5th Gen Purchase Advice

[wakeboarder109]

If a dealer wouldn't simply send me their best price in an email, they lose.

Dealer websites almost all have somewhere that you can email the "Internet Sales" department. They get it and understand that you are shopping online typically.

I would simply email the Internet Department sales manager with the year, model, options, and color, etc. I was looking for and aske them to send me their price. 4 dealers were happy to do it and a couple just gave a s**t price then started calling me to "Come in and we'll make it work for you."

NO way...that turns into nonsense typically. They lose, I removed them from the list of possible stores to buy from. I told every one that I was making my decision alone and will pick the dealer with the best price AND guaranteed me that the paperwork would be 1 - 1/2 hours max and I was prepared to move-on at the first sign of nonsense. May sound harsh, but if you don't make it clear what YOU want, they will almost always start trying to hose you in some way. The individual sales guy may be great...and then they go Good cop/Bad cop on ya in a nano-second.

NO reason you can't do 95% of the deal over email and telephone. They know what they can or want to sell for...it's up to THEM to decide how they want to work. Make it THEIR decision to play YOUR game, brotha. Really.

Again, just me.

Much appreciated! That actually sounds what I've been going for but need to be more stern with the sales associates. Most of them have asked me to come in and talk further but I don't want to waste my time. I've done enough of that already. I am going to expand my search area and contact the Internet Managers directly. I already have my financing in place and most can't do anything with the rate so it seems like they initially see it as a lose lose.

For the record, if anyone is looking for an auto loan, check out PenFed credit union. They currently have 1.49% for 60 months on new, used or refinancing.

 

[wakeboarder109]

FYI, when you call or email, again make sure it's the fleet manager. They can give you there final price over the phone, no bs, because they dont need approval from managers like the sales people.

Only thing you need the sales guy for is, is to bring you all the final paperwork to sign. Deal with the fleet manager

I didn't know that but I will put that info to use tomorrow.

 

[mattleegee]

3% sounds nice... my state is close to 10%

the more you walk away the more money in your pocket

 

[wakeboarder109]

3% sounds nice... my state is close to 10%

the more you walk away the more money in your pocket

Only problem is Va has a annual vehicle tax that is based on value so they get it back in the long run.

 

[mattleegee]

they always get you.....

 

[Sputnik]

Only problem is Va has a annual vehicle tax that is based on value so they get it back in the long run.

Ma has that as well, plus the 6.75 sales tax

 

[wakeboarder109]

Ma has that as well, plus the 6.75 sales tax

Damn that's a lot of tax!

So I went to my local dealer tonight asking them to match an offer I have for $1,500 under Invoice (roughly $34,000). The Manager came back and said that the Invoice amount shown online was incorrect and that there was a $614 TDA (Advertising fee) that is included. Then he said he would not give me any of the $1,215 in hold back even though he was showing it on the sheet.

We ended up walking away as he tore up the paperwork and said well feel free to drive across town to get that deal. Fine with me, thanks for nothing!

 

[roadracer30]

I was quoted $37,717 + tax and license for a 2013 trail edition with kdss, nav and carpet floor mats.

 

[veloindy]

I was quoted $37,717 + tax and license for a 2013 trail edition with kdss, nav and carpet floor mats.

They can do much better than that!

 

[JohnJerk]

Get your 500 or 1000 under invoice and buy. Too much wasted time and animosity to get the next 200. Those claiming 1500 to 2000 under invoice are suspect to begin with. A good relationship with a dealer close to you is worth something. Trust truecar data before anonymous posts on to-good-to-be-true deals. So many variables in trade-ins, regional demand and inventory, that can't be easily gauged. My $0.02 anyway.

 

[wakeboarder109]

Get your 500 or 1000 under invoice and buy. Too much wasted time and animosity to get the next 200. Those claiming 1500 to 2000 under invoice are suspect to begin with. A good relationship with a dealer close to you is worth something. Trust truecar data before anonymous posts on to-good-to-be-true deals. So many variables in trade-ins, regional demand and inventory, that can't be easily gauged. My $0.02 anyway.

What is the deal with the TDA fee? Is this typical for Toyota? I don't remember paying this a few years back on my Tacoma.

 

[SgnDen]

Get your 500 or 1000 under invoice and buy. Too much wasted time and animosity to get the next 200. Those claiming 1500 to 2000 under invoice are suspect to begin with. A good relationship with a dealer close to you is worth something. Trust truecar data before anonymous posts on to-good-to-be-true deals. So many variables in trade-ins, regional demand and inventory, that can't be easily gauged. My $0.02 anyway.

Aside from the glancing blow about those claiming $1.5k - $2k, I fully agree.

You can make yourself crazy. I ended-up using a simple % below MSRP as the first filter (~8%), then had them email me the build sheet (again something I had zero problem getting from the 'finalists') and made sure they were not charging MSRP on options and accessories. Then just net it down to 'invoice' price all-in and see how it shakes-out between them.

I'd be shocked if you didn't end-up with 2-3 dealers all within $200 - $400 of each other...they all pay the same after all. Don't worry about "fee this or charge that" - let em call those whatever they want. ALL you care about is your final price AND how you feel about the dealership and person you are working with (at least for me). FYI - I actually paid $400 more than the lowest sell offer because I trusted the guy I was working with more and generally knew the low dealer to be slimeballs.

BTW - I dorked around for almost 2 years before buying (I was soooo sure something special would come in 2013 - oh well) and LAST January (2012), I had two dealers offer $1,500 below invoice on a 2011...but that was indeed very rare. I could find the email from the dealer and show you...if really needed to prove anything. Again, LAST year for all practical purposes (when supply was MUCH MUCH tighter BTW).

 

[wakeboarder109]

Aside from the glancing blow about those claiming $1.5k - $2k, I fully agree.

You can make yourself crazy. I ended-up using a simple % below MSRP as the first filter (~8%), then had them email me the build sheet (again something I had zero problem getting from the 'finalists') and made sure they were not charging MSRP on options and accessories. Then just net it down to 'invoice' price all-in and see how it shakes-out between them.

I'd be shocked if you didn't end-up with 2-3 dealers all within $200 - $400 of each other...they all pay the same after all. Don't worry about "fee this or charge that" - let em call those whatever they want. ALL you care about is your final price AND how you feel about the dealership and person you are working with (at least for me). FYI - I actually paid $400 more than the lowest sell offer because I trusted the guy I was working with more and generally knew the low dealer to be slimeballs.

BTW - I dorked around for almost 2 years before buying (I was soooo sure something special would come in 2013 - oh well) and LAST January (2012), I had two dealers offer $1,500 below invoice on a 2011...but that was indeed very rare. I could find the email from the dealer and show you...if really needed to prove anything. Again, LAST year for all practical purposes (when supply was MUCH MUCH tighter BTW).

My only question, are sites like Edmunds or Truecar not showing the correct Invoice pricing?

 

[Sputnik]

When I bought my 4runner in 2010, I noticed I got a better deal then edmunds true market value price. So the TMV should be a starting point...