Please Help Me Buy a TE

[Kent10]

I have been reading and planning to buy a 4runner for a good couple years now. So I am fairly confident with what I want but I have never bought a new car before and although I have read some advice on this forum I am still not confident with how to buy and how to get a decent deal. I know I may not get the best deal because I am not very patient and probably will not spend hours bargaining. I just want to make sure I don’t get ripped off by too much )

These are my options. I live about 150 miles away from one that is advertised on ebay and also on their website (links below) I could quite easily go pick it up. But I have also been in contact with the local Toyota dealer here and they said that they would try to get anything that I wanted. Would it be better to have my local dealer get it for me or better for me to deal with the dealer 150 miles away. If my local dealer has to get it for me, would you normally pay a higher price to have it shipped or is that a service they do for free. Should I just call both dealers and get a feel for what I should do. The local dealer offers free tires for life if you consistently use their Service and Parts Departments. I am not sure of the details on this but it could be a good deal. The local tax rate might be higher though.

How should I go about getting a better price than what is advertised on ebay. Should I just ask on their website or call them? What price would you recommend I try to get? The MSRP is $38,788. It has KDSS but no Navigation package. Additionally it has the door edge guards and carpet floor and cargo mats. The ebay price is $38,700 but on their website, the internet price is $39,220. They have a “make an offer” button which says “Make us an offer! We will try our best to accommodate you. Your offer should generally be greater than the invoice price.” Invoice price according to Truecar with these options is about $36,340. So what should I offer?

Another option since I am in no particular rush would be to special order one with my specifications. Are you less likely to get a good deal this way?

Or what about getting one from far away. Do you then pay to have it transported or could a local dealer get it for you. This one has a very good internet price and has KDSS and Navigation but it is in Maryland. Taxes in AZ at the dealer are 8.8% which is pretty high. I wonder if they would be much lower out of state. I think I would still pay the state tax but would avoid the additional local tax. 2011 Toyota 4Runner Trail - Clarksville, MD - Antwerpen Toyota <br>(888) 214-8636

Thanks very much for any help. Kent

Ebay Toyota : 4Runner | eBay

Website 2011 Toyota 4Runner Trail V6 For Sale | Serving Phoenix Metro Area - Chandler AZ 33216

 

[Canadian144]

Can't really comment too much on prices, Canada vs US has very different prices.

I'll just say, that from what I've read, the inventory of 4Runners is pretty damn low. Production has currently stopped in Japan, and no one knows when more will be produced - some say a few weeks, others say the delay may even be a full year. Even before the disaster in Japan, they were already a little hard to find (compared to other Toyota products). TEs especially have always been pretty rare.

Personally I'd try your best to get that one off of eBay... who knows when you'll be able to find another TE. I've been looking at 4Runners on ebay for the past few months... this is the first TE I've seen in a while. Up here in Canada, I think Nissan probably brought more GT-Rs to Canada than 4Runner TEs.... I've seen quite a few GT-Rs and NEVER another TE on the road. Got pretty lucky finding ours as a leftover 2010 with 2000km on it (manager's ride). A member of this forum told me there's another one just outside of Toronto. Other than that.... never seen any on Autotrader, even when searching the entire country. When I was looking on autotrader in the Northeatern US (thought about importing one), there were only 1 or 2 TE's for sale in a 500mile range from my relatives in Michigan.

 

[Kent10]

Thanks for the advice, Canadian144. I know what you mean about rare. They had one here locally but it didn't have KDSS. There are a few around the country but I still don't understand if my local dealer can get those. I asked him and he never gave me a clear answer. Only that he would do his best. I wonder though if it is hundreds of miles away if it makes sense to have it delivered or if it cost much. Hopefully others have had experience here or I will call both dealers and get an idea of what can be done.

 

[Canadian144]

No problem man. Good luck, I'll be following the thread, hopefully you end up with a TE one way or another!

 

[jpowers]

I paid $37,900 for mine and it has nav + kdss, last May.

TrueCar.com With the options they list on the ebay link show you should be able to buy it for about $36,500. I personally would start with offering $35,900 and go from there. KBB.com is showing the dealer invoice price is about 35,358.00.

With as rare as the Trails are getting and the shortage due to the terrible earthquake that hit Japan I don't know how willing they will be to cut a great deal though.

But I have also been in contact with the local Toyota dealer here and they said that they would try to get anything that I wanted. Would it be better to have my local dealer get it for me or better for me to deal with the dealer 150 miles away. If my local dealer has to get it for me, would you normally pay a higher price to have it shipped or is that a service they do for free

I had to have my local dealer get one for me as the Kansas City Region does not get them in stock normally, they didn't charge me any extra for that service. However it did have 505 miles on it when I got it, because they sent a driver to pick it up and drove it back. If I had requested to have it put on a tuck and shipped to here, they would have charged me for that. I don't remember how much they said it would be, but I didn't think it was worth the extra $$$ to have it shipped.

Oh, and if you have a trade in, don't even negotiate any price on your trade, until you have agreed on a price for the vehicle you are going to buy.

 

[WFO_Racer]

I have a 2010 bought late last year in SoCal. Could not find Sat Nav but got KDS.

I did mid 35 plus tax title. No trade in , cash deal. Not a great deal, but not too bad either.

Wait till gas hits 5 a gallon by Memorial Day they will be willing to talk more at that point.

 

[Kent10]

Thanks jpowers and WFO_Racer. That info is very helpful. Yea $5 gas. Interesting because I have seen more used 4runners for sale in the last few months since gas has gone up. Trails though always seem hard to find so I am hoping they will still deal. About a year ago my dealer offered a pretty good deal on a TE without KDSS but I wasn't quite ready yet and I decided that I wanted KDSS.

Last night I sent out a quick e-mail to my local dealer. I didn't mention what I had found on ebay. But just wanted to see if he could find a TE with KDSS anywhere. I'll see what he says and go from there.

Thanks again, guys.

 

[Jbahr]

It sounds like the dealer just doesn't want to tell you they can't find you one. I did the same thing in Houston and they found one in their dealer network but it was brand new and they wanted 41K+ for it. Knowing how rare they are I don't think you will see a price lower than that on a new vehicle. Just remember dealers will tell you anything to keep you talking to them...

 

[BradleyB]

If you are looking into Maryland, also check out Brown Toyota in Glen Burnie. Two Trails with KDSS/Nav, one red, one silver.

Brown Toyota Trails

Best of luck,
Brad

 

[BunsbertMontcroff]

if you're a member of USAA you can use the Zag car broker service at no charge. this is how we found our TE. we got one with KDSS (and a few superfluous options) for 35,600.

inventory searches using edmonds were usually a bust - the site would list a TE in stock but when I'd call or visit they were already sold.

here is something to keep in mind when searching for a TE - some dealerships don't list it as "trail edition". our TE was listed as a "toyota 4runner 4x4". the dealer listed sr5s and limiteds, but didn't list the trail edition as such.

EDITED TO ADD: kent, i noticed you were in AZ. we got our TE from larry miller in peoria. they had 2 in stock (ours, and a silver TE without KDSS) and both sold at the same time after being on the lot for just a few days. derrick guy was the internet salesmen that we dealt with, perhaps you could check with him?

 

[dpr422]

I bought a 2011 TE in CO on March 9th (KDSS, no nav). It was one of the only TE's with KDSS in CO, so this did hurt my ability to negotiate a better price - MSRP was $38,9 - I paid $37k.

Fast forward 1 month -- this is still only 1 in CO and only a handful within 500 miles of my house (according to cars.com). Given the expected shortage of these cars, I feel like I might have made out ok - if I had waited a week, I might have paid $38k, or had to pay $500 to have one shipped from the East Coast...

If you can get a good deal on one, I would jump on it..

 

[Arc.]

I bought a 2011 TE in CO on March 9th (KDSS, no nav). It was one of the only TE's with KDSS in CO, so this did hurt my ability to negotiate a better price - MSRP was $38,9 - I paid $37k.

Fast forward 1 month -- this is still only 1 in CO and only a handful within 500 miles of my house (according to cars.com). Given the expected shortage of these cars, I feel like I might have made out ok - if I had waited a week, I might have paid $38k, or had to pay $500 to have one shipped from the East Coast...

If you can get a good deal on one, I would jump on it..

lol I know the one you are talking about dpr, its up in ft collins - it was sold on Sat. I was dragging my feet... although that one was on the ground for a couple of weeks which was weird. I should of jumped on it, my autobroker could of gotten it for me @ $36k.

Kent, if you aren't a member of USAA, what about going through an autobroker? I'm surprised I don't hear more about autobrokers on here. My autobroker is great, no haggling, i get just under invoice and don't pay for destination charge or any other charges.

 

[dpr422]

Yep, in Ft. Collins.... I bought mine from them. It worked out -- they gave me a much better deal on my trade....

 

[Johnny Utah]

if you want a trail edition with KDSS i'd bite the bullet and buy that one off ebay, or contact that dealer and buy it through them. Trail editions are few and far between, if you seriously want one, you're going to have to pay for it. Now that japan is in shambles, its going to be even longer and even harder to find a trail. I'd say buy it. In 5 years who cares if you could have saved $1 or 2k

 

[Kent10]

If you are looking into Maryland, also check out Brown Toyota in Glen Burnie. Two Trails with KDSS/Nav, one red, one silver.

Brown Toyota Trails

Best of luck,
Brad

Thanks Brad. Those are great advertised prices at Brown Toyota. That is pretty far from me though. I am not sure it is worth transporting to AZ cost wise. I'll look into it though. Those have the Navigation which at first I thought I didn't want but am now considering it because of the speakers and CD player. I am going to research to see if the 8 speaker system is at least decent. I am used to a good speaker system and a 6 CD changer so might have to get that added later if I don't get the Nav. package.

 

[Kent10]

EDITED TO ADD: kent, i noticed you were in AZ. we got our TE from larry miller in peoria. they had 2 in stock (ours, and a silver TE without KDSS) and both sold at the same time after being on the lot for just a few days. derrick guy was the internet salesmen that we dealt with, perhaps you could check with him?

Thanks BunsbertMontcroff for the Larry Miller lead. I checked their website. You are right in that often there just isn't much info. I can't tell which are TE or not without searching for the VIN and even then you don't always find the details.

 

[Kent10]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It is all very helpful. Arc., I have never considered an autobroker but will look into it.

 

[SeattleMike]

I paid $38,979 (plus taxes, title, licensing) for my TE with KDSS/Nav/Remote start. I put down a $500 deposit once the price was negotiated and they placed a "preference request" in with their normal allocation request. I probably overpaid, but I could not find one on the west coast with the options/color combination that I wanted. Even so, the lowest I have seen anyone pay for a loaded TE was $37,500 and that was months after I bought mine. I hope that helps you.

 

[alstaz]

trail special order

I know what you are going through. I actually made a deal with a local dealer back in January. I decided that I wanted a color with kdss that wasn't readily available near me and I "special Ordered" it. I am still waiting and the nearest one to me is around 700 miles. It is too far for my local dealer to ship or drive in and honor the deal. With the limited numbers coming in, I am not sure I will ever see it. I may have to reevaluate my color option. If I want I can get another color almost immediately, but this was going to be possibly the only NEW car I'd ever order just how I wanted it.

Good luck.

 

[Kent10]

I know what you are going through. I actually made a deal with a local dealer back in January. I decided that I wanted a color with kdss that wasn't readily available near me and I "special Ordered" it. I am still waiting and the nearest one to me is around 700 miles. It is too far for my local dealer to ship or drive in and honor the deal. With the limited numbers coming in, I am not sure I will ever see it. I may have to reevaluate my color option. If I want I can get another color almost immediately, but this was going to be possibly the only NEW car I'd ever order just how I wanted it.

Good luck.

Thanks SeattleMike. That info is helpful.

Alstaz: Yes all tough decisions. I wonder how much it cost to have it shipped. That is what I am going to have to figure out especially if there is a much better deal further from me. I am still waiting to see what the local dealer will do. From what others have said it looks like if it is within a couple hundred miles the dealer will get it for you. But any further then I wonder what the costs will be to have it shipped.

Someone convinced me to consider the navigation package so right now I am trying to decide on the Navigation package which if I decided to get it then I would have to look further or wait. From my reading so far though, it looks like I could get an aftermarket speaker/CD system. I wonder if I could find a quality system to replace the 8 speakers. Or is more space required? I don't want to take up space in the cargo area with big subwoofers.