Buying/Selling and trading usually comes pretty natural for me. I like it and have a knack for it. These Toyota dealers around me are the exception. Never bought a Toyota but the woman wants one so here I am. I know a lot of guys swear by Toyota here and thought I’d ask what works to get the best deal on them.
Around here there are at least 5 Toyota dealers and they barely will budge off of the initial price they quote. I don’t get it...does everyone pay sticker or near that on these things?

Toyota’s are quality vehicles. I’m a Toyota guy through and through. They basically sell themselves for a reason and that’s why you may not always be able to get them to deal as much as you might with another vehicle.

Yes there are ways, but they’ll only go so far because if they don't sell it to you there’ll be someone else right behind you ready buy the same vehicle.

Having said that, pit them against each other. Go to one and get a price then go the next one and so on. That’s probably the best way.

I've found that Toyota selling prices around here aren't much below sticker. They're in demand and if they hold on a bit longer, someone will pay it. We bought a demo Highlander last summer. It was loaded and had 7k miles. They had it priced at $7k below the sticker price of identical new ones and they wouldn't budge. If we hadn't bought it, they'd still have sold it within days.

I picked up a one year old Tundra 2 years ago at a BMW dealer for a decent price ( much better than a local Toyota dealer) but I always buy a vehicle a few years old if possible. I purchased a Tacoma before that from a Toyota dealer and they turned out to overcharge on services. I have friends who like their Toyota dealers. I would search around til you found a dealer you can trust and are comfortable with.

Its tough to negotiate on new Toyotas with such a strong economy now

Can't help you as I do not buy new. Won't unless I have to.

Guessing you maybe pegged it. They don't feel like they have to move on price.

Call outside your area to toyota dealers. Get them to throw you a price and compare.

I am convinced that a big part of the marketing strategy of the “Big Three” is, and always has been, to grossly over-price their stuff so they can offer folks a “great deal.” Who ever heard of anyone paying anywhere near msrp on a Ford, GM or Chrysler product? It seems you can’t open a newspaper without seeing car dealer adds for thousands off msrp.

The local Toyota dealership is strictly geared towards selling cars and trucks to Ft. Campbell KY military personal on monthly installments. They don't know how to act when someone comes in and says they want to pay for one on the spot for the best price they can offer.

We recently bought a 2016 5th gen 4runner to add to our stable of 4runners. Bought it from a dealer. I worked hard to get a lower price to the point of leaving. They gave me a break in the price, but not much.

Generally, the days of serious haggling are gone. A lot of dealers advertise "our low no haggle price". Don't know about the low part.

They wanted me to finance to get a lower price because they get a kick back that way. I thought since I was paying cash it would be the best deal.

They don’t come off the price much here either. I could have married daughter of a Toyota dealership owner, but fugged that up. Shame on me.

Start with Cosco car buying price, then bid it to dealers over the internet. That is probably the best non-drama way of getting a low price.
I live out of "town" and that dealership was 5K higher than an equally distant rural dealer. Rural dealer was under retail, maybe 7%? I can't recall for sure. 4Runner was something like 40K for the version I bought.

Thanks guys for the input. Just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing something. Gonna try to find used first...

most new cars have an invoice price and sticker price. Invoice price, while not really what the dealer pays for the car is usually about 10% below what the sticker price is. I would call around and ask dealers how much below invoice price they will sell for. around me a local dealer says they will beat any other dealer by $500, so most of the makes around here, ford, chevy, dodge, etc will be glad to sell for invoice price. So I can at least get $500 below invoice price. NEXT log on to the website and click shopping tools are offers, then you can look and see what if any incentives are offered on that year and model of vehicle. Toyota doesn't offer big incentives normally. However I did see 2k cash back on tacomas last fall, That is a rare deal right there. Usually something will be offered, could be $500, $1000, $2000 or really anything inbetween or more. Also offered is 0% for various lengths of time. I personally think 0% sucks and would rather have a cash discount. The reason being is you pay sales tax on the higher amount by not taking the cash discount, AND by paying the higher amount you have to keep the loan for the entire term, basically pay the car off to realize the savings of the 0%.

try to do your communication via email,
if not do it over the phone,
don't go to the dealer to negotiate the price. They have you over a barrel and do tons of stupid crap, I am sure they are studying body language, potentially even having the table bugged. I always laugh the guy walks into the glass room, they pour a cup of coffee and start laughing and say we got another sucker on the line. Its like WTF, dude you know what you need on the car, the answer should be YES or NO, its not hard. Meanwhile they are watching you shift and squirm for 10 minutes while they dinker around, I say BS to all that. via email or phone is the only way I make any deal on a new car, period.

lastly don't let the finance manager hose you. you can find the same extended warranty online, even toyota factory warranty for much less money than they will sell it to you.

I have always thought that if they could knock off 15 thousand dollars off the price, then it was priced 15000 too much anyway. I haven't bought a new domestic vehicle, ever. And never will.

You'll get a better price on a used one if you buy from a non Toyota dealer. The Jeep dealership here can't hardly get rid of a Toyota even when priced well below book value.

The only Toyota I’ve ever been able to buy was in the Winter and the end of the month. They must not have met their quota because they priced it well below the market. If you’re buying a truck just get ready to pay “their” price. Good luck , Tacoma’s are great if you don’t need rear legroom.

One of the guys in our moose camp owns a Toyota dealership. Overheard him telling a few guys around the bar that he only makes $500 on a new car.

Uh-huh.

If you can hold off till month’s end, they’ll become much more eager. Even now, don’t be in a hurry. They’ll call you in a couple days, and you can coyly explain that you’ve been receiving much more aggressive quotes than what they offered. (This assumes you can keep your housemate happy for another week or 10 days.)

As was said, YOU never mention a price: that’s for THEM to do. Sit back, and watch them find extra discounts. If they ask when you’ll buy, tell ‘em you’re going with the lowest price this Sunday night. Call ‘em all one last time Sunday am.

Check every dealer from Beavercreek to Dry Ridge. Hell, I bought a Corolla from Green’s in Lexington. I deemed the 4 hour round-trip to pick it up worth the $1,000 we saved. You never know which dealers will be just a few cars short of earning a huge sales goal bonus. Those can easily top $100k for the dealer.

If you can stand to listen to this pajama boy from NPR, This radio program is a good look behind the curtain at the sales dept of a dealership. Their desperation at month’s end is breathtaking.

If you want to call me, I’ll tell you about the folks I talked to at Kings, Performance, and Joseph.

Good luck,

FC

It is worth working the internet and knowing what you want.
Wife decided she want a Honda Si. Local Toyota dealer had one but wouldn’t budge on price. Salt Lake had one with less miles and 3 grand less. They shipped it up. Has been a good car.
I got my truck out of Ok.
I wanted big block gas, took a while but found one at big dealership down south. Has been good truck.

@OP, Try finding a used one at a non-Toyota dealer...

10 years ago, when I worked for Toyota Manufacturing, even Toyota employees could not get a decent discount from a Toyota dealer. One of the models underwent a significant body change. Cannot remember which one. Anyway, people were going ape over them. The dealers were selling them for sticker price, literally while they were still on the truck, or, immediately after being backed off the truck... craziness...

If you like to "negotiate", might try Dan Cummins in Paris, KY...

That's what I try to do. My newest truck, which I bought used, is a Nissan, booked at $14,500, priced at $12,500, got it for $10,750. It was at the Saturn dealership.

Pick a large population area, know exactly what you want, call every dealer in that market tell them what you want and you're going to buy from whoever sells the cheapest.
I bought my first Toyota 4x4 just like that, had to drive a few miles but saved about 25%

Toyota has an established track record, and the deals know it. If I was buying a new car tomorrow, it would be a Toyota.

They didn't come off sticker much when I bought my 2007 Tacoma new. But I felt that I got top dollar for my trade-in so I came out OK. The money I've not spent on repairs more than offset the extra cost. After 13 years and 203,000 miles the only parts I've replaced on my dime are the alternator and shocks. Other than tires, brakes, battery, fluids etc. They replaced the rear springs last Fall at their cost and sent me a letter stating that they would cover U-Joints up to 200,000 miles and if I had already replaced one would reimburse me. I fully expect to get 400,000 miles out of it with no major repairs.

Toyota........I'll add my knowledge......

always have had one.....usually a Tacoma.....

Just sold an '05 Tacoma.......was the 2nd owner......drove it 14+ yrs......

Truck was trouble free........had 183K miles on it.......auto TRD SB DC.......

Got $15300 US American out out of it....could have got $15800

But sold it via word of mouth.....no advertising at all......replaced it with.......

2011 Lexus GX 460 Premium w/95K miles on it..$22K high book retail

Didn't bat an eye...selling a Tacoma today is a sellers market...name your price.........

In your search....I may suggest CarMax......do a detailed search for your vehicle..nationwide......

Thats where my Lexus came from......I'll give the 4.9 stars for their store......no issues at all

my advise......look 'pre owned' don't over look Lexus if they have something that interests you/wife....

Tell us what you are looking for.....pic...'11 Lexus I just bought

link..........CarMax...the Lexus I bought..lived in NV & AZ.......++++++++

https://www.carmax.com/car/17809197

My wife has always driven either a Honda or Toyota. I have discovered that I have to pretty much have to pay their price. I’ve also discovered that their resale value is such that it usually makes sense to buy new. They are worth the price in my opinion.

I bought my 2019 Tacoma last February right around this time of the month. Traded in my old 2008 Tundra for it and paid the difference off in cash. They don’t want you to pay on the spot. They prefer you finance because they make more money that way. They tried to get me to finance it and I wouldn’t do it. Most people think they have some leverage by offering to pay cash on the barrel. It doesn’t work that way...

By the way, they sold my Tundra a day or two later. The only reason I traded it in was because I felt they made me a fair offer and they still made money on it.

Like the previous poster said, Costco got me a better deal than I got on my own and I didn't have to do anything except show up and write a check.

I've used the buying program through AAA (same as Costco I think) to good effect. I've found the key to getting a good deal is to be willing to travel, I bought my Tundra in Dallas, one Camry in Ashville NC and another in Huntsville AL. Don't just stick to the local dealers.

I've run the numbers six ways from Sunday and on a vehicle like Toyotas or Hondas it rarely pays to buy used 2-3 years old like lots of people advocate, it just doesn't pencil out.

First car I ever drove (high school: it was my dad's hunting vehicle) was a 1968 FJ40 Land Cruiser. That sucker is still running, and still street legal (but my older brother talked my dad into letting him have it).

First car I ever owned was a 1978 Celica. Over 100,000 miles on it when I sold it. Bought a Ford Bronco after that, but it was in the shop early and often. I'd have to borrow an ugly yellow 1976 Toyota pickup (dad's ranch p/u) while the Bronco was in the shop. After about the 3rd time the Bronco left me high and dry on the side of the road, I asked myself: "what the hell am I doing?"

Bought a 1989 FJ62 Land Cruiser (went all the way to Hammond, Indiana, b/c local dealerships wouldn't budge on price: saved me $4K back then, minus the one way air fair to Chicago and the time and gas it took me to drive it home).

Replaced that with a 2000 Tundra, still running strong, though now used just to haul feed for the ranch and to pull my boat.

Bought a RAV 4 for my daughter, and now have a Highlander as a daily driver for me. Guess you could say I'm a Toyota guy.

Most recently, i used CarGurus and found a one year old, 18K mile used RAV 4 for my son (at a Toyota dealership). CarGurus actually rates the cars they have listed as a "fair deal," a "good deal," or a "great deal." I waltzed into the dealership with a check book in hand, but they would have been willing to finance as well. Worth a look.

Have bought 6 new toyotas over the years. I negotiate all deals only over the phone or email. Most efficient for me is email. And if I leave $400 or $500 on the table, don't really care. Over 5-10 years it doesn't amount to anything.

My boss drives 150 miles a day. He has put 500,000 miles on his before he sells them.

Found a nice low mileage used one at CarMax. Had it sent to my local store. Checked it out tonight and will probably end up buying it. Half price of a new one with only 44k miles. Looks garage kept and cherry. Only flaw I can find is a coffee stain in the drivers seat. Got them trying to get it out before I buy it.
Thanks all for the ideas...
Erich

I penciled it out and saved 14 k on a year old Tundra with 11,000 miles and I paid cash for it.

Have owned two Toyotas. Both Land Cruisers. Still have and use a 79 and get offers almost every time I take it out.

Toyota dealers dont come down much on prices....here in Canada there is very little difference in price ( if any) anywhere in the country. Its just the way they do business.

They will come down a tiny bit though. Just bought my wife a 2020 Rav4 and got them down $750 bucks but that was as far as they would go.

Sounds like quite the deal, even with a built in coffee stain. 1/2 price and the engine hardly has 2 years worth or mileage on it.

Hope it works out for you folks

Geno

If you’re buying new look at every dealership in the US. A new truck is a new truck no matter where you buy it. I bought mine for well below sticker in 2014. People were flying in from surrounding states and driving them back, and they were loading trucks and sending them out. Dealerships nave no loyalty so they’re owed none. I see it as buying groceries; nothing more than a commodity. There’s no reason to spend more money on a depreciating asset than absolutely necessary. Play them against each other and get the best deal. Don’t get in a hurry, and spend some time on the phone or in email. The money will all shake out.

I worked selling toyotas one winter when i own a jet-ski rental business in biloxi . .
Here's how you get a good deal . You go look at what you want offer a low amount - they say -no- you leave - do that about four times and say other dealerships are beating your price by a good bit . It then it becomes a challenge for the salesman to be the guy who put you in the vehicle .

I did that with a new Hydra-sport fishing boat they finally took the bait right before Thanksgiving - sold the boat 2-1/2 years later for the same amout i paid for it . Although i gave the guy the GPS/marine radio and other stuff because he was willing to pay my asking price .
Five trips into the dealership over a period of a month for $9K less than the next best price .

Also quietly offer the salesman a ''thank you'' $100 bill if he can get you the deal - i found that works really well .

Dealers count on the ass load of money they make on financing. I've found I can get a better deal by financing and paying it off in a couple months. They don't like it but what the hell?

g

In hindsight it’s probably what I should’ve done. Instead of writing them a check right then and there.

Toyota,s are no better than anything else .....I have owned several Toyota pickups....They all went back for problems....My wife has a new 2019 Highlander ....She hates it... Cheap made and way behind the big three in refinement......They are like a Tikka Rifle !!!!!!way over Hyped.....

Yep the highlanders a horrible vehicle lol. especially compared to a gm product where the engine or tranny goes teats uo under 30 k miles

Best chance you have of getting a deal on a Toyota is buying one from a Non-Toyota dealership. They want their trade-ins gone.

You did good then. I bought my Tundra for $4K under the sticker price new and considered myself doing well. I couldn't find anything used with less than 30,000 miles where they were asking less than I could buy a new one for. If I could have found your deal I would have taken it. I paid cash for mine too.

I usually drive a vehicle until it's rusted out enough that it's ready for the junkyard {New York salted roads}. I've always had domestic vehicles of one brand or another. I've had two automatic transmissions go tu, one on a GM at 215K and one on a Ford at 186K. I've never had an engine go bad. My wifes 2012 Fusion has 187K on it right now. Still runs like a top, uses no oil and the transmission works fine. Both are still original and the car has needed very few repairs beyond normal maintenance.

I bought a Toyota - my wife bought a Cadillac.

SImilar circumstances. : I said bring it in under $32K and you got a deal. Took SEVERAL trips to the Manager, blah blah blah, tried to charge me for a service that was FREE according to all the banners and signs around the office. Tried to charge couple grand and I said "Look, it's FREE"...

Now the Cadillac: 10 minutes, I said bring it in under 32K and we buy tonight, 2 minutes later we were signing papers....

Toyota is reluctant to deal. They're popular, and have good resale.

Start through CostCo and Carguru, get the exact make, model, trim, etc. then use that knowledge to go shopping dealers against each other. Local to me wouldn't deal. Drove an hour and saved about 3k on a Tacoma a couple years ago. Did the same last year for my wife, but one of the closest dealers played ball.(not Toyota)

That's what I did on the last Ford truck I bought. They were offering all kinds of incentives if you would finance, and the salesman told me that instead of buying it outright, I should take those incentives to get a better price, and then pay it off later. That's exactly what I did. Probably saved about $1500.

Friend did the above on his wifes camry, said it came out cheaper than paying cash. Payed it off in 6 months.

My nephew went to buy his wife a Christmas gift, a very nice piece of jewelry. The clerk told him that if he would get a store credit card, and set the purchase up on payments, he would get a $100 discount on the jewelry. He said okay, and went through all the motions of filling out the paperwork. Got it all approved, got the necklace for a $100 lower than the cash price, had it gift wrapped, and walked out of the store. At which point, he turned around and walked back in. "Is there anything wrong" the clerk asked, "no" said Daryl, "I just want to pay off my bill."


The clerk said..........."but you just got it, you can't do that." Daryl asked for the store manager, and there was this big discussion as to whether or not he could pay it off right after buying it on credit. A phone call to "headquarters" was made, and they couldn't find any reason not to let him pay it right there. He did and got his wife's Christmas gift for $100 less than he'd planned on spending.

On something of a side note, my wife's sister was the business manager for a large Buick dealership in Nashville back in the day. She once bought a new car with her credit card, got a bunch of points for doing so, then paid it off after the first month. Her credit card company didn't want to honor her points, but they finally did. She said that the person she talked to at the credit card place told her that they were just not used to dealing with people who paid their credit card bill off every month.

That only works slightly - and not every time... A seasoned salesperson can tell right away when somebody's trying that, so they (using a car biz term) "shoot the guy in the foot"...

Know how that works??

Funny, every dealer in my area own several different car manufacturers. That's right! And, both foreign and domestic!

Google the many ways to haggle with dealers, mostly it's hitting them at the right time to move the older cars for new inventory.

That's what I did (plus the small amount of haggling, which I enjoy) and saved $7000 off the sticker price for...get this!...a Toyota! Good luck!

OP, if you're up to it, look out of state to buy - it may be MUCH cheaper.

Tell your nephew to be careful, the more credit cards you add to the wallet the more it affects your credit score, despite the deal he thinks he got out of it. Canceling them isn't helpful either.

so what cha buying ?

post the CarMax link to the car.......lets see !

If you are buying new - use the Costco Auto dealer...

You’ll get a better price than most people
You don’t have to haggle with the dealer at all
You get to see what it’s going to cost at home so you can make decisions before you go to the dealer.

No brainer

I tried to trade a Chevy Silverado in once on a Toyota Tacoma at a Toyota dealer. All the scum bums would offer me was wholesale value, 3k less than trade in. He tried to tell me there was so much more equity in a Toyota than my truck. I told him he was taking away my equity by not giving me a fair trade and walked out. That was 15 years ago and I haven't missed a Toyota one bit.

Ford has played that game at least a decade. Take the finance incentive, Make a couple payments ,and then pay it off /move to a more attractive loan usually at credit union.

I think they’ve got the link locked down since it’s on hold for me. Not sure... I tried and can’t figure out how to post it.
2014 Toyota Sienna L...44k miles $16,900.

I dealt with Toyota west in Columbus, Ohio. They had an 09 6spd Tacoma I watched for a few months on line.
Called the internet sales guy and made an offer and he took it without question. Figured since it was a standard shift and in the big city no one wanted it.
Drove up the next day and picked up with zero hassle. Had my own financing prior to going up.

Honestly I just found the truck average, worse gas milage than the f150 v8 I have now, more recalls than this ford and the frame was covered in rust, especially around the welds when I traded it in.

I'd another one (tacoma) but price, fuel milage and that anemic engine always make think again.
If i did go toyota, I'd like to get a 4runner, never had an SUV

Got the best deal on the wife's Tundra by buying one of the last of the model year, in inventory about two months after the next model year hit the showroom floor. About 12,000 bucks under sticker price. On the other hand, my Tacoma, I paid darn near sticker price...and they wouldn't budge. But it was exactly what I was looking for...plain jane base models are not that common apparently.

It’s crazy how different folks have such different experiences. I much prefer buying at Toyota because I have a reference on what is a good deal. I looked at F150’s this year and I couldn’t make sense of the pricing and discounts, they were all over the place. I finally told the sales manager that I can buy a new SR5 tundra 4wd for 35k cash, can you come close on a similarly equipped F150, was told I better buy the tundra. So I did. For 34k.

I’ve bought three new toyota pickups in the last 15 years. I think you start with factory invoice price which you can get online. . Dealer price is invoice plus markups, don’t look at that. Forget MSRP. Any Toyota incentives,rebates,cash back are on top of and totally separate from your negotiation with the dealer.

There are fees on top of factory invoice: destination, holdback, and Toyota advertising fee. Negotiate in these fees, they should be standard numbers. If you pay the fees, it’s a fair deal, if you get them to eat the advertising fee it’s a great deal.

I insist on less than 5 miles on the ODO, I won’t pay for ANY dealer add ons, options, etc.

I find it’s easier to work with the internet sales guys, their customers usually already know what they want so they don’t spend time on the lot showing you stuff, just sell the cars. Get the deal in writing before you show up and don’t budge. Study their factory invoice line item prices with your print out from your research. They will probably try and switch it for the dealer invoice numbers which include markup.

Normally I like to haggle but with Toyota I recommend the costco process as well. It saved me more than I could do on my own and I know after trying a few dealerships. Only downside was their dealer was an hour away. highly recommend as an easy option and process. Watch for up sales once your their because price is already determined and they want to try to make a little more

Contact your credit union... or mine.

At mine, you can simply join the alumni assn for $35 and they will let you become a member of the credit union.

With 30k studens on campus, that's a lot of customers. The dealers know that and want to maintain the relationship.

Last time we were auto shopping, could not get Honda or Toyota dealers to budge. Ended up buying the same class auto at Mazda for $5000 less. Happy with the deal and the auto.

That said, Toyo Tacos keep their value over time like crazy.

Wait until May to July time frame. They'll want to reduce inventory.

We’ve bought 2 Sequoias and a FJ. Tried to buy a Tacoma but walked over $200. I found I could get a better price using Consumer Reports buying service and Truecar. End of month and patience help. If Toyota made a real 3/4 ton diesel, we would drive nothing but Toyotas. Tundra fan boys, please don’t try to argue your truck will tow like a 2500 Duramax...... Tundras/Sequoias are simply in a different class.

We bought a Toyota the last couple of days in December. They wanted it moved and they gave us a more than fair price. We traded it again 3 years later and we got back all we paid for it.

kwg

Timing might be everything. A month ago the wife tried to by a new 2019 Toyota 4Runner thinking she could get a good deal on last years model.
Told her what to offer $ and the salesperson said no way. So she bought a Subaru.
Just yesterday I heard the dealer advertising a bigger discount on leftover 2019’s than what the wife would have paid. Manufacturers incentives I imagine.

Sounds like it.

I asked how he beat everyone else by $1,000, and the sales manager said, “at any given moment, I’ve got roughly $8 million worth of inventory on the lot. Sometimes we’ll be higher, sometimes we’ll be lowest. I’m just asking that you give us a call when you’re lookin’ for a car.”

Surely enough, when I was looking for another Toyota 6 years later, they wouldn’t touch the price I got elsewhere. They told me to take that deal if I could get it, & wished me well.

It all depends where they are in units sold, when it’s crunch time.

FC

My wife just bought a new Highlander it's louder inside with wind and road noise than my old R model Mack with a straight pipe Her Sienna van was the same way.Before She bought the van She had a Ford Explorer that's is 10 times the vehicle the Highlander is.