Buying New 4Runner...

[Sox4runner12]

So I bought a 2011 Tacoma about a month ago. Now the wife will be getting a 2011 4runner. We originally wanted to buy both together hoping to get a great deal, but the wife was set on getting a new Grand Chrerokee. I was able to talk her back into the 4Runner.

I went to the Toyota dealership I have been dealing with for a while now , bought several cars from them at very fair prices. I figured they would be very competitive again- especially since I just bought the Tacoma. So they offered me $7k for the wifes 2004 Grand Cherokee Overland w/ 90k miles. Then offered only 2k off sticker. When I countered with 10k for the trade and keeping just 2k off sticker...salesman wouldnt even go back to the manager , just said this was the best they can do.

I handle insurance claims for a living, so I have a very good idea of real cash values on used vehicles. Her overland would probably get 9k at auction. But with gas prices I can see right now being tougher to fetch that amount. Reason I was asking for 10k is b/c they were only taking off 2k from sticker and most other internet quotes back to 3k off sticker.

So I went to another local Toyota dealer, explained I am getting a 4runner by weeks end, looking to get their best price on the trade and truck and if it is the best price they will have won my business. So without negotiating, they come back showing 12k for trade and sticker for 4runner....so basically its 10k for trade and 2k off sticker , or any other variation of that...but basically 12k off sticker total with trade...so that is 3k better than the place I have been a long time customer with.

What would you do? go back to other dealer and give them chance to keep the business and beat the offer? try a couple other dealerships? The other thing I am pissed about is, now I will wonder if I could have got another 1-2k on my Tacoma deal!

 

[bnekic]

They should sell you the 4Runner at invoice and give you whatever your trade-in is worth through Manheim and Black Book, all dealers use those two sources to appraise a trade-in. The market predicts the value of your trade-in not the dealer itself. If you want more money for your trade then throw it on cars.com and sell it yourself. Don't make purchasing a vehicle harder then it really is.

 

[Ttn333]

Why? They're not doing you any favor.

 

[JA4RNR]

I'd just go with the one that is giving you the best offer. Then drive your new ride to the original dealer for some accessory and brag to the salesman, who is obviously not too motivated, abut the deal you got.

 

[Redesper]

I wouldn't go back.

I drove 350 miles to buy the 4runner I wanted. Not just for the options, but the two local Toyota dealerships won't deal (smaller towns).

So, I got the 4runner I wanted, and saved a substantial amount as well.

 

[Scuba6]

I think it never hurts to bounce the price off a few different dealerships within a fair radius of where you live. What's the worse that will happen? You don't find a lower price?

I always want to know that I got the best price I could get when the deal is done. If I only went to one or two dealerships, I wouldn't feel confident that I got the best price.

In the end, sure, give your normal dealership a chance to match / beat the other dealership's price. But if they don't...go where the price is right. Loyalty is only worth so much.

 

[Metalhead77]

My wife and I have bought many new vehicles. 5 of them have been new Toyotas. What I would do if I were you is check yet another dealer or more to see what you get offered for your trade in. That is what is going to screw you is the low price on trade in.

As for the new 4runner. I wouldnt buy it unless it is close to invoice. I would take the deal if they came within $500 of it. I got mine for 200over but I am a pain in the ass and I bought at a local small dealer who doesn't like to deal.

If you go to a larger dealer that sells in large volume ( say they have 20 of a particular vehicle on the lot as opposed to 3) you will have an easier time getting a close to invoice deal. Good luck on the trade you will never get what you want for it so take the best price after getting offers.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Sox4runner12]

Well we ended up calling up the dealership I have always done business with to see if they would match or beat the other offer, I told him I could bring in the written offer b/c I did not think they would believe me. He said he would talk to sales manager and call me right back. They said they couldn't do it and found it hard to believe they were offering that deal and he told me to run and sign the deal since it was such a good offer. Long story short, I called the other dealer back and asked for another 500 off to keep me from shopping around more and they said no problem. Brought the new 4runner home tonight....now we have an 11 tacoma and 11 4runner in the garage! Black sr5, came with the factory remote start too which is pretty sweet. Only thing I was a little pissed about was that we got 3.9 financing through some third party lender they use. I got this b/c the finance guy said they would match whatever else we could get...in my past experience , they usually get the best we qualify for...and there are some lenders in my area doing 2.9. When I asked about that he said "well we matched what you said you could get", and I was just throwing that figure out there. I didn't realize he wasn't going to try to get me the best he could find. He said paperwork was all done and that if I could show him we qualified for 2.9 he would re-do it for 2.9, but I said you didn't ask for proof on the 2.9. I will just have to re-fi now, it equals out to 500 bucks over the 5 years...

 

[ant-ny]

thats bs about the financing. goes to show you, no matter who you are dealing with, any stealership is out to screw you. you did the right thing by going with the lower price. if you bought several toyotas from that first stealer and they wouldn't help you out any on the price, then loyalty means nothing to them, so why should it mean anything to you? bottom line is the bottom line and you gotta get the best price you can. enjoy your ride

 

[bnekic]

thats bs about the financing. goes to show you, no matter who you are dealing with, any stealership is out to screw you. you did the right thing by going with the lower price. if you bought several toyotas from that first stealer and they wouldn't help you out any on the price, then loyalty means nothing to them, so why should it mean anything to you? bottom line is the bottom line and you gotta get the best price you can. enjoy your ride

So since the dealer didn't make much money on the new vehicle sale they can't try and make it up in finance? What also cracks me up every time is when people say hey I bought x amount of vehicles from this dealership and they wouldn't help me out on price. Well if that dealer sold you a couple cars at below invoice and barely made any money on those deals why in the hell would it matter that you bought those two vehicles. Hey I know every vehicle you sold me was a loser deal with no profit but can you help me out on price again and make no money again? Come on get real. Some of you people are just out of this world, you want 0% financing forever, thousands below invoice on every vehicle, and trade-in values way over the actual market value of your vehicle. I hope people come into your place of employment and give you as hard of a time as you do to dealers.

 

[ant-ny]

its not about giving anyone a hard time. its about buying from the vendor who provides the best price. its that simple. why would you spend more of your hard earned money for the same product that you could get elsewhere for cheaper? if you wanted to buy a specific tv and store A had it for $500 and store B had it for $450, where would you go? if you don't mind wasting your money, than that is fine, but if i am getting the EXACT same product somewhere else for cheaper, then i am going there. yes, i understand that if the difference is minimal, then you may go with the higher price if you feel some connection to that dealership or have built a rapport with them. but the original poster was talking about several thousand dollars and it appears he gave the original dealership the opportunity to match it, and they ENCOURAGED him to go to the other dealer. enough said.

 

[scanny]

So since the dealer didn't make much money on the new vehicle sale they can't try and make it up in finance? What also cracks me up every time is when people say hey I bought x amount of vehicles from this dealership and they wouldn't help me out on price. Well if that dealer sold you a couple cars at below invoice and barely made any money on those deals why in the hell would it matter that you bought those two vehicles. Hey I know every vehicle you sold me was a loser deal with no profit but can you help me out on price again and make no money again? Come on get real. Some of you people are just out of this world, you want 0% financing forever, thousands below invoice on every vehicle, and trade-in values way over the actual market value of your vehicle. I hope people come into your place of employment and give you as hard of a time as you do to dealers.

Honestly I don't see why pay thousands of dollars to a car dealer. The only thing I need from them is a test drive, but I would be better off to rent a vehicle I'm looking to buy for $50 and then order this vehicle from factory at the invoice price. I don't see any value in the car dealers,most of those I've seen don't know anythig about vehicles they are sellling and they lie so much so you don't believe them at all. I don't see much value in car salesmen.

 

[bnekic]

Honestly I don't see why pay thousands of dollars to a car dealer. The only thing I need from them is a test drive, but I would be better off to rent a vehicle I'm looking to buy for $50 and then order this vehicle from factory at the invoice price. I don't see any value in the car dealers,most of those I've seen don't know anythig about vehicles they are sellling and they lie so much so you don't believe them at all. I don't see much value in car salesmen.

I'm not saying thousands but like you said invoice. You can practically walk into any car dealer and purchase a vehicle at invoice. I believe salesmen do have a big role in the purchase process and do help customers to get into the vehicle they want. I mean I don't see much value in the union worker that screws in a few bolts all day long and gets paid $50 an hour when a robot could do the same thing but hey what can you do. All I'm trying to say is there are good and bad people in every industry so we shouldn't generalize because of a few bad people

 

[Sox4runner12]

So since the dealer didn't make much money on the new vehicle sale they can't try and make it up in finance? What also cracks me up every time is when people say hey I bought x amount of vehicles from this dealership and they wouldn't help me out on price. Well if that dealer sold you a couple cars at below invoice and barely made any money on those deals why in the hell would it matter that you bought those two vehicles. Hey I know every vehicle you sold me was a loser deal with no profit but can you help me out on price again and make no money again? Come on get real. Some of you people are just out of this world, you want 0% financing forever, thousands below invoice on every vehicle, and trade-in values way over the actual market value of your vehicle. I hope people come into your place of employment and give you as hard of a time as you do to dealers.

Your offer some very constructive information here. Thank you for taking your valued time.

Fact is the original dealer was trying to make a large profit, which is fine, they are in business to make money. I understand that. They also make money on their service department. Which I would have been going back to for regular service if they continued to give me a fair deal on purchase of new vehicles. I will never give them business again. They will certainly survive without my business. Now, did the new dealership lose money on the deal they gave me? I highly doubt it. We are talking $3500 difference between the two deals. I'm pretty sure no new car dealer is going to give someone a deal and lose $3500 on. Especially since I did not even have to try to negotiate this deal. I just told them what I thought my Jeep was worth and obviously new what the new 4Runners were selling for. They came out with exactly that deal. I work in insurance claims and am very well aware of real ACV's and was not expecting some out of this world figure for the trade.

As far as the finance rate goes...no I don't think they should have tried to squeak out a few extra bucks out of me. I have excellent credit and if the market rates are lower , why should I pay a higher rate than I have to? If you got a killer deal on a house, would you pay a higher interest rate and say "well I got a great deal on the house so I will just pay the higher interest rate to give the bank my money". The thing is I have always qualified for whatever special APRs the manufacturer is running. Obviously in this case, they don't need to run them on the 4runners. So I was not aware I was naming my own rate. I thought they would get me whatever the lowest was in the market right now. He even said as a customer service we do it for you. When I asked why he didn't try for 2.9, he said b/c i mentioned 3.9. When I asked him to get me qualified for the lower rate, he told me to just refinance. It contradicted what he said about doing the work for me on the loan, now I will just be doing it anyway.

Again, thank you for the very valuable info you have provided here.

 

[scanny]

I'm not saying thousands but like you said invoice. You can practically walk into any car dealer and purchase a vehicle at invoice. I believe salesmen do have a big role in the purchase process and do help customers to get into the vehicle they want. I mean I don't see much value in the union worker that screws in a few bolts all day long and gets paid $50 an hour when a robot could do the same thing but hey what can you do. All I'm trying to say is there are good and bad people in every industry so we shouldn't generalize because of a few bad people

Well, I agree that good people exists in car sales world, but I wish that there was an option to buy a car without coming to a dealership and spending hours for those bargaining games and still overpay for services you don't need.

 

[bnekic]

Well, I agree that good people exists in car sales world, but I wish that there was an option to buy a car without coming to a dealership and spending hours for those bargaining games and still overpay for services you don't need.

Maybe one day you'll be able you purchase your vehicle online directly from Toyota and have it delivered to your house.

 

[bnekic]

Your offer some very constructive information here. Thank you for taking your valued time.

Fact is the original dealer was trying to make a large profit, which is fine, they are in business to make money. I understand that. They also make money on their service department. Which I would have been going back to for regular service if they continued to give me a fair deal on purchase of new vehicles. I will never give them business again. They will certainly survive without my business. Now, did the new dealership lose money on the deal they gave me? I highly doubt it. We are talking $3500 difference between the two deals. I'm pretty sure no new car dealer is going to give someone a deal and lose $3500 on. Especially since I did not even have to try to negotiate this deal. I just told them what I thought my Jeep was worth and obviously new what the new 4Runners were selling for. They came out with exactly that deal. I work in insurance claims and am very well aware of real ACV's and was not expecting some out of this world figure for the trade.

As far as the finance rate goes...no I don't think they should have tried to squeak out a few extra bucks out of me. I have excellent credit and if the market rates are lower , why should I pay a higher rate than I have to? If you got a killer deal on a house, would you pay a higher interest rate and say "well I got a great deal on the house so I will just pay the higher interest rate to give the bank my money". The thing is I have always qualified for whatever special APRs the manufacturer is running. Obviously in this case, they don't need to run them on the 4runners. So I was not aware I was naming my own rate. I thought they would get me whatever the lowest was in the market right now. He even said as a customer service we do it for you. When I asked why he didn't try for 2.9, he said b/c i mentioned 3.9. When I asked him to get me qualified for the lower rate, he told me to just refinance. It contradicted what he said about doing the work for me on the loan, now I will just be doing it anyway.

Again, thank you for the very valuable info you have provided here.

Not a problem just trying to help. I mean 3.9% isn't bad but he could have definitely gotten you 3.25%-3.50% without a problem. Congratulations on your new 4Runner!