Costco is the answer, Bike racer, deer

So far I have met with nothing but frustration in my efforts to get a Toyota dealer to assist me in my search for an Inferno 2016 Tacoma with 2WD, an access cab, and the premium technology option package.  I have expanded my search to some east coast dealers but mostly got a run around where they were quoting me bullshit inflated MSRP prices.  When I informed them I knew what actual MSRP was supposed to be on the truck the communication stopped.

Well last night I think I may have found a a light to guide me through the fog of “stealerships”, Costco.  I knew that Costco had some sort of car buying service for their members but didn’t know much about it.  Evidently certain dealerships sign on to be Costco affiliated.  In turn for this affiliation which funnels customers in their doors they agree to no haggle, discounted pricing on their vehicles for Costco members which is in most cases below MSRP.

When I went on their website and punched in my zip code it revealed that no Toyota dealers in my immediate area participate in the program, surprise, surprise.  So I went old school, picked up the phone, and called Costco.  The woman I got on the phone was great.  She said although no one in my immediate area was a participant in the program, there was a Toyota dealer in Delray Beach that was.  Delray is on the other coast but close enough to buy a vehicle from if it potentially will save me $2000 or more.  The woman confirmed that the dealer MUST honor Costco member pricing and in fact Costco double checks after the sale to make sure they do, awesome. Immediately after the call I got an automated email from the dealer about the Costco contact.  I am hoping sometime today we can get the ball rolling.

The other issue I have been having is availability.  The combo of things I am looking for are not plentiful and the trucks I have found on the Toyota site are being sold before they even get to the dealer.  I found out that I can actually place a factory order for a Tacoma with the exact specs I want, something I thought was only a possibility for domestic car companies. But since the Tacoma is actually built in the US I have that option available to me which is again, awesome.

When you factory order a truck not only do you get exactly what you want, you also avoid some of the bullshit add ons the regional distributor puts on a vehicle and then overcharges you dramatically for, a sweet bonus.  The only negative is time, it could easily take two months or longer for me to get the new truck.  However in my situation, that is hardly a negative at all since I have no pressing need to have the new vehicle asap.  In a way it would feel good to step out of the instant gratification cycle that engulfs most of our society and actually wait for something.

I had a very weird dream last night where I was in a bike race around a track.  We were on the last lap and there were a number of bikers tire to tire.  I had no desire to be that close to the other bikers so I laid back a safe distance.  Just as we were entering the last turn one of the lead bikes in that pack wiped out and caused a chain reaction, taking out at least 10 bikes behind him.  I swung around the pile up and got up off my seat, pedaling as hard as I could, hoping I somehow could now be one of the top finishers.  The dream ended with me still unsure of my official place but excited that my caution transformed into an advantage at the end.

Last night on my way home I saw a baby deer running down the other side of the divided road all by itself.  Of course my initial reaction was to see if I had any way to quickly turn around to get over there.  I had no pull offs or turn around points for at least a half mile.  I saw there was a biker about 100 yards from the deer.  I hoped he was a good samaritan and would at least make sure the little deer got off the roadway.  I felt guilty for not doing more.