Who is actually paying these prices for Tacomas?

Hey everyone, I’ve been looking for a Tacoma for about a year now, and I still haven’t found one I’d be willing to pay for.

Just yesterday, I drove over an hour to check out a 2017 TRD Pro with 56k miles. It’s been sitting on their lot for 65 days. The salesman admitted nobody’s even test-driven it because it’s a manual. It’s got peeling clear coat on the headlights, low power steering fluid, ripped leather seats, and no sunroof. But he still told me, “it’s mint,” and they wouldn’t budge on the price—$35,000 plus $800 in fees!

My buddy bought an Off-Road model in 2022 with fewer miles for $33.5k. What gives? I keep finding Tacomas I’d consider if the dealers would negotiate, but now it’s like “no negotiation” is the norm. Have any of you heard of this?

The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

Nuri said:
The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

My 2023 with 6,000 miles is actually ‘worth’ more than I paid for it.

@Daryn
I saw a 2014 Tacoma sell for its original MSRP on CarMax recently. It was gone in two days.

Nuri said:
@Daryn
I saw a 2014 Tacoma sell for its original MSRP on CarMax recently. It was gone in two days.

That’s funny, they offered me $26,000 for my 2019 DCLB with 60k miles.

EmilyToyotaLover said:

Nuri said:
@Daryn
I saw a 2014 Tacoma sell for its original MSRP on CarMax recently. It was gone in two days.

That’s funny, they offered me $26,000 for my 2019 DCLB with 60k miles.

What they offer you and what they sell it for are two very different numbers.

@Nuri
Yep, exactly what I was getting at.

EmilyToyotaLover said:
@Nuri
Yep, exactly what I was getting at.

They report an average profit of $2k per car, but they’re getting $5k-$6k on Toyotas easily.

Nuri said:

EmilyToyotaLover said:
@Nuri
Yep, exactly what I was getting at.

They report an average profit of $2k per car, but they’re getting $5k-$6k on Toyotas easily.

That’s only $2k profit if they’re using Hollywood accounting.

Nuri said:
@Daryn
I saw a 2014 Tacoma sell for its original MSRP on CarMax recently. It was gone in two days.

I’m picking up a 2015 TRD Off-Road with 87k miles tomorrow for $26.9k out the door.

@Daryn
My 2018 with 50k miles is still worth what I paid when it was only a year old—maybe even a bit more now.

Nuri said:
The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

Well, that sucks.

Nuri said:
The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

Prices were like this before the 2024 model even came out.

Nuri said:
The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

I wasn’t going to look at a 2024 either until I realized $5k more got me a 5-year warranty and a brand new one.

@Zed
Same here in 2021 when I was looking. A used one was so close in price that I went new and waited two months. I actually got the last Tacoma from that dealer without their ‘mandatory market adjustment’ pricing.

Nuri said:
The MSRP on the 2024 models is way higher than last year, so that’s driven up used Tacoma prices too. A lot of people can’t afford new, so they’re buying up the used ones.

The problem is corporate greed. They keep pushing up prices on everything from cars to groceries, calling it ‘supply and demand.’ But if demand was truly driving prices, new vehicle prices should be coming down.

@Ezri
They tried charging $90k for the Land Cruiser and killed the line. Let’s see if they learned anything with the new release.

These days, if you have a pulse, a decent credit score, and $1k down, banks will finance anything. People are willing to take on huge car payments now.

scofield said:
These days, if you have a pulse, a decent credit score, and $1k down, banks will finance anything. People are willing to take on huge car payments now.

Yep, and you don’t even need that great of a credit score.

@Teegan
Below 700 and you’re getting hit with high-interest rates … but most people don’t seem to care.