is the nearest state to me that is covered by Toyota North America and not southeast Toyota or Gulf states Toyota. Just FYI.

 

[ATL]

I’m en route to get a Limited as I type. I’m in Atlanta but there were dealer markdowns for a few in south FL (Ft Myers and Ft Lauderdale specifically) that offset the cost of those things you mentioned thankfully. In Atlanta they weren’t budging on anything it seemed.

I must have gotten lucky, I am in Atlanta as well, and I was able to get my local dealer to knock off over $3,000 from the MSRP on my TRD ORP that I got a few weeks ago.

 

[wes482]

I must have gotten lucky, I am in Atlanta as well, and I was able to get my local dealer to knock off over $3,000 from the MSRP on my TRD ORP that I got a few weeks ago.

it wasn’t for lack of trying on my part haha. I called maybe 5 dealers around ATL and they wouldn’t budge. The one in Ft Myers did exactly the same as you got thankfully. Just a little inconvenient with the drive back but it was worth the savings.

 

[HVLA]

I live in Florida and recently have begun seriously searching for a TRD Pro. I know my username involves the Platinum, but I've changed my mind and am seeking a Pro. Many of the OG's on the forum already know this and have posted about it, but man it seems almost impossible to get any kind of deal at all with the monopoly that SET (Southeast Toyota) has down here with their mostly unwanted PIO add ons to drive the price up several thousand dollars.

And their prices are much higher for any PIO that you might actually want. I have gone to the 'Toyota Configurator' and searched for TRD Pro's within 500 miles of me (Central Florida).... prices are high. I know about SET, so I just randomly changed the zip code to some cities in the Northeast, just to compare. Here's what I found:

1. Predator steps in SET are $999. In the Northeast they are $699.
2. Cross bars in SET are $529. In the Northeast they are $420.
3. LED Cargo light in SET is $529. In the Northeast it is $325.
4. All weather cargo mat in SET is $299. In the Northeast it is $130.

It's true for just about all of the PIO's but I'm tired of typing them all. Not to mention the 'Toyoguard Platinum' that is put on every car for $699 which essentially amounts to 2 oil changes and 4 tire rotations.

I gotta go out of the Southeast region unless I'm willing to pay thousands extra. It's gonna be cheaper to buy in the Northeast or somewhere else and fly to pick it up or have it shipped to Florida. Pretty depressing. End of rant.

Why is it depressing? It would be depressing if you didnt have the option to buy elsewhere.

 

[Gator 22]

Why is it depressing? It would be depressing if you didnt have the option to buy elsewhere.

Probably because his local dealers are doing the up charging and you have to take time off to travel and get one. Perhaps depressing is the wrong word, more like a big pain in the ass.

 

[Gravel-n-Grits]

Is buying from other states an option? You may find low PIO or no PIO vehicles. Involves travel but thats still cheaper than paying for PIOs that you don't need.

 

[Vincenzo]

SET, don't even get me started on those guys. Its not only the gouging its their tactics they use in service too. Just yesterday my sister called me from a SET after an oil change on her RAV. Only 40k on it. The service ryder said it would be dangerous for her to drive home as her sway bar was so worn out its almost falling off, needs front and rear brakes, CVC boots and joints... almost 2k of work. They could "put her car in imediately for the work". I told her to drive home and not say another word. Took it to my mechanic, not 1 thing wrong, good to go for tens of thousands of miles.
End of my rant too. lol

SET doesn’t have dealerships. They are the distributor for the southeastern US. It was probably an AutoNation dealership

 

[TRD Pro or Die Trying]

Why is it depressing? It would be depressing if you didnt have the option to buy elsewhere.

It's depressing because it would be nice if you could buy the car that you want without having to buy from a dealer 1,000+ miles away to do it. That's what I'm going to end up doing. Just wish it were easier.

 

[TRD Pro or Die Trying]

Probably because his local dealers are doing the up charging and you have to take time off to travel and get one. Perhaps depressing is the wrong word, more like a big pain in the ass.

Yes, that is a better and more accurate way of putting it. Thanks!

 

[get.outside.75]

Driving 3.5hr to VA to get my limited. $2.5k less than in SET region because of the add ons and I don’t want and 30% higher markups on POI add ons I did want. Not to mention my dealer has even allowed me to change PIO options this week (should hit NY the port this weekend). Had them remove cross bars and add the led cargo lights. Took all of 2 minutes and got the updated spec sheet and was updated on Toyotas website.

 

[Gator 22]

SET doesn’t have dealerships. They are the distributor for the southeastern US. It was probably an AutoNation dealership

Splitting hairs. Ed Morse, Al Hendrickson, Palm Beach Toyota are all part of Southeast Toyota among many more.

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