Welcome! Thank you for your service. I wouldn't say it's too late. There are plenty of reservations already made but from my experience, it's a free for all regardless of being #1 on the list and so forth. Now, if you want a Circuit Edition (CE), this is where it gets tricky. We don't know the allocations yet and there are about 1,269 dealerships in the USA. If there are only 1,500 of the CE, then, in a perfect world scenario, each dealer would get one.
But, realistically, we know that some could get more than one and some will get none. There's a possibility this may be the only year that they come out with these other editions (CE and Morizo Edition) but I think that's BS. The hype for this car is so high because we couldn't get our hands on the GR Yaris when it released.
Don't be discouraged. There will definitely be more models of each trim in the years to come. They know they've knocked it out of the park.
Personally, I'm not in a rush. I've been buck-shotting so to speak with trying to see what dealer gives me the better deal.
To put into perspective what I've been through: I visited all dealerships in person and I didn't call first. I figured that the hype is already high and the room for negotiation is zero because of that. So I made sure to go in person so that a face can go with the order and it makes them feel more secure in gaining their commission from me. And my phone's been blowing up since those visits because of course that one guy in each dealer wants to sell to me because it'll be a good sale. I've made my bed with those situations at Toyota and Honda dealerships (Type R) but I digress.
I made sure I could find someone who can speak to me intelligently about the car and if they have a waiting/potential buyer list. One put me on a list for free (rural location with lots of base Tacomas, Corollas and one GR Supra), some put me on a list requesting a certain amount of money (metro areas with several Tacoma Pros, GR Supras and an A-91). All purchasing managers are waiting for further details on the price and allocations here in order to order what they can (we don't know much as of today).
I would suggest looking up dealerships nearest to you or wherever you'll PCS/relocate to next and making a few calls. Get on a list for a reasonable price (whatever that could be for you) and your turn will come. They're going to sell. The dealers know they will sell. The key is to be patient because when the Supra was out the hype was astronomical and they're still here with an A-91 edition and a 6-speed MT coming out soon as well. I'm certain it's not too late for a CE. I believe there will be more.
If you want one sooner than later, then get on top of it ASAP because that window is closing for getting one in this model year since people have been putting down deposits since about late March/early April.
I tried summarizing my experience and condensed what I've read on the forum but good luck to you and I hope you get one.
