No house, but a new car

[Anonymous]

Don’t bother talking to the salespeople at the dealership. They are worthless relics of a bygone age.

Many dealers will quote prices via email (but they won’t say the price over the phone for some bizarre reason).

If you are buying new and can pay cash, you can just email a few local dealers, tell them what you want, and ask for a price quote. The folks a that respond to price quotes are not the sales goons, and are usually pleasant and straightforward. Once you have a few quotes, you can play them off each other, asking all the dealers to beat the lowest bid. The quoted prices will bottom out after a couple of iterations and you will then know exactly how low the dealers are willing to go. Take the best quote into the “winning” dealer and pick up the car. (Even if you are not paying cash, you can do this to get a price and then arrange financing separately).

I did this about a year ago and was amazed how well it worked. I got a price a few hundred bucks less than what CarsDirect.com was quoting and far less than Consumer Reports told me I would pay. It is surprisingly easy!

BTW: I paid $5 or so for a Consumer Reports “price report” and got terrible information from that. If I had gone with their recommendation I would have paid thousands more than I should have.

And also, sales tax is not always deductible – like all things taxes it depends…

[waterboy]

Another even better deal on a new one…could have been a Jan or Feb purchase though, but I still think rebates are as strong. I would call or email this internet sales person and see if they will beat that deal by a few hundred. You will find this if you search the forum on edmunds.

Replying to: subysub (Feb 10, 2009 8:17 pm)

I just purchased a LE w/cruise, remote door locks, mats and the heated mirror pkg,,,pretty standard LE. MSRP 18,314. I paid 13,850 plus doc fees of 55. Your tax and Lic will vary from county to county. This was an ad in the local paper, but they gave us the choice of color, as long as the MSRP was 18,314. Toyota of San Diego was the dealer, Van was the “Internet sales person”. No/low pressure through the deal.

I’ve been looking in the SD area and the best deal had been 14,995.
Note: all these prices reflect the 1500 rebate being used against the price.

[waterboy]

Another even better deal on a new one…could have been a Jan or Feb purchase though, but I still think rebates are as strong. I would call or email this internet sales person and see if they will beat that deal by a few hundred. You will find this if you search the forum on edmunds.

Replying to: subysub (Feb 10, 2009 8:17 pm)

I just purchased a LE w/cruise, remote door locks, mats and the heated mirror pkg,,,pretty standard LE. MSRP 18,314. I paid 13,850 plus doc fees of 55. Your tax and Lic will vary from county to county. This was an ad in the local paper, but they gave us the choice of color, as long as the MSRP was 18,314. Toyota of San Diego was the dealer, Van was the “Internet sales person”. No/low pressure through the deal.

I’ve been looking in the SD area and the best deal had been 14,995.
Note: all these prices reflect the 1500 rebate being used against the price.

[waterboy]

Another even better deal on a new one…could have been a Jan or Feb purchase though, but I still think rebates are as strong. I would call or email this internet sales person and see if they will beat that deal by a few hundred. You will find this if you search the forum on edmunds.

Replying to: subysub (Feb 10, 2009 8:17 pm)

I just purchased a LE w/cruise, remote door locks, mats and the heated mirror pkg,,,pretty standard LE. MSRP 18,314. I paid 13,850 plus doc fees of 55. Your tax and Lic will vary from county to county. This was an ad in the local paper, but they gave us the choice of color, as long as the MSRP was 18,314. Toyota of San Diego was the dealer, Van was the “Internet sales person”. No/low pressure through the deal.

I’ve been looking in the SD area and the best deal had been 14,995.
Note: all these prices reflect the 1500 rebate being used against the price.

[waterboy]

Another even better deal on a new one…could have been a Jan or Feb purchase though, but I still think rebates are as strong. I would call or email this internet sales person and see if they will beat that deal by a few hundred. You will find this if you search the forum on edmunds.

Replying to: subysub (Feb 10, 2009 8:17 pm)

I just purchased a LE w/cruise, remote door locks, mats and the heated mirror pkg,,,pretty standard LE. MSRP 18,314. I paid 13,850 plus doc fees of 55. Your tax and Lic will vary from county to county. This was an ad in the local paper, but they gave us the choice of color, as long as the MSRP was 18,314. Toyota of San Diego was the dealer, Van was the “Internet sales person”. No/low pressure through the deal.

I’ve been looking in the SD area and the best deal had been 14,995.
Note: all these prices reflect the 1500 rebate being used against the price.

[waterboy]

Another even better deal on a new one…could have been a Jan or Feb purchase though, but I still think rebates are as strong. I would call or email this internet sales person and see if they will beat that deal by a few hundred. You will find this if you search the forum on edmunds.

Replying to: subysub (Feb 10, 2009 8:17 pm)

I just purchased a LE w/cruise, remote door locks, mats and the heated mirror pkg,,,pretty standard LE. MSRP 18,314. I paid 13,850 plus doc fees of 55. Your tax and Lic will vary from county to county. This was an ad in the local paper, but they gave us the choice of color, as long as the MSRP was 18,314. Toyota of San Diego was the dealer, Van was the “Internet sales person”. No/low pressure through the deal.

I’ve been looking in the SD area and the best deal had been 14,995.
Note: all these prices reflect the 1500 rebate being used against the price.

[recordsclerk]

I would do what waterboy did. The LE is always advertised in the paper. If they don’t have your color go to another advertised dealer or wait until next Friday for new listings.
Carsdirect.com and Costco are good for vehicles that are not advertised. Any auto broker is a good starting place for vehicles not advertised.

[recordsclerk]

I would do what waterboy did. The LE is always advertised in the paper. If they don’t have your color go to another advertised dealer or wait until next Friday for new listings.
Carsdirect.com and Costco are good for vehicles that are not advertised. Any auto broker is a good starting place for vehicles not advertised.

[recordsclerk]

I would do what waterboy did. The LE is always advertised in the paper. If they don’t have your color go to another advertised dealer or wait until next Friday for new listings.
Carsdirect.com and Costco are good for vehicles that are not advertised. Any auto broker is a good starting place for vehicles not advertised.

[recordsclerk]

I would do what waterboy did. The LE is always advertised in the paper. If they don’t have your color go to another advertised dealer or wait until next Friday for new listings.
Carsdirect.com and Costco are good for vehicles that are not advertised. Any auto broker is a good starting place for vehicles not advertised.

[recordsclerk]

I would do what waterboy did. The LE is always advertised in the paper. If they don’t have your color go to another advertised dealer or wait until next Friday for new listings.
Carsdirect.com and Costco are good for vehicles that are not advertised. Any auto broker is a good starting place for vehicles not advertised.

[as]

Thank you all for the great advice. Nice and smart people on the board. That is why I love to read this website. I have learned so much from you guys, about everything.

I was thinking to buy a 1 or 2 year used one, but then it is hard to bargain since I don’t really know what is the bottom. With new car, at least I know the mileague is 0, and there is no previous owners.
Waterboy, sounds like you’ve got a great deal. Maybe I will offer $14.000 for everything if you guys think it is realistic. It will be a tough bargain since I am a female, but I will give it a try. I am not in a hurry to get it, either. If they don’t give me the deal, I will just walk away.
Thanks again for everybody’s advice and time.

[as]

Thank you all for the great advice. Nice and smart people on the board. That is why I love to read this website. I have learned so much from you guys, about everything.

I was thinking to buy a 1 or 2 year used one, but then it is hard to bargain since I don’t really know what is the bottom. With new car, at least I know the mileague is 0, and there is no previous owners.
Waterboy, sounds like you’ve got a great deal. Maybe I will offer $14.000 for everything if you guys think it is realistic. It will be a tough bargain since I am a female, but I will give it a try. I am not in a hurry to get it, either. If they don’t give me the deal, I will just walk away.
Thanks again for everybody’s advice and time.

[as]

Thank you all for the great advice. Nice and smart people on the board. That is why I love to read this website. I have learned so much from you guys, about everything.

I was thinking to buy a 1 or 2 year used one, but then it is hard to bargain since I don’t really know what is the bottom. With new car, at least I know the mileague is 0, and there is no previous owners.
Waterboy, sounds like you’ve got a great deal. Maybe I will offer $14.000 for everything if you guys think it is realistic. It will be a tough bargain since I am a female, but I will give it a try. I am not in a hurry to get it, either. If they don’t give me the deal, I will just walk away.
Thanks again for everybody’s advice and time.

[as]

Thank you all for the great advice. Nice and smart people on the board. That is why I love to read this website. I have learned so much from you guys, about everything.

I was thinking to buy a 1 or 2 year used one, but then it is hard to bargain since I don’t really know what is the bottom. With new car, at least I know the mileague is 0, and there is no previous owners.
Waterboy, sounds like you’ve got a great deal. Maybe I will offer $14.000 for everything if you guys think it is realistic. It will be a tough bargain since I am a female, but I will give it a try. I am not in a hurry to get it, either. If they don’t give me the deal, I will just walk away.
Thanks again for everybody’s advice and time.

[Author]

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