4-RUNNIN' FREAK

I just opened the Saturday mail and I have this letter from Toyota.
It reads:

PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CAREFULLY:

Hudson Toyota has been selected as a site to conduct a special market test pricing and financing event. Your status as a Hudson Toyota customer qualifies you for this private sale.
Hudson Toyota is in desperate need to acquire several pre-owned 2002 4Runners in order to fulfill special used vehicle requests. Our records indicate you own one or more of these vehicles and our new car managers have been authorized to buy back your current vehicle(s).
We would like you to exchange your 2002 4Runner for any new 2004 Toyota car, truck, van or sport utility vehicle. With factory incentives and generous trade-in values, we feel confident that you can make this exchange with little or no out of pocket expense.
Bring this letter for admittance to this event and present it to authorized reps at HT.
Please stop by or call us to schedule an appointment and allow us the opportunity to make you an offer. A visual inspection of your vehicle(s) is required to assess value.
Due to the nature of this event and your status as a customer of HT, this event will not be advertised to the general public.

Now I guess they just want more of the last of the best body styles :razz:
They will not be getting mine Especially after the money I already invested.
Me---><---Stealer

Has anyone else received a letter like this?
Does anyone have a clue as to what it may mean?
Or is it just some marketing tactic?
Should I go there just to see whats what? And waste their time like they wasted mine all the time?

KW

i've gotten 2 so far, i figure its just a marketing gimmick

leebee

just price out a 2004 runner to replace yours and see how much 'little or no out of pocket expense' really is. they make it sound like almost a straight trade or small difference in pricing. go and check it out, see what they offer for your truck. id be willing to bet they would 'let' you have a new runner for around 10 g's. little or no out of pocket expense. depends upon whose pockets they are talking about. i know i dont have that kind of money in my pockets!

lee

4-RUNNIN' FREAK

I'm really thinking of going to waste their time. I would never get rid of this truck. I wanted one for the last 10 years since I was a little kid. I said in a post once before, while other kids dream of Ferraris and Lambos, I was dreaming of my 4Runner. And I'm not happy with the new body style. Just an opinion. Now that I have one, I will never part with it.

ahriman

i am with lee: go check it out. i am curious if this is just a way to get you to trade-in, and them to fill their pockets.

r0cky

whoah, i've never heard of that sort of thing ... hehe, i'll be interested to read what happens!

smr4runner

I recieved one of these letters last year.
I really didn't pursue it as I thought it was some type of promo gimmick.
Plus if it really came down to it and it was a great deal I would have a pretty hard time getting rid my rig.

radrex

You would honestly have to be a complete moron to believe that letter - of course they want to buy your old car - of course they want to sell you a new car - and of course there will be little out of pocket costs (since they will roll it all into your new loan).

Here is were the hook is - making you think you have something they "Need"

"Hudson Toyota is in desperate need to acquire several pre-owned 2002 4Runners in order to fulfill special used vehicle requests"

That makes you think your special - and you have something they "Need" - what they "need" is to sell you a new vehicle - screw you hard up the rear on your trade in.

Car dealers make very little on selling a new car/truck due to the availability of pricing information and competition. They make their money by screwing the hell out of people on their trade-ins and then sell them at great profit. Don't think so? Check out the spread between "Average Trade In" and "Retail" on your 2002 runner. Often times - it can appear they are giving you a great deal on your trade in - by adjusting the price of the new vehicle to cover the "Great Trade In".

I'll tell you what - drive your Runner up their and tell them you don't want another one - you just want to sell yours to them outright. See what they'll give you for it and compare it to Edmunds pricing.

CoedNaked

IF you had some spare time on your hands you could pursue this and play really hard to get. Take the letter at face value and play some games just like it sounds like they want you. You're obviously not bitten by the new car bug enough to fall for this tactic (and you don't sound like someone who would get all stupid and excited by a salesman's gimmicks) - but you can have some fun in the mean time. Do it over the phone with a few spare minutes.

SLC Punk

My parents have got a letter like that for their 2002 ES300, wanting them to trade up to the ES330.

Pretty good marketing gimick though.

blackduck

I've received two or three letters like that from a local stealership. My boss also received a letter like that (and he drives a Dodge).

JSB

I've received one of these every year since, I've been in their databases. Or since I bought my first 4runner. I also got one from the chevy dealership about my suburban. Dang I must own some awesome trucks. Sad thing is the Chevy dealer also send me things about extending my warranty coverage...are they trying to tell me something. I never get that from toyota. lol

4-RUNNIN' FREAK

I AM special. I did buy the last year of the awesome body style

rimpainter.com

Ever seen the COPS episodes where they offer the free TV to folks with warrants? I think you guys are just felons on the run...fess up already.

Colemanfu

When I was checking out new rigs I came across this with with Land Rover Dicovery's. I guess they buy them back at a pretty competetive price. I got the letter 6 months after I got my 04. I took it as a sales gimic. One of those too good to be true deals.

havic

It's no marketing gimmick, they really do need your truck. You won't have to pay anything for your trade-in, not even a loan. I wish they offered that deal to me. Yeah right. Trade-ins is where they make they most money. They rip you off by about $3000 of what the car is really worth, and then they sell it for $2000 to $3000 dollars more of what it's worth because they try to sell it with the "it's coming from a dealership" angle "so it must be good and worth the extra $". Capitalism at its finest.

Funrunner

I get one of those letters every few months. Must be whenever the stealership has a big sale.

The first time I received one I was flattered that my truck was so special, then realized they just wanted me to buy a new truck and were teasing me. That's okay...I wouldn't sell my truck anyway, no matter what the trade-in was.

lee

this is why i will never go into sales. its so underhanded and terrible.

Roadtripr

I got a letter like that for my 87' Nissan Maxima!
PS: I donated it a year ago

Flamedx4

LOL, it's just another semi-clever sales gimmick. A few months ago my GF got a similar letter from her Ford dealer and she actually blew part of a day down there only to find out she *couldn't* trade in her 2 year old car on a new 2004 just like it and keep the same payments. Imagine that?! (Yes, she really is blonde...) I tried to tell her but they just don't listen... :pat: