For refrence, I called today for quotes on an fj80 radiator.
First, Groove Toyota parts counter by phone: with the rising sun discount (yes they offer a discount as well, weather it’s the same nominal discount as military, seniors etc etc I couldn’t tell you, they do have our calendar proudly displayed behind the counter though! I was quoted $440 -this was for pickup at the counter but I recall that they have free shipping on orders over some nominal amount, you just have to remember to ask for delivery rather than pickup which I often forget...
Next, Stevinson Toyota West- Asked for derek but was told he wasn’t there, spoke to nice fellow who quoted me $470 -that was said to include Rising Sun discount... I’m sure that I could’ve got free shipping to my house in this case as well. Derek may or may not have been able to do better here but I think the Stevinson website takes the cake either way. On the website I found the part for $349 with free shipping (the first $200 worth of shipping is covered on orders over $75, see the banner with free shipping coupon code at the top of the website)
Assuming that, at best, Stevinsons Rising sun discount is equal to their online pricing, I’m still using the website more and more... I try and bother the parts counter guys as little as possible, though I still inevitably have to call on them from time to time.
I didn’t bother to check groove Toyota’s online parts website because I suspect that, best case scenario, they might be at $349/free shipping also...
Given that Stevinson supports the club so significantly, I’m obviously going with Stevinsons website either way.
You may notice that finding what you need on A Toyota parts website without knowing your part number is a P.I.T.A. While it’s nice to be able to have parts counter guys lookup parts for us, I feel like between ih8mud & google it’s not really that hard these days. Just get your part number online, paste it into Stevinsons parts website and order it...
I feel remiss because I’ve definitely had the Stevinson discount specifically explained to me in the past but I think I’ve forgotten what exactly the deal is. There is much confusion and misinformation that persists around this and other discounts.
I think the discount we are intended to get from Stevinson is their online pricing but we get to make orders over the phone and pickup at the counter or even have it shipped. Let’s assume for a moment that this is the case. Regardless, it seems your mileage WILL vary depending on who picks up the phone and their level of familiarity. The fact is we’re a small club and account for a very tiny fraction of their parts sales volume and it is therefor unreasonable to expect that “Rising Sun Discount Training” be made a priority for all parts staff members. I suspect this is part of the reason that Derek makes himself available to us via his direct email. He’s the go to guy for this. Other parts guys may be in the know as well but no guarantees... Not trying to single out Stevinson on this issue either, groove has definitely applied different versions of their “Rising sun discount” depending upon with whom I was speaking... It is what it is...
I have a solution. Once I have an explanation of the Stevinson discount, something clear and concise, written preferably by derek himself, I’m going to “sticky” it somewhere very conspicuous on the forum. It will almost certainly be in the members only section as it is a discount for dues paying club members, not forum members per se. I will put something in the newly created FAQ directing members to this information as it is definitely a FAQ. I’ll also try and compile any other discount related info I gather as well. For example, Slee Off-road does NOT have a Rising sun discount, they get their share of customers asking for the rising sun discount as well...