Toyota GR’s Secret Texas Garage Has Been Preparing Lexus Dealers For A $200,000 Supercar
Posted by aprtur@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 55 comments
The other source out there with actual photos (AutomotiveNews) is banned in this subreddit, so Google them if you want to see what the site looks like.....but this news sounds promising to me. The big question in the back of my mind is: is this exclusively for the GR GT, or will Toyota transition GR owners into servicing at Lexus dealers? In my opinion, this is overdue, as the service experience for my GRC is beyond lacking compared to how it was with my IS350 - the employee training in Toyota dealers about these cars is piss poor. Here's hoping this is the beginning of dedicated "GR Garage" locations like they have in Japan.
thisisjustascreename@reddit
Do Lexus customers want to drive a Gazoo?
smashedsaturn@reddit
I will absolutely consider it, but it would have to blow me away compared to my LC.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
People who can buy $200k sports car don’t like to deal with normal car dealerships.
wearymicrobe@reddit
We don't really care what the dealership experience is like except for service and support. Most of us care less about the fancy coffee machine and more about getting what we want locally when we want it.
Mufasa_LG@reddit
I'm confused. Doesn't that just fall under dealership experience?
Intentionallyabadger@reddit
Not the same for luxury vehicle dealerships.
AmbitiousButRubbishh@reddit
Won’t somebody think of the poor millionaires 😭😭
atomicskiracer@reddit
Porsche disagrees
ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit
Porsche isn't a normal car dealership lol.
stillpiercer_@reddit
Porsche dealers provide a substantially higher quality of service compared normal-people brands.
aprtur@reddit (OP)
IMHO, there's a split - those who were specifically buying the true sporty F-Sport/F cars, and those who were just wanting the F-Sport package because it looked more like a BMW or Audi "sport shadowline" package. I think the former would certainly be into GR cars if they put a dedicated sales and service team behind them - they have the ability from what I've seen with Lexus.
Consistent-Throat130@reddit
Split GR into a real performance marquee
Lexus has a softer perception.
Maybe years down the line make like F GR specs.
Eastern_Bet3714@reddit
You’re telling me I can skip the Toyota dealerships when the GR Celica comes out? Sign me up!
bill_brasky37@reddit
I would like to drive both? But no I would not be buying such a thing. A gr Lexus is gonna be for the super freaks. Like the kid I went to college with who would just draw Honda and Acura logos in his notebook all day
hi_im_bored13@reddit
think what will realistically happen is you order it through toyota & they pay the dealer a flat fee to handle the processing & shipping just like e.x. the GTD
and every time it needs major service theyll just ship it off like they do a LFA
devastationz@reddit
How many will be purchased by people who don’t want to miss out on another LFA appreciation curve?
Mufasa_LG@reddit
That would seem like a fools errand with this car. Nothing I've read has hinted at it being limited, and it doesnt have a unique engine to boost it. It will likely end up like the LC500s, with them being marked down some time after release, because they won't move many of them, after the initial hype subsides.
PhreshPharaoh@reddit
I can’t wait for these to arrive in dealerships with $100k+ markups.
Mufasa_LG@reddit
I wonder if they will eventually go the way of the LC500s, and sit on dealer lots, with large incentives.
willpc14@reddit
This "every car has markups" circlejerk is so fucking miserable
k0fi96@reddit
Especially when it's wrong so much of the time. You will always find one marked up, but if the majority sell at MSRP it is nothing to bitch about.
The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit
I agree with you but think this person is right. I think this car will only be sold out of huge volume dealers in major urban centers and won't be coming to most Lexus dealers, so they'll have even more of a stranglehold on supply.
willpc14@reddit
If cars are getting marked up, that's a sign for Toyota to up production. Dealers are obligated to buy the cars from Toyota, so they'll be forced to cut prices or have cars sitting on lots unsold.
ZetaM3@reddit
Oh boo hoo! Cry a river for the billion dollar dealers that have a stranglehold on the industry! Please think of the dealer owners who all make tens of millions of dollars a year!
mikeycp253@reddit
Read their comment slowly and perhaps you’ll understand what they were saying.
willpc14@reddit
That's not at all what I was saying with that comment, but go off
ZetaM3@reddit
This whining about people making comments about car markups is so fucking miserable.
willpc14@reddit
Blow me
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Astramael@reddit
This probably won’t be a persistent problem. Toyota has demonstrated that they will produce enough units of all their enthusiast cars to balance out supply so that people can buy at MSRP. Probably the first year will be messy, but from there it should be fine. The number of people wanting to buy this car is pretty small.
Astramael@reddit
I went to a GR Garage in Japan for yucks. It was cool, very different experience than a normal dealership. More of a tuner/enthusiast vibe. I am not entirely sure how popular they would be in North America. Likely a city such as LA could easily support a few, but they would never make sense in many places.
aprtur@reddit (OP)
Same here, I've been to a few around Japan, and the atmosphere is pretty consistent - definitely something I feel people who are buying GR cars outside of Japan would also appreciate. I wish I could've shared the AutomotiveNews article, as it had some interesting quotes, including one addressing what you're talking about with where those dealers could work - they mentioned expecting dealer interest to be on the coasts in the US, so that's probably where they'll start.
Great point on the build out of the service network, as well. I feel like this would benefit all GR cars, to be honest - including some of the more rare mainstream stuff, like the upcoming Corolla GRMN. Aside from the GT, hopefully Toyota is listening to owners who are frustrated with the lack of care/support around the 86/Supra/GRC to date.
Astramael@reddit
Yes definitely. The GRC alone has been a parade of dealership errors, such as:
I can only imagine that Supra and GR86 owners had it just as bad or worse. This move by Toyota hints that they might be aware of this problem and realized that they need to fix it for a $200K+ GR vehicle.
The excitement for the GR Corolla at the GR Garage in Japan was pretty significant. I think they see a lot of GRY, but the GRC is much more rarified there. They started giving me free swag after I showed them pictures of my car. Pretty entertaining because it is the opposite here in NA, the GRC is seen as whatever and everybody wants the GRY.
aprtur@reddit (OP)
Not just fixing all those problems for the GT, IMO, but in order to set a proper precedent for GR as a standalone brand. I guess the "fortunate" thing is that the existing cars are technically Toyota vehicles and not GR, so the baggage that comes with that is saddled to Toyota dealers, and while that still isn't good, it gives them an out to say "GR will be handled differently".
With the GRC in Japan, I would agree that it's pretty uncommon, although my first visit to a GR Garage was in 2024, and I saw both an RZ and Morizo on the lot, which surprised me. That same year, I actually met an owner at Tsukuba during HKS Hiper Challenge, and he was the sole GRC in a field of GR Yaris (Yarii? Yarises?)...he was excited to hear both myself and a friend that were visiting for the event were owners from abroad. It's interesting that you mention comparison to here in North America - I find people there are generally excited to talk to other car enthusiasts about anything enthusiast focused, and there's less of the gatekeeping we experience here. I'm not sure why that is, but it's been the same for me with people owning evening from a GRC to a Renault 5 Turbo, to a Corvette - you tell them that you own and their eyes light up that you just aren't a total NPC...lol.
YoungFlexibleShawty@reddit
I got money but not 200k for a car money 😂
aprtur@reddit (OP)
While the GR GT is cool, that's not really the focus of why I posted this - it's moreso about the fact that we could soon start seeing dedicated GR dealers, which would include stuff you can afford like the GRC and rumoured to be upcoming MR2 and Celica. That's exciting for every enthusiast, not just the wealthy.
Previous_Platform718@reddit
Isn't it just that there will be a Lexus version of the GR GT so the Lexus dealers need to know how to sell and handle it?
aprtur@reddit (OP)
As the other reddit or mentioned, there's the electric LFA, but they wouldn't be coming to a GR specific facility and getting to know a mechanically different vehicle to prepare for that. I'm pretty sure this is the beginning of spinning GR up into a standalone brand, and utilizing Lexus' higher standard of customer service as a foundation.
ALOIsFasterThanYou@reddit
Has there been any word of one? I would be surprised if there was one, the GR GT is meant to build the Gazoo Racing brand, and a Lexus variant would dilute that. Lexus is getting an electric LFA as its next halo car.
Multifaceted-Simp@reddit
The new lfa is probably the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen. But since it’s electric it is not something I’d buy. If the gr gt is 200k I’ll actually buy it
aviciiavbdeadpunk@reddit
same way i wish the supra would be at lexus dealerships only tbh or a c8 zr1 be sent to Cadillac.
Nero_Wolff@reddit
A supra should never see a Toyota dealer. Take them to a BMW specialist
Dealer service centers in general are crap, but taking a BMW to a Toyota dealer is a big mistake
GrynaiTaip@reddit
Interesting. Are Toyota dealerships significantly worse than BMW in the US?
In my corner of Europe Toyota is way more down to earth. Aftermarket shops are even better, once you're out of the warranty period. Many of those are owned by ex-Toyota/Lexus employees.
Nero_Wolff@reddit
Im sure Toyota dealers are fine for a Corolla or Rav4 but the Supra really is a BMW Z4 under the hood. Most Toyota dealers only have 1 or 2 techs actually certified to work on them. And realistically who would know more about working on them, a Toyota tech who was forced to learn about the B58, or an independent with a strong reputation servicing and modifying BMW M cars? Even that Supra certified tech, may only see 1 Supra every couple months, whereas a tech at a specialist works on M cars every day
And FYI, this isnt me bemoaning the fact that the Supra is a BMW, I owned one up until very recently. Additionally my viewpoint comes from having nightmare experiences with Ford dealers and my previous GT350. That car taught me that when a regular brand makes a cool and unique car that is so far removed from their regular stuff, the dealers just arent suitable for looking after them. That Ford dealer would service like 1000 F150s for every GT350 and the straw that broke the camels back for me was when the tech hand tightened the oil filter and it backed off during the next drive. The GT350 needs a specific torque spec for the oil filter, its literally written on the oil filter itself but the tech ignored that because for normal cars you can just hand tighten it
GrynaiTaip@reddit
Isn't Toyota's B58 different from BMW's variant? I recall reading an article about them sending some test engines back and forth, BMW said that they're perfect but Toyota said that it's not enough, so the tolerances were marked up quite a bit for the Supra.
aviciiavbdeadpunk@reddit
treat first year supra as 2 port 5 series rwd motor 21 and up are m340i rwd and z4 rwd
Nero_Wolff@reddit
The story goes, when the partnership began, Toyota forced BMW to make some modifications to increase robustness but the engine is the same across the Supra and actual BMWs. The B58 has had multiple iterations over the years but as far as I know, BMW didnt manufacture an entirely different engine for Toyota, they just made improvements
Dont forget the Z4 is the exact same platform made on the same assembly line
MoFinWiley@reddit
I think the comment is referring to the meme (but factual) idea that the car is mostly a BMW and they would be “better” than the Toyota dealer.
mikeycp253@reddit
Yeah I’m a tech at a Chevy Buick GMC dealer and honestly most Chevy techs should not be allowed to touch a Corvette.
WarCrimeGaming@reddit
I don’t think I can triple up this time
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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CarsAreRad@reddit
The only super car I want, shit looks so badass
DZello@reddit
In this economy? Not sure
Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit
I think making the GR à Lexus instead of Toyota and axing the idea of the Lexus one would’ve been best. Then Toyota could’ve just made a less powerful but still packed with plentiful power model and sold that under the GR name. I