Am I getting a Good Deal?

[SW 4Runner]

Alright, here's the deal. I have been waiting for 3 years to buy a 4Runner, and am finally taking the plunge. I swore I would never buy a new car again, so I tramped down to the local Carmax dealership to see what they had to offer. Of course here in Albuquerque, they had only a 2002 4Runner, and I wanted a 2005 SR5 model. After looking online, I found a 2005 SR5 in Chicago that appears to fit the bill. Here is what it has:

Moonroof
17inch Alloy Wheels
Rear Spoiler
1,985 miles
Stratosphere Mica (blue)

The price is $26,995 and my trade in is going to be about $5,600.00. I have already paid the $550 to transfer it here to my local lot (of which only $150.00 goes to the purchase of the car). I ran the VIN through Carfax, and it had only one owner, and then only for two months.

I would appreciate your thoughts. I am pretty excited to get a nearly new, undriven 2005 4Runner. Its not going to be here until September 1, which is killing me.

Thanks.

Greg

 

[AlexJet]

Sounds good for me...

 

[tcpoob]

it would help people help you if you stated at least if it's 4WD, V8, and some info on the car to be traded in.

 

[Bluto]

Here, you could buy a new 4WD SR5 V8 for the same price. Check Carmax Toyota in Laurel, MD.


27,300 - 500 = 26,800

Not near you. But an idea of what they sell for. I'd try some local Toyota dealers.

 

[SW 4Runner]

Thanks for the input fellas. The SR5 is a V6 4WD model, in addition to the other options I listed above. I thought about trying to fly to Chicago and getting one, but then I have to buy a ticket, spend at least one night in a hotel, pay for gas, food, and put mileage on the 4Runner to get it back here (not to mention my time away from work and family). Starts to sound a little more of a hassle to do that than to get it sent to me here. I may make a run at a local dealer again to see what I can get.

My trade in is a 2002 Hyundai Sonata 4 cyl. base model with 50,000 miles on it.

Greg

 

[Good Times]

if a dealer wants the sale, they'll do a dealer trade to get the vehicle so they can sell it to you. if you're paying for it, you're getting suckered. I've purchased MANY vehicles in the last few years (say over 100 or so?) and every purchase I made, they ate the transportation fees. O another note, I never put a down payment on any vehicle too..

If you want the rock bottom prices, just visit kbb.com or edmunds.com and just price out your vehicle to spec. Usually one can get them for around 500 over invoice or less! anything else and you're getting owned.

Buy new too! That way you don't have to deal w/ the used stuff. Even if it's only 1000 miles...

Something else to note, the configuration does not sounds uncommon so shop around. Do you really want 17" wheels? You might consider just getting 16"s to help keep the cost down so you can use it just upgrade wheels/tires as most will do (unless you plan to keep it stock). Also better tire selection w/ 16" tires too!

good luck!

 

[pcblion]

Re:

Why would someone sell their beautiful new 4Runner after 2 months and less than 2000 miles? I've had mine for about that long, and have driven about that many miles and you couldn't pry those key out of my hand if you tried.

 

[Techenigma]

Just for comparison I thought I'd post my 4runner price.

I bought my 05 Sport Edition V8 4x2, no other options or anything for $27,270 out the door that is inlcuding tax title license and all...

 

[killer_diller]

What I paid, brand new...

2005 - SR5 4X2 V6 Black/Dk Gray/Stone

AW 17" Alloy Wheels W/P265/65r17 Tires
CM Double Decker Cargo System W/Cargo Net
DR Black Roof Rack And Cross Bars
NE Leather Steering Wheel And Shift Knob:
RF Rr Spoiler W/Center High Mounted Stop Lamp
RL Daytime Running Lights
SR Power Tilt/Slide Moonroof W/Sunshade
L1 Leather Interior Upgrade
ES All-In-One Dvd System ...have kids!
M5 Carpet Mat Set (5 Pc)
Delivery/Process&Hand


Dealer Charge $28,500
MnfRebate - $1,000
Price $27,500

Then add taxes and license/inspection fees, that I wrote off on my '04 taxes. Purchased on 12/31/04

You may want to look elsewhere... the rebates for the '05 are better now since the '06 is on the way. That would make one like above(although without the 4-wheel drive) almost same price you are willing to pay for a used one, with less options.

 

[Kanab]

Congrats on your new ride. You will enjoy it and sounds like you are getting a good deal. Carmax has transfer fee's and you made a decision that you wanted it so enjoy. I bought a used NSX from carmax in Atlanta. It was a great car.

 

[Spider5]

Too much. KBB $24500 trade in, $500 for the dealer total $25000. You can get a lot of good deals on the 2005's because the 2006 are coming. You can likely get a new SR5 Runner for 26500-28500, same money they are asking for the used one. I paid $28800 for my sport. Why not get a new one with exactly what you want for the same or a couple of $$ a month more.

 

[Kanab]

Too much. KBB $24500 trade in, $500 for the dealer total $25000. You can get a lot of good deals on the 2005's because the 2006 are coming. You can likely get a new SR5 Runner for 26500-28500, same money they are asking for the used one. I paid $28800 for my sport. Why not get a new one with exactly what you want for the same or a couple of $$ a month more.

He already bought it, and has committed to the vehicle transfer.

 

[Mark86]

It may seem like a good deal on paper, but in reality it is not. Since it is the end of the year, the dealers are trying very hard to rid their lots of 2005 models in order to make room for the 2006's This means that you will get a good deal on a new 2005 model. There are two things I don't like about this deal. The first is the $550 transportation fee. Dealers can very easily do a dealer swap which would cost nothing. I have seen many times where a person would ask for a certain configuration and it was not on the dealer lot. It cost them nothing to get the vehicle they want. If this dealer wanted your business so bad, they wouldn't have charged you to get the car you want to their dealer. Bacisally, this situation would make me not want to buy a car from this dealer. The second thing is why would this owner only keep the truck for only 2,000 miles? What could have happened to make the owners want to take such a big financial hit to sell this truck after 2,000 miles? My advice to you is to shop around for a brand new 2005 SR5. This is the time when you will get a good deal on a brand new car.

 

[SW 4Runner]

Thanks for the input fellas. I went to two of the local dealers and settled on one. I can still call off the Carmax transfer because it hasnt been transferred yet. Anytime you call off the transfer prior to the actual transfer beginning, you get a full refund.

I checked Edmunds, and then went to the dealers. One of them had no V6 4WD SR5s with sunroofs, so we went to the other dealer. After about 3 hours we walked out with a car that we are pretty happy with though we havent bought it yet (we took it home to "think" about it). Here is what it has:

SR5 V6 4WD Titanium
Side Curtain Airbags
Upgraded JBL sound system with wireless
Alarm
Wheel locks
Leather steering wheel with audio and cruise buttons
Cargo deck
Cargo Net
Upgraded wheels
Compass/dimming rearview mirror
Power moonroof

With the dealer I have ended up right at about 30,600.00, which I feel pretty good about. The dealers here dont really work that much with you and we were there really ready to walk out. Admittedly, this is only my second time buying a new car, so I am sure I could have done better.

Greg

 

[Kanab]

WOW side airbags on a SR5. That is nice, wish I had them. You can check pricing on WWW.Edmunds.com. Bottomline if you like the vehicle and like the price then go for it. I like to buy new, then you know what you have. Nice color, it doesn't show dirt.

 

[sharp4runr]

Thanks for the input fellas. I went to two of the local dealers and settled on one. I can still call off the Carmax transfer because it hasnt been transferred yet. Anytime you call off the transfer prior to the actual transfer beginning, you get a full refund.

I checked Edmunds, and then went to the dealers. One of them had no V6 4WD SR5s with sunroofs, so we went to the other dealer. After about 3 hours we walked out with a car that we are pretty happy with though we havent bought it yet (we took it home to "think" about it). Here is what it has:

SR5 V6 4WD Titanium
Side Curtain Airbags
Upgraded JBL sound system with wireless
Alarm
Wheel locks
Leather steering wheel with audio and cruise buttons
Cargo deck
Cargo Net
Upgraded wheels
Compass/dimming rearview mirror
Power moonroof

With the dealer I have ended up right at about 30,600.00, which I feel pretty good about. The dealers here dont really work that much with you and we were there really ready to walk out. Admittedly, this is only my second time buying a new car, so I am sure I could have done better.

Greg

I paid that much for my 2004 SE V6 4WD, new though it didn't have the Side airbags, alarm or compas/dimming mirror.

 

[Fro-Runner]

Re: Re:

Why would someone sell their beautiful new 4Runner after 2 months and less than 2000 miles? I've had mine for about that long, and have driven about that many miles and you couldn't pry those key out of my hand if you tried.

Perhaps the previous owner took one 500+ mile trip and found out these uncomfortable, flat floored seats caused enough body aches to warrant a different vehicle. One of the major things I dislike about the 4th generation 4Runner is the seat on the floor design.....along with the hard as a rock standard cloth seats!

This single detail will probably cause me "NOT" to purchase another 4Runner unless Toyota changes it for the redesigned '08 Runner.

 

[Kanab]

Re: Re: Re:

Perhaps the previous owner took one 500+ mile trip and found out these uncomfortable, flat floored seats caused enough body aches to warrant a different vehicle. One of the major things I dislike about the 4th generation 4Runner is the seat on the floor design.....along with the hard as a rock standard cloth seats!

This single detail will probably cause me "NOT" to purchase another 4Runner unless Toyota changes it for the redesigned '08 Runner.

I've only driven mine around 3 hours away from home and I agree the seats are a problem compared to other vehicles. I'm moving about 1200 miles away and a buddy is going to drive my 4runner while I drive the moving truck, I'll let you guys know how crippled up he looks after the trip