Question: Are you paying cash for the deal? If not, do you have your financing lined up and ready to go, like a cash buyer? If so, I'd be willing to bet that if you walked in there with a check in your hands for the $23k (all-in) and said "it's your job to not let me take this back", they'd probably do the deal, especially right now at the end of the month.
The past three cars that I've bought, I did like this via an auto loan through USAA. Once approved, they either send you a blank bank check, or give you an account number on their website that you simply log in to, fill out where to wire the money, and it's done. I've gotten great deals (more than I thought I could actually) for the past 3 cars I've done this with, including our 4runner which I bought in mid 2007 with 52k miles for just shy of $20k. I bought my current Lexus, with 56k miles, for in the $12k's - All-in. They were asking $25k for the 4runner, $17.9k for the Lexus.
Funny thing, when you put the cash right on their desk. The 4runner - I said "somebody's going to get this check from me today, for a V8 4runner. I'm looking at 3, and you're my first stop. It's up to you if I make it to the second stop". Car was sold in 15 minutes. I had to say a few "this IS my only offer". That was in mid 2007, when things weren't nearly as bad as they are now!
The Lexus - I said close to the same thing, except I didn't seclude my selection to just the GS series "aren't a lot around worth buying". I said "I'm buying a car today with this check. I've got 4 I'm looking at. You're my first stop, here's my offer "wrote it on a sticky note attached to the front of the blank check". It's you're call. Initially, they barked back. But, wouldn't you know it, as I was driving away in my then-current car, my cell phone rang with the salesman asking me to come back and pick up my new car. :cheers:
However, I have read quite a few articles recently about, of all friggin' things, a short supply of SUV's on the market. The articles are saying that a lot of the SUV's that were traded in last summer when gas was north of $4, were actually shipped out of the country for sale. And now, with gas prices in the $2's, folks are starting to second guess their Honda Civic's as the "family" car, and are wanting to get thier SUV's back. But, many are looking at the smaller SUVs, like the Rav4's and such. But, the 4runner was one of the only SUV's that weren't really traded in during that timeframe. I've read articles of frustration from Ford & Chevy dealers saying "they simply shut down the plants that made many of these suv's, and I can't get my hands on what some of my customers are now asking me for". This is putting a somewhat "shadow" premium on certain SUV's, like the 4runner. But, it's all market specific "location" driven, too. Up where you are, given the hard winters, I'd be hard pressed to think you guys have a shortage of SUV's around. But, that demand generator could be doing just that actually...driving the Civic's back to the 4x4's before another winter season hits.
